This distortion has come from highly publicised news stories in the past such as the murder of eight year old Sarah Payne by paedophile Roy Whiting in 2000, who took Sarah while she was playing with her brothers and sister near her grandparents house. It was later revealed that Whiting had previous convictions for an earlier sexual offence, and this stimulated debates about the appropriate monitoring of sexual offenders (Thomas, 2003). It has also led to calls for a ‘Sarah’s Law’, whereby local communities would have the right to be informed of the details of those convicted for sexual offences who lived nearby. This demand for the ‘right to know’ (Kitzinger, 1999) was further exacerbated by The News of the World’s ‘name and shame’ campaign (2002, cited in Matravers 2003) which generated a growing moral panic around ‘stranger danger’ and resulted in vigilante action.
Another cause of much of the previous attention has been following the emergence of ‘grooming’, whereby adults endeavour to build relationships with children online, in an attempt to develop inappropriate relationships offline. It is reported that one in five children have approached by paedophiles online and there are examples of cases such as that of Patrick Green who sexually abused a young girl following initial contact in a chartroom (The Guardian, 2001). Due to its level of interactivity, with provisions for online chat, instant messaging, and online gaming and social networks, the internet is a very attractive medium for children and hence makes it the ideal place for sexual offenders to groom children.
It is cases like these, in which the media plays a key role in framing public perceptions of sexual offenders and their crimes. A narrative study conducted by Gavin (2005) found that the dominant narrative found in articles about child sex offenders contained words such as; Stranger, male, older, evil and uncontrollable and with the majority of their victims being female.
The media outlets have now seem to have taken a turn on reported the more sensational offences, which are in fact a rarity, and are now reporting on the knowledge that these offences are actually committed by those known to the child or to the child’s family. The most current form of sexual offences against children that is being more frequently reported on within the recent years has been that of paedophile rings located within children’s nurseries, taking the offender away from being the ‘unknown’ and placing them in a situation to where they are known to their victims and their families. One of the most recent cases of this is the case of Vanessa George and the 2009 Plymouth child abuse case, where a paedophile ring of five members were taking indecent photographs of child as well as committing sexual offences against them. Vanessa and at least two other members of the ring had worked in the nurseries of their victims (The Guardian, 2009).
Although the perceptions of those who commit sexual offences against children are very similar to those who commit sexual offences against other members of society, it is believed that those who offend against children are perceived as more dangerous, not because of who the offender is but because of who their victims are; children (Craissati, 1998).
Whether the victim is known to the offender or not, when it comes to a child victim, there is an outcry of moral panic and increased fear. This is because a child does not deserve to become a victim of any sort, let alone a victim of a sexual offence. When members of society read reports about a sexual crime committed against a child, the most common perceptions about the victim are those based around the child’s innocence, how they are unable to defend themselves against a much older and stronger offender, and, particularly in the cases where the victim is known to the offender, how the position of trust has been abused and broken.
References
Cobley, C., 2000. Sex Offenders: Law, Policy & Practice. Bristol: Jordons.
Craisstia, J., 1998. Child Sexual Abusers: A Community Treatment Approach. UK: Psychology Press Ltd.
Gavin, H., 2005. The Social Construction of the Child Sex Offender Explored by Narrative. The Qualitative Report Volume 10 Number 3 September 2005 395-415
The Guardian, 2009. Vanessa George: from angel to paedophile. Steven Morris and Helen Carter .guardian.co.uk, retrieved on January 07, 2011 at
Home Office, 2001. The Offender Assessment System OASys. London: Home Office
Kitzinger, J., 1999. Researching risk and the media. Health, Risk and Society, 1 (1), p55-70.
Kitzinger, J., & Skidmore, P., 1995. Playing safe: media coverage of child sexual abuse prevention strategies. Child Abuse Review, 4, 47-56. LONDON PROBATION AREA, 2003. Sex Offenders: Operational Strategy. London: LPA.
News of The World, 2000. Named, Shamed. In: A. Matravers. Sex Offenders in the Community Managing & Reducing the Risks. ed. USA: Willan Publishing
Thomas, T., 2003. Sex Offender Community Notification: Experiences from America. The Howard Journal. Vol 42, (3) p217-228