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Apr. 24th, 2007 02:24 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
nonionayI just got back from a class at DVSAS about sex offender treatment. Pretty intense stuff. Three people talked - an adult treatment provider, a juvenile treatment provider, and the lady who heads the Sexual Assault program at DVSAS.
She runs a victim empathy class, where she attempts to get offenders to empathize with their victims and understand that they're hurting people. Listening to her, I had this cynical thing in my stomach, wondering how well that would actually work. How many, after all, are even capable of empathy. But we were told that only about 2% of them are antisocial/sociopathic, and those are mostly on McNeil Island, never to return. I know someone who works there, and I've got hellsa respect for her.
Anyway, at the empathy class, they ask the teacher what she thinks about them, if she hates them. And she was always happy for a chance to show them respect, because as she said, we just throw these people away, and leave them without hope.
And it's true. It's one of the biggest moral dilemmas I think we face. What do we do with these people? We tell them to live normal lives, but never give them a chance to do it. We require them to get jobs and houses, but refuse to give them. Just like with alcoholism, eating disorders, or any other addictive means of controlling yourself and blocking out the pain and shame, it takes a lifetime of work to keep it under control, but for many, it is possible. And just as with alcoholism, they can never expose themselves to temptation. But they can't do it without someone to listen to them without judgement and help them work down the deepseated issues that drive their behavior.
As with everything, we need a balance of justice and mercy.
The juvenile program was the creepiest. He talked about treating five year old boys who were doing inappropriate things. He treats kids who set their mom's hair on fire and tear rabbits apart. But if you can treat them young, you can often keep things from happening later on.
I, of course, am incredibly fascinated by themes of falling and redemption. It's definitely prominent in my writing.
She runs a victim empathy class, where she attempts to get offenders to empathize with their victims and understand that they're hurting people. Listening to her, I had this cynical thing in my stomach, wondering how well that would actually work. How many, after all, are even capable of empathy. But we were told that only about 2% of them are antisocial/sociopathic, and those are mostly on McNeil Island, never to return. I know someone who works there, and I've got hellsa respect for her.
Anyway, at the empathy class, they ask the teacher what she thinks about them, if she hates them. And she was always happy for a chance to show them respect, because as she said, we just throw these people away, and leave them without hope.
And it's true. It's one of the biggest moral dilemmas I think we face. What do we do with these people? We tell them to live normal lives, but never give them a chance to do it. We require them to get jobs and houses, but refuse to give them. Just like with alcoholism, eating disorders, or any other addictive means of controlling yourself and blocking out the pain and shame, it takes a lifetime of work to keep it under control, but for many, it is possible. And just as with alcoholism, they can never expose themselves to temptation. But they can't do it without someone to listen to them without judgement and help them work down the deepseated issues that drive their behavior.
As with everything, we need a balance of justice and mercy.
The juvenile program was the creepiest. He talked about treating five year old boys who were doing inappropriate things. He treats kids who set their mom's hair on fire and tear rabbits apart. But if you can treat them young, you can often keep things from happening later on.
I, of course, am incredibly fascinated by themes of falling and redemption. It's definitely prominent in my writing.
