Internet: Helpful or Harmful?

Children have been accessing the online world earlier and earlier in their lives because of the huge impact the internet has on society.  This is a huge problem because of the fact that a lot of pedophiles use the internet to lure children and distribute child pornography.  It has turned into such a problem that in 2002 the Canadian Criminal code was amended making it illegal to use the internet to communicate with a child for the purpose of committing a sexual offence.   With access to social networking, chat rooms, emails, and adult websites there is more potential for a child to be solicited by an adult for sexual purposes.

 

In 2006-2007 there were 464 incidents of child luring over the internet were reported in Canada.  This means that there are 3 incidents per 100,000 children under the age of 18 that are reported to the police per year, keep in mind that not all incidents are reported.  According to data on Stats Canada there was a rise in police-reported child luring incidents between 2003-2007, as well the majority of people committing these crimes are males between 18-34 years old. 

When there are cases of child luring they often go along with other charges. From 2003-2007 83% of child luring offences involved other charges which were sexual in nature.  They mostly included invitation to sexual touching, or child pornography charges. 

So, what do you think about how can we prevent children getting victimized by pedophiles on the internet?

All Information and Photos from:

http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/85-002-x/2009001/article/10783-eng.htm#a1

Canadian vs. UK Laws and Punishments

CANADA:

In the Criminal Code of Canada the laws and punishments for sex offences against minors are found under Part V sections 151, 152, 153.  The punishments are the same for each of these offences and they are as follows:

“(a) is guilty of an indictable offence and is liable to imprisonment for a term of not more than 10 years and to a minimum punishment of imprisonment for a term of one year; or

(b) is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction and is liable to imprisonment for a term of not more than 18 months and to a minimum punishment of imprisonment for a term of 90 days.”

(Copied from http://www.canlii.org/en/ca/laws/stat/rsc-1985-c-c-46/latest/rsc-1985-c-c-46.html#PART_V_SEXUAL_OFFENCES__PUBLIC_MORALS_AND_DISORDERLY_CONDUCT_488952”

These punishments are for sexual interference, invitation to sexual touching, and sexual exploitation.  These are defined in the previous link under the subsections mentioned.

Child Pornography laws are found in the Criminal Code of Canada under Part V Offences Tending to Corrupt Morals sections 163.1, 164, and 164.1. These punishments vary based on each particular offence and they are listed here:

http://www.canlii.org/en/ca/laws/stat/rsc-1985-c-c-46/latest/rsc-1985-c-c-46.html#sec163.1subsec1

UK:

In the UK all of the laws and punishments regarding Child Sex Offences are located in the Sexual Offences act.  They are listed here:

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2003/42/part/1/crossheading/child-sex-offences

The punishments for these offences vary based on the offence.  One of the main differences between the UK and Canada is that in Canada we have different rules for those aged 12-13, and those aged 14-16. In the UK they have one section for all offences committed by anyone under the age of 18 (Section 13).

The laws in the UK regarding child pornography are in the Protection of Children Act section 1 here:

www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1978/37/pdfs/ukpga_19780037_en.pdf

and in the Criminal Justice Act 1988 Section 160 here:

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1988/33/section/160

CONCLUSION:

Canada and the UK do not differ very much in regards to the punishments for child sex offences and child pornography. However, I feel that there should not be a maximum punishment for any of these offences, and there should be a minimum of at least some jail time and rehabilitation for each offender because each case differs completely from others.  This means there should be some sort of assessment when figuring out a punishment for these offenders.

Rehabilitation: Methods and Success Rates

In Canada rehabilitation is offered to sex offenders as a way to ensure that they will re-offend.  However, this rehabilitation doesn’t always work.  In this post I’ll share some information that I’ve gathered on the different methods of rehabilitation and some success/failure rates.  

The rates of child molesters reoffending in 2002 were 8.4% for incest child molesters and 19.5% for non-incest child molesters.  However, these statistics did not include any past offences that the offenders were never convicted of; they only take into account any offences that would have happened after conviction.  There are also statistics of those who have undergone treatment, and those who haven’t.  Out of the sex offenders that received treatment 19% of them re offended, and 27% of those that were untreated re offended.  This means that treatment was successful in 8% reduction in the recurring offences.  

