Hi there! Heavy topic, but a close family member has been charged with sexual assault and I’m looking to do some academic reading to help me make sense of everything and form an informed opinion.
When I’ve looked for literature on my own, I’ve found most fall into one of two categories:
a) Making excuses for offenders and victim-blaming
b) all sex offenders deserve the death penalty
I was hoping to find something that falls somewhere between the two extremes. Something that addresses how a just society would handle sexual violence, and how to hold space for both supporting victims and rehabilitating offenders. Something that helps answer the question of whether rehabilitation is even possible.
I’ve seen some people recommend The Feminist and the Sex Offender by Judith Levine, but I’ve also seen a lot of criticism that she tends to make excuses for offenders and blame victims, so I’m not sure if I want to read it, but I haven’t found anything else that claims to handle the topic better.
Ideally looking for a female author. I’m fine with full books or even academic publications.
I’m also fine with literature that ultimately does come to the conclusion that sex criminals are irredeemable, as long as it has research to back it up. I just see a lot of people with (understandably) super heightened emotions on this topic and I’d like to try to learn about it from a more detached and clinical standpoint.
Thank you!
by Suspicious-Sorbet276