Strategies for Pedophiles in Social Work
Today’s society finds it palatable to call names and stigmatize perpetrators of child sexual abuse. However, would be best for all concerned parties if preventive strategies were developed to understand why the behavior occurs. The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) states that social workers who assess and review risks are better positioned to build effective communication with pedophiles with a view of safeguarding every child (NASW, 2017). Pedophiles are a vulnerable population who need to be helped. Social service organizations are striving to pull together resources that will help combat child sexual abuse. Social workers have been impactful in providing values that help support pedophiles. I performed my service-learning hours at healthcare service agency, which runs a program that offers aid to individuals with pedophilic disorders. The paper addresses the context and helping strategies with the pedophiles.
Demographic Information on the Vulnerable Population
The Agency Level
I worked with middle-aged adults in the health care service agency. The mode age of the participants ranged between 35-55. There were 30 participants; 25 were male and five females. Fifteen have never been married before, ten married, and five divorced. Twenty of the participants were Christians, while the rest were not affiliated with any religious group. All the participants were Americans. Twenty of the participants were well educated and most likely to have a stable job.
Macro Level
The United States has over 800,000 registered sex offenders (Leipnik et al., 2016). The research on middle-aged adult pedophiles indicates that the number stands at approximated 1 to 5% of a population (Stephenson, 2014). The whites are the majority of the pedophiles, while the remaining are either blacks or other groups of color like Hispanic and Native Americans. The majority of child sex offenders are men, while women constitute less than 20% of the total population (Murray, 2000). They subscribe to the Christian way of worship, and very few are either Jewish or belong to other religions. The pedophiles are more likely to be single and have a stable source of income.
Needs Identified by Pedophiles
Pedophiles need empathy all the time. An empathetic tone is useful in helping them deal with their issues and hasten the recovery process. I identified that they suffer from severe issues like mental health and abuse of drugs. The two issues are enough to fuel abusive behavior and prevent individuals from seeking help. When adults sexually abuse a child, the acts are because of manipulative misuse of power. An empathetic tone is enough to make a pedophile honest and open during each assessment. They get to a point where they are willing to impart their stories to society to stop pedophilia.
Pedophiles need an environment that is free from manipulation to realize positive results, as evident in the facility where I performed my service-learning hours. Social workers are encouraged to remain professional and objective as they strive to work with facts (NASW, 2017). Patients earn the trust of nurses when they work with facts. Trust is the one thing perpetrators have broken in their lives and needs to be restored before building meaningful relationships with other people, especially children. Eventually, they develop the ability to keep themselves safe and everyone around them.
Pedophiles need effective teachings on issues like social skills training and appropriate behaviors. The teachings have the sole aim of controlling a pedophile’s t sexual desires towards children. The lessons can be successful when the patient is willing to recognize that they have a problem. After recognizing that a problem exists, the individual must agree to sign up for treatment for the teachings to succeed.
Discussion on how I Know they are Needs
The needs are factors that were lacking in the participant and when addressed a pedophile shows a positive outcome. A case like empathy training is a need because once the offender takes on the victim’s perspective, they realize the harm they are inflicting to the child. The second need is an environment that is free from manipulation. I find working without prejudice or manipulation a need because a pedophile has to develop trust before telling the reason behind their behaviors genuinely. Lastly, effective teachings are a need because participants have shown they experience improvements in regulating themselves. Furthermore, there is a decrease in attitude which supports sexual contact with children.
Historical Trauma Experienced by Pedophiles
Adults who have been victims of sexual abuse or constant observers of inappropriate sexual behaviors in their childhood may find it appropriate to imitate similar behaviors. These adults are deprived of regular social and sexual contacts that they should be enjoying with their peers. The actions that happened in their childhood result in cumulative emotional harm. Child sexual abuse instills shame in the victim that may last for many years. The shame may lead to post-traumatic stress disorder because the victims are too young to seek help. Depression and anxiety become part and parcel of these individuals.
How the Trauma Manifest in Pedophiles I Observed at the Social Learning Site
The middle-aged pedophiles I observed were not exempted from the historical trauma. One way the trauma manifested is some of the offenders avoided instances that would remind them of the time when they were victims of abuse. They had to earn a social worker’s trust before they can recount instances of the past. Other offenders showed withdrawn behavior as they often opted to be by themselves. Furthermore, they do not make any effort to seek out social interaction.