There are many different methods of treatments for child sex offenders available, each suiting the specific needs of the person receiving the treatment.  The most important part of this treatment is assessing the situation and figuring out what the most successful method would be. 

“Correctional services staff face the challenge of assessing sex offenders to determine the best treatment program. Not all sex offenders have the same risk of re-offending. Factors that are taken under consideration include previous sexual offences, the choice of victim, and whether or not the offender has ever been married. The assessment process also looks at the life experiences of individual offenders and takes into account their psychological make-up.”-  http://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/prg/cor/acc/ff6-eng.aspx

There are also follow up programs available in order to ensure that these sex offenders are self-managing and allowing their risk factor to continue being monitored.

For more information on treatment centers and information for prevention of sex offenses you can visit the following link to the Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers:
 www.atsa.com 


Do you think rehabilitation is a good option for pedophiles or do you think they should just be incarcerated?

Information and Photos from:

http://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/prg/cor/acc/ff6-eng.aspx

http://www.johnhoward.ab.ca/pub/respaper/treatm02.pdf

Canadian Pardon Laws

In Canada criminals can apply for a Pardon, which essentially means that their offences will be erased from their criminal record.  For example, someone who has sexually abused a child can apply for a pardon, and then go and work with children again.  The criteria that must be met to be eligible for a pardon are listed here:

(Screen shot from: http://www.canlii.org/en/ca/laws/stat/rsc-1985-c-c-46/latest/rsc-1985-c-c-46.html)

In Winnipeg there is a man named Graham James who sexually assaulted teenage boys over two decades ago but was somehow still able to be coaching hockey currently.  This is because he was granted a pardon in 2007 after serving his sentence for his crimes.   Graham James is now serving another sentence for the same crime, sexually assaulting teenage boys from his hockey team.  You can read the entire story here :

http://www.torontosun.com/2012/04/07/new-law-would-bar-pardons-for-pedophiles

Canada has decided to review our pardon laws and came up with Bill C-23, which was divided into two parts: Bill C-23A and Bill C-23B.  These bills have revisions for our pardon laws that will make it impossible for people like Graham James to review pardons.  Bill C-23A has passed, but Bill C-23B is awaiting review.  You can read about these bills by clicking on the following links:

http://www.canadianpardons.ca/blogs/bill-c-23b-to-toughen-canada-pardons-rules/

http://www.parl.gc.ca/Content/LOP/LegislativeSummaries/40/3/40-3-c23b-e.pdf

http://www.dynamiclegalforms.com/record-suspension-canada-pardon-amendments-to-bill-c-23/24/

So what do you think, should it be possible for pedophiles to receive pardons? Or do you agree that these bills should be passed so that these people are never able to work around children again?

Is Pedophilia a Mental Disorder?

Before reading this post here are a few helpful definitions:

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/paraphilia?s=t

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/pedophilia?s=t

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/pedophile?s=t

So my first question is, what exactly is pedophilia? It is a type of paraphilia that involves abnormal sexual feelings towards children.  It has been said however that this is a mental disorder, but the law claims that it is a criminal act.  This is where the controversy about rehabilitation comes in, if it is a mental disorder then there should be some way to diagnose and treat it.  While researching this I came across an article by Richard Green that actually gives examples of pedophilia throughout history that was actually seen as normal by many different cultures.  If there have been times where relationships between adults and children were seen as normal can it really be considered a mental disorder? To say that would be implying that some entire cultures had mental disorders throughout history.  On the other hand though where do these urges that pedophiles are having come from? 

• The following link is to the article by Richard Green that discusses whether or not pedophilia is a mental disease:   

 http://www.taasa.org/library/pdfs/TAASALibrary85.pdf

This website http://www.minddisorders.com/Ob-Ps/Pedophilia.html claims that pedophilia IS a mental disorder and that there are criteria to be followed when diagnosing pedophilia, as well as treatments, symptoms, and causes.  These symptoms include volunteering for athletic teams, religious groups, or at schools as well as making excuses to avoid responsibilities for their actions.  It also states that pedophilia can be treated by the use of drugs such as female hormones and anti-androgen's (which block the metabolism of testosterone and reduce the level of this hormone in the blood), or by psychotherapy.

So what do you think? Is pedophilia a disease or is it just a criminal act?