Sexual offending: The evolution of associated issues, as well as its social, legal and clinical realities
Délinquance sexuelle: l’évolution des enjeux et des réalités sociales, judiciaires et cliniques
Published on Thursday, May 15, 2025
Abstract
The realities of perpetrators, victims, loved ones and those working in the field of sexual offending have changed, if not been overturned. What do we currently know about these new realities and the issues surrounding prevention, detection, assessment and intervention regarding sexual offences? How are social, legal and clinical perspectives and practices evolving? This thematic issue aims to review current scientific knowledge on sexual delinquency from various perspectives and disciplines, as well as identify the issues inherent in the evolution of these perspectives.
Announcement
Guest editors
Julie Carpentier et Patrick Lussier
Argument
Traditionally, sexual offending has primarily been considered through the lens of justice and psychiatry. More recently, #MeToo movements and social media have played a crucial role in both freeing up victims to speak out and challenging the social norms surrounding sexuality and consent. They have also shed light on the complexity of sexual offending, demonstrating that beyond behaviour considered to be crimes of a sexual nature, there are additional forms of behaviour and misconduct that no longer will be tolerated. These collective realizations have highlighted the many facets of sexual offending, underlining social issues and challenges that call for a joint response, although one which remains difficult to identify. Sexual misconduct and other forms of transgression of current sexual norms are denounced in the virtual public arena. Beyond the legal system, which is viewed as inadequate and unjust, the perpetrators of these offences and misconduct are being “cancelled.” Workplaces have undergone numerous upheavals in terms of interpersonal relations, marked by sexual harassment complaints. Meanwhile, social change occurring via the development of technology (e.g., the Internet, dating sites, social media), has encouraged the emergence of new forms of online sexual offending, as well as the proliferation of certain offences, including the possession, distribution and production of child pornography, luring, the non-consensual sharing of intimate images and making sexually explicit material available to children. The significant increase in prevalence rates for these kinds of offences has completely changed the complexion of sexual offending.
On the judicial front, the past few decades have been marked by the strengthening of laws relating to sexual crimes. Measures such as the creation of national sex offender registries, the imposition of minimum sentences for sexual offences against children and the tightening of release conditions have been introduced to prevent repeat offending and ensure public safety. The effectiveness of these measures, however, remains inconclusive. Studies, for example, have shown that national sex offender registries are ineffective in reducing recidivism, and that they contribute to the stigmatization of sex offenders, while also hindering their social reintegration. Alongside social grievances calling out the numerous injustices and poor quality that characterizes the judicial response to crimes of a sexual nature, research clearly shows that sexual recidivism rates have fallen dramatically in Canada and the United States since the 1970s. Concurrently, although much less publicized, significant changes in police practices have also been observed: the development of a more specialized police force for investigating sexual crimes, the emergence of specialized sexual crimes investigation units, the increase in the number of women in the police force, and strategies and innovations aimed in particular at detecting cases of child pornography.
In Quebec, considerable progress in our clinical understanding of sexual offending occurred in the 1990s and 2000s but has since stagnated. In a context where sexual delinquency comes in various forms and manifestations, the gap between explanatory models and clinical realities is widening. Nevertheless, research has identified the individual, familial and social risk factors associated with the development and maintenance of such behaviour, thereby paving the way for new approaches and prevention and treatment programs based on best practices. Risk and needs assessment tools have been developed and are now used almost systematically in pre-sentence settings and sexual offence treatment programs. However, few of these tools and treatment programs are adapted to new contemporary realities. The definitions of “normality,” sexual “deviance” and paraphilias have also been called into question in recent years and continue to be debated, while also needing to further evolve to reflect the changes occurring in society. In Canada, in the midst of these developments and upheavals, scientifically rigorous research rooted in sexology has gradually slowed down. Despite this, the challenges are numerous and significant, including offering therapy to non-judicialized people struggling with problems of sexual delinquency, the therapeutic implications of which remain poorly understood.
Topics
We invite contributions on the following topics (the list is not intended to be exhaustive):
- New forms of sexual offending
- Sexual offending in institutional settings
- Victimization surveys and prevalence rates
- Explanatory models of sexual offending and their contemporary relevance
- Disclosure and complaints of sexual violence
- The investigation of crimes of a sexual nature and related issues
- Secondary prevention in sexual offending
- The new realities of assessment and intervention for perpetrators and victims of sexual offences
- Developmental aspects of sexual offending
- Juvenile justice and reports of sexual violence
- Sexual offending and the life course
- Youth protection in relation to problematic sexual behaviour
- Intervention and treatment models and therapeutic issues
- Issues related to supervision and community follow-up of perpetrators of sexual offences
- Desistance and socio-community reintegration of perpetrators of sexual offences.
In order to submit a paper
In order to submit a paper to this special issue, please send the names, affiliations and contact details of the authors to Julie.Carpentier@uqtr.ca and patrick.lussier@tsc.ulaval.ca. Your proposal must also include a title and an abstract of 250 to 500 words.
The deadline to submit your proposal is July 10, 2025.
Those selected will be invited to submit the first draft of the full paper by October 10, 2025. The drafts will be peerreviewed, and the requested modifications will be expected by April 10, 2026. The articles are expected to be published in the Fall 2026 issue.
Criminologie Journal
The journal Criminologie, founded by Denis Szabo in 1968, is published by Les Presses de l’Université de Montréal. One of the first social science journals in Quebec, it is now the only francophone criminology journal in North America.
Since 2002, the journal Criminologie has also been available on the Érudit digital distribution platform. All issues since 1968 are digitized and available online. Since 2017, the journal Criminologie has offered full open access to all of its publications. Also, the online article management platform (http://www.criminologie.ca) allows authors to submit their scientific articles. Each issue offers around ten themed articles as well as offtheme articles.
Subjects
- Sociology (Main category)
- Society > Ethnology, anthropology > Social anthropology
- Society > Sociology > Gender studies
- Society > Law > Sociology of law
- Society > Political studies > Political sociology
- Society > Sociology > Sociology of health
- Society > Sociology > Sociology of culture
- Society > Sociology > Criminology
Date(s)
- Thursday, July 10, 2025
Attached files
Keywords
- Délinquance sexuelle, violence sexuelle, prévention, intervention, justice pénale, norme sociale
Contact(s)
- Lune Wagner
courriel : coordonnatrice [at] criminologie [dot] ca - Antoine Chopin
courriel : assistant [at] criminologie [dot] ca - David Décary-Hétu
courriel : admin [at] criminologie [dot] ca
Reference Urls
Information source
- Lune Wagner
courriel : coordonnatrice [at] criminologie [dot] ca
License
This announcement is licensed under the terms of Creative Commons - Attribution 4.0 International - CC BY 4.0 .
To cite this announcement
Julie Carpentier, Patrick Lussier, « Sexual offending: The evolution of associated issues, as well as its social, legal and clinical realities », Call for papers, Calenda, Published on Thursday, May 15, 2025, https://doi.org/10.58079/13xgu
