Child Sex Offender Treatment

CommunitySolutions for the Community's Problem: An Outcome Evaluation of ThreeNew Zealand Community Child Sex Offender Treatment Programmes  (2003) (PDF 253KB)

Story from Corrections News September 2003 (PDF 340KB)

Sex offender treatment programmes proving effective

A recent study of New Zealand community-based programmes for men whosexually offend against children has shown that these programmes areperforming well. 

The programmes are run by Auckland-based SAFE Network Inc, STOPWellington Inc and STOP Trust Christchurch.  The research, carried outby Dr Ian Lambie and Dr Malcolm Stewart of Auckland University, wascommissioned by the Department as part of its research and evaluationprogramme.

"The evaluation shows that participants who completed thecommunity-based programmes had a 5.2 percent recidivism rate, comparedagainst the recidivism rate for untreated child sex offenders ofbetween 16 to 21 percent," says Jared Mullen, General Manager PolicyDevelopment.

The community-based programmes are funded by a number of agencies,including Corrections, Child, Youth and Family, and other communityfunding sources. 

"It's reassuring to know that effective programmes for this type ofoffending are available and being delivered in New Zealand, both inprison and in the community," says Jared. 

"However, we should remember that there's no such thing as a curefor sex offending - no matter how good a therapeutic programme is, someparticipants will re-offend at some stage.  All programme graduatesneed to maintain life-long vigilance against slipping back into oldpatterns."

In New Zealand, treatment options for child sex offenders fall intothree main groups: prison-based sex offender treatment units (such asKia Marama at Rolleston Prison and Te Piriti at Auckland Prison),community provider programmes, and individual intervention through apsychologist. 

The prison-based programmes have consistently evaluated well, with a2002 Canadian review¹  of sex offender programmes putting Kia Maramaalongside the most effective treatment programmes availableinternationally, on the basis of Kia Marama's evaluation document, AndThere Was Light.

¹ Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment, Vol. 14, No. 2,April 2002 First Report of the Collaborative Outcome Data Project onthe Effectiveness of Psychological Treatment for Sex Offenders. R KHanson, A Gordon, A J R Harris, J K. Marques, W Murphy, V L. Quinsey,and M C Seto.