Secrecy, control and violence in women's intimate relationships with child sexual abuse material offenders

Person sitting in front of computer with fist clenched
Abstract

Many child sexual abuse material (CSAM) offenders have non-offending partners and children who are impacted by their CSAM use. However, the specific dynamics of CSAM offending within a relationship or family context have been overlooked in forensic research, while scholarship on domestic violence and coercive control has not focused on CSAM offending as a possible correlate of domestic abuse. This paper presents the findings of the first study to examine the crossover between domestic violence, coercive control and CSAM offending in intimate relationships.

References

URLs correct as at November 2022

Ahmadabadi Z, Najman JM, Williams GM, Clavarino AM, d’Abbs P & Abajobir AA 2018. Maternal intimate partner violence victimization and child maltreatment. Child Abuse & Neglect 82: 23–33. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2018.05.017

Babchishin KM, Hanson RK & VanZuylen HJ 2015. Online child pornography offenders are different: A meta-analysis of the characteristics of online and offline sex offenders against children. Archives of Sexual Behaviour 44(1): 45–66. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-014-0270-x

Bancroft L & Miller M 2012. The batterer as incest perpetrator. In L Bancroft, J Silverman & D Ritchie (eds), The batterer as parent 2. California: Sage: 107–122. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781452240480.n4

Bouhours & Broadhurst R 2012. On-line child sex offenders: Report on a sample of peer to peer offenders arrested between July 2010–June 2011. Canberra: Australian National University. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2174815

Bowen K 2000. Child abuse and domestic violence in families of children seen for suspected sexual abuse. Clinical Pediatrics 39(1): 33–40. https://doi.org/10.1177/000992280003900104

Brem MJ et al. 2021. Problematic pornography use and physical and sexual intimate partner violence perpetration among men in batterer intervention programs. Journal of Interpersonal Violence 36(11–12): NP6085–NP6105. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260518812806

Brown R & Bricknell S 2018. What is the profile of child exploitation material offenders? Trends & issues in crime and criminal justice no. 564. Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology. https://www.aic.gov.au/publications/tandi/tandi564

Bursztein E et al. 2019. Rethinking the detection of child sexual abuse imagery on the internet. Paper presented at the World Wide Web Conference. https://doi.org/10.1145/3308558.3313482

Duncan K, Wakeham A, Winder B, Blagden N & Armitage R 2022. “Grieving someone who’s still alive, that’s hard”: The experiences of non-offending partners of individuals who have sexually offended–an IPA study. Journal of Sexual Aggression. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/13552600.2021.2024611

Gallo A 2020. Treatment for non-contact sexual offenders: What we know and what we need. Sexual Addiction & Compulsivity 27(1–2): 149–163. https://doi.org/10.1080/10720162.2020.1751359

Henshaw M, Ogloff JR & Clough JA 2017. Looking beyond the screen: A critical review of the literature on the online child pornography offender. Sexual Abuse 29(5): 416–445. https://doi.org/10.1177/1079063215603690

Jones C, Salter M & Woodlock D 2022. “Someone who has been in my shoes”: The effectiveness of a peer support model for providing support to partners, family and friends of child sexual abuse material offenders. Victims & Offenders. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/15564886.2022.2051108

Jones C, Woodlock D & Salter M 2021. Evaluation of PartnerSPEAK. Sydney: University of New South Wales.  https://www.academia.edu/60971032/Evaluation_of_PartnerSPEAK

Kellogg ND & Menard SW 2003. Violence among family members of children and adolescents evaluated for sexual abuse. Child Abuse & Neglect 27(12): 1367–1376. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2003.10.008

King N, Horrocks C & Brooks J 2019. Interviews in qualitative research. Los Angeles, CA: Sage

Richters J et al. 2014. Who’s cheating? Agreements about sexual exclusivity and subsequent concurrent partnering in Australian heterosexual couples. Sexual Health 11(6): 524–531. https://doi.org/10.1071/SH14031

Salter A 2018. Predators: Pedophiles, rapists, and other sex offenders. Basic Books

Salter M & Wong WT 2021. The impact of COVID-19 on the risk of online child sexual exploitation and the implications for child protection and policing. Sydney: University of New South Wales. https://www.arts.unsw.edu.au/sites/default/files/documents/eSafety-OCSE-pandemic-report-salter-and-wong.pdf

Salter M, Wong WT, Breckenridge J, Scott S, Cooper S & Peleg N 2021. Production and distribution of child sexual abuse material by parental figures. Trends & issues in crime and criminal justice no. 616. Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology. https://doi.org/10.52922/ti04916

Seto M, Buckman C, Dwyer R & Quayle E 2018. Production and active trading of child sexual exploitation images depicting identified victims. National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. https://calio.dspacedirect.org/handle/11212/4669

Shope JH 2004. When words are not enough: The search for the effect of pornography on abused women. Violence Against Women 10(1): 56–72. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077801203256003

Simmons CA, Lehmann P & Collier-Tenison S 2008. Linking male use of the sex industry to controlling behaviors in violent relationships: An exploratory analysis. Violence Against Women 14(4): 406–417. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077801208315066

Stark E 2007. Coercive control: The entrapment of women in personal life. New York, NY: Oxford University Press

Walker N 2019. Intentional peer support as a trauma informed response to the partners of perpetrators of child sexual abuse material. Winston Churchill Memorial Trust of Australia. https://www.churchilltrust.com.au/fellow/natalie-walker-vic-2017/

Whitaker DJ  et al. 2008. Risk factors for the perpetration of child sexual abuse: A review and meta-analysis. Child Abuse & Neglect 32(5): 529–548. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2007.08.005