My observations about the resiliency I have observed among Pedophiles.
I observed that the participants could develop multiple forms of resilience, provided they get the necessary help. One factor that enhances resilience to offending is creating social interaction with peers who are attracted to minors. Many participants at the service-learning site often interacted, a positive sign that they are fighting the withdrawn behavior. The nurses in charge indicated that some of the participants agreed that mingling with other people has significantly reduced the chances of thinking about sexual contact with minors. They were learning to master the art of self-control, which will help prevent offending.
Social Welfare Policies that Affect Pedophiles
The first policy is education for pedophiles. Social workers remain objective and professional in their teachings. The lessons are meant to help pedophiles create a safe environment when they are around children. Education can be through frequent counseling for the prevention of sexual offending. The enactment of such policies is because the treatment might not cure pedophiles of their sexual urges. Education through counseling helps to reduce sexual desires towards children. Furthermore, the individual will live free from acting on their inappropriate sexual urges.
Anti-discrimination laws have been enacted and prohibit discrimination against individuals who come out as pedophilias. Stigmatization is a leading factor that limits people’s opportunities in life. The consequences are severe mental health and psychological issues. Pedophiles need help rather than discrimination. A supportive system and society ensure that pedophiles seek help without fear of being stigmatized.
How Well the Organization Carries out Its Mission.
My experience at the organization was educational and humbling. The organization has been highly effective in carrying out its mission. First, it provided values and interventions which made the participants feel supported. The social workers unconditionally drew on their knowledge and skills to help the participants. The organization understands the importance of mental health for a speedy recovery. They ensured that all individuals in the facility had been empowered through counseling to a point they can manage the social factors in their lives.
Most importantly, the facility has been particular about working with facts.
Agency’s Strength in Terms of Services Provision
Social workers strive to provide excellent services. They review the levels of risk posed to the pedophile and take all measures to ensure there is no further harm that the individual will face. The excellent communication that has been administered has ensured that the social workers succeed in getting the participants to be honest and open. Social workers at the agency sought to strengthen relationships among pedophiles to promote, restore, and enhance the participants’ well-being and their social interactions. The agency has continuously strived to increase professional knowledge among workers, which has led to excellent service provision, as evident in the consistent reviews.
Gaps that Occur in Service Provision
The Gap between Agency Perception and Participant Expectation
There were instances when the pedophile’s communication was insufficient for social workers to understand the help they needed. The participants hoped for a speedy recovery, but that cannot be possible unless they commit to the services to address their behavior. Social workers offer help according to the information offered by the individual.
Gap Between Experienced Social Service and the Expected Service
The gap was because participants misunderstood the quality of service. One of the responsibilities of social workers is a commitment to the client. Therefore, they may inquire for consistent reviews from participants to ensure the individual’s quality check and satisfaction. However, a pedophile might find this an indication of something wrong in the kind of service delivered.
How the Agency Could Improve Service Delivery
The agency can incorporate a crucial principle, like offering social workers sufficient technology, transparency, and information to improve outcomes. Such incorporations will help eradicate instances of miscommunication between social workers and participants of the service. Each worker can understand how to deal with each patient according to the issues they have. Communication will be enhanced hence the best outcome.
Conclusion
Pedophiles are a vulnerable group in which society is not ready to help. People are quick to judge and wish they were jailed. However, it is ethical for everyone to advocate for social justice and worth of a person. Pedophiles feel the world is against them because of the stigma. A seemingly good person is alleged to have sexually abused a child, and the society would lynch the person if given a chance. Social workers have been at the forefront of providing fair and equal treatment to all pedophiles. Acknowledging every perception, including the negative ones, is the first and best step towards providing vulnerable populations like pedophiles equal access to treatment.
References
NASW. (2017, January 15). Code of Ethics. https://socialwork.sdsu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/NASW-Code-of-Ethics2017.pdf.
Leipnik, M., Ye, X., Serna, J., Strong, J., Wilkins, C., & Wu, L. (2016). Spatial Aspects of Restrictions on Registered Sex Offenders. Geographical Review, 106(2), 312–330. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1931-0846.2015.12152.x
Stephenson, W. (2014, July 30). How many men are pedophiles? BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-28526106.
Murray, J. B. (2016). Psychological Profile of Pedophiles and Child Molesters. The Journal of Psychology, 134(2), 211–224. https://doi.org/10.1080/00223980009600863