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The Cycle of Offense: A Framework for Treating Adolescent Sexual Offenders
By Ineke F. Way, & Stephen D. Spieker, Notre Dame: Jalice Publishers, 1997, 76 pages, $ 13.99
Sexual abuse is a crime that is prevalent in today’s society. When young boys are the victims of this crime we seldom hear about it until they have reached adulthood, thus we assume it is a rare occurrence. However, this year alone tens of thousands of boys in the United States will suffer through the horrific effects of sexual abuse. In Abused Boys Mic Hunter, along with selected clients, depicts how these boys will be damaged by these acts physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. But more importantly, Hunter paints a picture of hope for survivors of sexual abuse and gives them the tools they need to find the strength to recover and heal from this heinous crime.
Abused Boys is geared primarily toward male survivors of sexual abuse, their partners, and the professionals who counsel them. However, this book could be found useful by anyone who wants to learn more about sexual abuse. This book would not be appropriate for women who were sexually abused. While female sexual abuse is mentioned in this book, the focus is on male abuse victims. This book is easy to read and is written at a level that the majority of adults could easily understand. However, due to the nature of the material, caution should be used when recommending this book to young adults, unless they have gone through the abuse themselves.
Hunter makes sure the reader of this book is an active participant. At the end of each section he encourages the reader to write down the answers to specific questions in order for them to personalize the material. The questions are designed for readers to be able to access more of their emotions and memories. They are also useful for the loved ones of abuse victims because it will help them understand what emotions the victims are going through, as well as what emotions they themselves are going through during this healing process. Some examples of these questions are: “What emotions did you experience while reading about the various types of sexual abuse?” (p. 23) and “How is your (your partner’s) story similar to Ruth’s?” (p. 180). When this book is used in conjunction with psychotherapy it would be helpful for the psychotherapist and client to discuss these questions.
The first chapter is dedicated to defining sexual abuse. Hunter defines sexual abuse as “any sexual act that an adult does to a child” (p. 3). Hunter also lists and describes in detail the various types of sexual abuse. Examples range from the adult sexually touching the child to showing the child pornographic materials or making them available to the child. Common misconceptions about sexual abuse are also addressed in this chapter. Myths, such as children provoke sexual abuse and males who were sexually abused as boys will grow up to abuse children themselves, are addressed. The way Hunter confronts these myths will help victims of sexual abuse reduce their feelings of guilt as well as other negative beliefs they may have about themselves.
Chapter two helps the survivors realize that they are not alone. This chapter examines the frequency of sexual abuse and the reasons male sexual abuse victims are under-identified. Often the individual’s definition of sexual abuse does not include what happened to him, or if a victim is in therapy, the deep-rooted causes of his presenting problems are never addressed. Thus, the issue of sexual abuse is never brought up. Men also have problems identifying themselves as victims of sexual abuse especially when the abuser is a woman. Society has difficulty envisioning a woman as a perpetrator of sexual abuse and often believes that it is the boy who is responsible for what has occurred.
Hunter also describes the factors affecting the impact of childhood sexual abuse on the individuals who experience it. These factors include the age at which the abuse began, how long it lasted, and how frequent it was. At the end of this chapter, easy to understand tables are provided for the reader to see the statistics surrounding these factors. For example, one chart depicts the parents’ reactions to discovery of sexual abuse; 90% of parents were angry with the perpetrator while 10% were annoyed with the child. Since many victims fear the reaction of their parents to the discovery of abuse, this table should help them realize that the majority of parents become emotionally upset, feel badly for not protecting the child, and angry with the perpetrator, while very few parents blame the child or accuse the child of inventing the story.
