Working with sex offenders: The perceptions and experiences of professionals and paraprofessionals

The last 20 years have witnessed an increase in the attention paid to crime s of sexual violence. Academic research, social services, and the general p ublic have responded to the steady rise in these crimes by subjecting them to increased scrutiny and address. Professionals and paraprofessionals resp onsible for the processing, supervision, and treatment of sex offenders are under increasing pressure. This study investigated the perceptions and exp eriences of professionals and paraprofessionals working with sex offenders. Such research is important because these perceptions influence practice. U sing a semistructured interview schedule, 23 men and women were interviewed about various aspects of their work with sex offenders for between I and 2 hours. The interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed using themati c content analysis. The findings are discussed in terms of professionals' a nd paraprofessionals' perceptions of sex offenders and their offences and t he manner in which such perceptions affect their professional practice.