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The intent of this essay is to contrast the policy emphasis of American lawmakers with that of their Canadian and European counterparts on what role law should play in dealing with non-consensual sex. One growing trend in crime policy has been governments' desire to prevent sex offences. The first section of this essay provides a brief discussion of the harms and prevalence of sexual victimization, particularly child sexual abuse (CSA). The second section summarizes key policy developments in the United States in the latter part of the 20th century and the early part of the 21st century. Most notably, it is critical to understand how the media can frame our public safety concerns about sexual violence and offending. Transitioning to the primary focus of this essay, the third and fourth sections discuss an evolution in sexual violence policy. As exemplified by laws governing civil commitment and Internet sex stings, the United States has chosen to codify sexual assault prevention. These statutes and policies are expanding governmental efforts to criminalize sexual behaviours before they result in physical harm to a victim. Centered to those laws are the erroneous assumptions that we can predict which sex offenders will inevitably reoffend, thus justifying their detention. The fifth section examines European and Canadian approaches to sex crime preventive detention. The sixth and final section distills the strengths and weakness of criminalizing sexual assault prevention on the tenet of perpetual dangerousness. With an eye toward expanding our debate about sexual violence, the role of law, and the difficulty in predicting offending, this essay seeks to challenge the practice of preventive detention in the name of public safety.

The most comprehensive book available about sex offender policies and their efficacy, Sex Offender Laws has been widely embraced as a text for courses in criminal justice, social work, and psychology. Now updated to keep pace with rapidly changing laws and policies, this second edition features an increased emphasis on policy and program alternatives. It incorporates new content on high-profile issues affecting adolescent sex offenders, critical analyses of the results of recent studies on sex offender policies, effective approaches in preventing recidivism, and cutting-edge research in the fields of criminal justice, law, forensic psychology, and social work. The second edition continues to document and assess the full gamut of laws designed to respond to and prevent sexual violence. The majority of sex offender policies-often developed as "quick fixes" in response to high-profile cases-are not based on empirical evidence, nor have they demonstrated any significant reduction in offender recidivism. This new edition showcases alternative models that offer innovative and victim-centered approaches to combating sexual violence. Expert authors explore critical, controversial topics such as sexting, Internet sexual solicitation, the death penalty, mandatory sentencing, statutory rape, age of consent laws, and community responses. The book examines the political "untouchability" of sex offender laws and their adverse effects; despite their popularity, sex offender laws have largely failed to keep people safe and actually promote an inaccurate sense of vulnerability. The text also analyzes the role of the media and presents a new chapter on Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner programs. Expert contributors include Karen Terry, author of Sexual Offenses and Offenders, and others who bring a wealth of insight to the field of sex offense. New to the Second Edition: 1. Emphasizes policy and program alternatives to currently ineffective policies 2. Provides new content on the criminalization of adolescent sexuality 3. Analyzes the role of the media in sex offense and sex offense policies 4. Critically discusses state implementation of the 2006 Adam Walsh Act 5. Introduces new policy alternatives including environmental criminology and its use toward sexual violence prevention and the increasing use of civil litigation in sexual assault cases 6. Examines the political "untouchability" of sex offender laws and their adverse affects and unintended consequences ; https://vc.bridgew.edu/fac_books/1137/thumbnail.jpg