The physical, mental, emotional, behavioral, and spiritual areas of the victim’s life are all affected by the abuse. Not only are AIDS and other sexual diseases some of the physical problems that may be caused by sexual abuse, but often the victim becomes unaware of his body in respect to the rest of the world. They often “check out” so abuse occurs only to their body and not them. Many boys experience a dissociative response to the abuse. Mentally, the abuse teaches the child not to trust his thoughts and perceptions of the world. Child sexual abuse may predispose someone to disorders such as borderline personality disorder, dysthymia, or dependent personality disorder. Abuse victims are greatly affected by emotions such as guilt, fear, anger, and shame. Some victims may become addicted to drinking, drugs, or food. They may end up in abusive relationships, or have problems involving sex. All of these difficulties may result from the sexual abuse they experienced as children. Spiritually, children often believe that they are being punished by God as a way of understanding why they are being abused, or that God did not protect them, therefore, destroying their faith in him. At the end of this section Hunter explains to the reader that up until this point he has only been focusing on how sexual abuse is harmful, the reader is now to take what he has learned from this and bring it into the section on the healing process.
In the next few chapters Hunter goes over various recovery issues, especially the emotions surrounding these issues. He reviews different groups that an abuse victim can become a part of. Hunter believes the five stages of recovery are denial, bargaining, anger, sadness, and acceptance/forgiveness. Hunter reviews various techniques he uses in these various stages as well. Many of these techniques could be helpful to clinicians dealing with clients who have been sexually abused. For example, Hunter encourages his clients to express their anger in appropriate ways such as hitting pillows or throwing old plates in the basement.
Hunter also breaks down recovery into the same life aspects mentioned previously. Physically, victims of abuse need to begin to value their bodies, take care of them, and treat them well. Mentally, in recovery, victims need to question beliefs they had before, they need to describe their abuse and be confident in their perceptions. Emotionally, they need to become aware of their emotions and to end their feelings of shame. Hunter suggests doing a nightly inventory of feelings; such as writing down sentences like, “I feel [emotion word] because [situation in which you had the emotion]” (p. 127). Behaviorally, Hunter suggests that victims need to find a psychotherapist who specializes in the victim’s area of addiction. It is also suggested that victims should assess all the relationships they are presently in and sort out the bad ones and the good ones. Also, victims should feel comfortable discussing their feelings, emotions, and thoughts regarding sex with their partners; this will help resolve sexual issues that the victims may be having. For the spiritual aspect of abuse, Hunter suggests talking with a clergyperson who understands the impact of sexual abuse and spirituality; this will help break the connection between abuse and spirituality.
Finally, Hunter teaches victims how to chose a psychotherapist that would be right for them. He provides the reader a list of questions to ask potential psychotherapists. Hunter also touches upon recovery issues for partners. He reviews various emotional responses they may feel, how they should respond to someone who has been abused, and how to get support for themselves.
Perhaps the most important section of this book is Part II, the Survival Stories. These are the stories of men who have survived sexual abuse. What makes these stories so special is that they were written specifically for this book by the actual survivors themselves. Through these last chapters, sexual abuse victims learn that they are not alone in what they went through. They have the ability to read through these stories, learn what other people went through, and how they are recovering from it. These first person accounts have the ability to give sexual abuse victims hope. Also included in these chapters are stories from loved ones of sexual abuse survivors. Hearing a first hand account of what it was like to be together with someone who was sexually abused may prove to be very helpful for partners in the same situation. Hunter also includes notes throughout the stories to provide added insight and details about the individual’s specific situation. These are helpful because he adds more of a clinical aspect in explaining why the victim was feeling a certain way at a specific time.
Finally, Hunter includes a list of resources for victims of sexual abuse. He lists a broad range of organizations that are available to victims. He also provides a list of reading material that focuses on various problems that occur with sexual abuse such as sex addiction.
Before recommending this book the psychotherapist must first assess whether the client is ready for the graphic content it contains and whether the client is ready to relate it to his own life. This book may be a source of great emotional pain for some victims and the therapist should be prepared for this.
In conclusion, before recommending this to a client, it is suggested that the psychotherapist read the book carefully. It may not be right for certain types of psychological orientations. For example, the case studies have a strong psychodynamic framework about them. There is a lot of discussion about Oedipal complexes, hypnosis and repressed memories. While on the other hand, the main text of the book seems to focus on a client-centered framework with a great deal of emphasis placed on the emotions that the client is feeling. However, regardless of theoretical orientation, this book can help survivors of sexual abuse realize they are not alone in their abuse and give them insight into how others who suffered through similar circumstances are learning to heal and recover.