@article{ref1,
title=""While this does not in any way excuse my conduct . . . ": the role of treatment and neutralizations in desistance from sexual offending",
journal="International journal of offender therapy and comparative criminology",
year="2016",
author="Hulley, Joanne L.",
volume="ePub",
number="ePub",
pages="ePub-ePub",
abstract="This article explores the role of neutralizations in desistance from sexual offending. The project involved interviews with 15 men convicted of a sexual offence against a child and living in the community for between 1 and 15 years following a period of incarceration. The majority had undertaken sex offender treatment and highlighted its utility. Participants less than 9 years post-release tended to neutralize their offending via the technique of &quot;denial of responsibility,&quot; while those 9 years plus post-release displayed less evidence of neutralizations. Treatment programmes may exclude those with high levels of denial and minimization, which I argue to be misguided and potentially dangerous. <br><br>FINDINGS indicate that neutralizations assist desistance from sexual offending by allowing for the negotiation of stigma and rejection of the &quot;sex offender&quot; label, thus providing for the development of a non-offending, prosocial identity.<br><br>© The Author(s) 2016.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0306-624X",
doi="10.1177/0306624X16668177",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0306624X16668177"
}