Resiliency in the Victim-Offender Cycle in Male Sexual Abuse

Abstract

The prevalence of childhood sexual abuse in sexual offenders is considerably higher than that in the general population. This finding had led to the 'victim-offender cycle' being popularised as an explanation for sexual offending. There are many reasons contributing to the victim-offender cycle in male sexual abuse but little available literature outlining the reasons why many male victims of sexual abuse do not go on to sexually offend. The present study examined the moderating factors which stop a male victim of sexual abuse from entering the victim-offender cycle. A secondary purpose was to identify possible reasons why men sexually offend who are not victims of sexual abuse. Three groups were interviewed as part of the study. A resilient group (n:47), a victim-offender group (n:41), and finally an offender group (n:50). Significant differences were found between the sexually abused groups. Primarily the resilient group received more intra and inter-familial emotional and social support, had more peer friendships, were more educated, had fewer siblings, and were less likely to report sexual fantasies and sexual desire about young children, compared with both offender groups. The resilient group were more likely to internalise the effects of their sexual abuse, while the victim-offender group displayed more externalising effects, which included being physically abusive towards others. The participants in the resilient group were more likely to report being abused by less than three offenders and they were less likely to fantasise and masturbate about their own abuse. The resilient group reported receiving more emotional comfort from their abuse experience. The resilient group cited empathy for potential victims as the most common reason for not sexually offending. There were also a small number of significant differences between the two sexually abused groups regarding their sexual abuse experience. The victim-offender group reported more external reasons for sexually offending, as opposed to the offender group who reported more internal reasons. The findings support the need for multifactorial models of resiliency, the victim-offender cycle, and sexual offending. Recommendations about the prevention of the victim-offender cycle are made including the need for a thorough systemic assessment of all male victims of sexual abuse and the involvement of their family in counselling.