Examining the role of faith community groups with sexual offenders: A systematic review

Kewley, S. and Beech, A.R. and Harkins, L. (2015) Examining the role of faith community groups with sexual offenders: A systematic review. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 25. pp. 142-149. ISSN 13591789

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Abstract

The aim of this paper is to examine the role of faith-based communities and activities in helping those convicted of sexual offending to desist from crime and reintegrate back into their communities. It was found that much of the current research is limited to non-offending juvenile populations. Where research has been carried out on adult offenders, these tend to be custodial cases and exclude those convicted of sexual offending. The role of religious and spiritual groups in helping people convicted of sexual offending to desist from crime, while reintegrating into the community is, therefore, unknown. A number of parallels between the factors needed to promote desistance from sexual offending and the conditions encountered when engaged with a faith community are outlined. We would note that a religious and spiritual environment can: promote motivation to change, provide access to pro-social peers, offer moral guidance, provide a support network, and help bring meaning into people's lives. The potential for people to use faith-based communities or organizations to facilitate offending are also considered. Finally, implications for probation work and future research are also discussed. © 2015 Elsevier Ltd.

Item Type: Article
Identification Number: 10.1016/j.avb.2015.07.016
Dates:
Date
Event
5 August 2015
Published Online
29 July 2015
Accepted
Uncontrolled Keywords: Desistance, Faith groups, Rehabilitation, Sexual offenders, behavior change, community integration, compassion, coping behavior, delinquency, forgiveness, group dynamics, human, human relation, impulsiveness, mindfulness, morality, motivation, perception, personal experience, priority journal, recidivism, redemption, religion, reparation, respect, Review, safety, self concept, sexual crime, social bonding, social support, systematic review
Subjects: CAH15 - social sciences > CAH15-01 - sociology, social policy and anthropology > CAH15-01-02 - sociology
Divisions: Faculty of Business, Law and Social Sciences > College of Law, Social and Criminal Justice
Depositing User: Hussen Farooq
Date Deposited: 09 Dec 2016 11:48
Last Modified: 11 Jun 2024 12:50
URI: https://www.open-access.bcu.ac.uk/id/eprint/1327

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