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From Victim to Offender: How Child Sexual Abuse Victims Become Offenders

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This book offers a series of very graphic and painfully depressing
recollections of child abuse by victims (mostly boys) that eventually
became offenders. The graphic nature of these revelations may be too
much for more sensitive readers. The most shocking revelations do not
include the means of sexual, physical and emotional abuse that these
children suffered through, but the individuals that perpetrated this
abuse and the total lack of any moral or religious impediments to
their behavior.

In the case of one of these children, the abusers
were part of the foster care system of Australia (Department of
Community Development), i.e., a religious organization that was
licensed by the State to care for children in the foster care system. ...
In the case of another boy sent to a boys home, also licensed by the
State, this child was subjected to sexual torture that defies the most
depraved imagination.

What this book lacks is answers to some of the
most basic questions surrounding child abuse...Why some children who
are severely abused do not themselves become abusers while others do
abuse children as adults? Why do some individuals become child
abusers who have not been subjected to abuse as children? Are there
treatment regimens for adult child abusers that are indeed successful
or do we need to lock up the abusers for the rest of their lives to
protect our children?

In the final analysis this book is basically
just a depressing series of recollections by adults severely abused as
children. ...

Graphicly detailing the abuse suffered and administered by these victims turned offenders, this book is definitely not for everyone. This is raw, this is gritty, and WILL NOT do anything to aid in the recovery of a victim, an offender, or their spouses. If anything, such graphic retellings can cause flashbacks and regression... definitely do not read if you are currently in treatment!

I envision that the people that most often pick this book up are offenders who were victims, victims that fear becoming offenders, and their parents and spouses... and they are looking in the wrong place. If your intent is to understand offenders, or heal an offender, look at books on sexual addiction-- Patrick J. Carnes is the best in that field. If you are looking to understand a victim or stop the cycle from victim to offender, there are MANY wonderful books out there on victims recovery... and the best way for a victim not to become an offender themselves is to put their heart into their therapy, and also release their anger. The anger and confusion left behind by abuse are the seeds that eventually grow into becoming a sexually abusive individual yourself.

If you are looking for TRUE insight into the minds of sexual offenders, then this is the book for you. The book is a collection of stories from actual offenders in Australia. It is not for those with weak stomachs or hearts. It is for those who truly want to understand how the mind of an offender works. These guys were all in jail where they underwent a specialized treatment program...after the other inmates and staff were educated so the sex offenders could be housed with regular criminals. They are not novelists and nothing is sugar-coated. Some stories are apologies to victims, while others continue to minimize their offenses. Either way, the reader gets an unabridged version of the thoughts of sex offenders, without a lot of psychological, investigative, analytical commentary...just the dark truth.

This is not a book for those who want to justify their own views or religious position, or politicize this very troubling problem.

Freda presents work from her research with 'real life' pedophiles and asks the hard questions about how they came to be and what should we as a society do about them? She brings to light things that most would have kept hidden in a dark place. Indeed much of the book is made up of the stories of the abused.... who have in turn become abusers.

To those who just want to lock them up and throw away the key- she challenges that this 'denial' will allow use to continually overlook how this terrible social plague arises and doom us to continually repeating history. Freda argues that incarceration - with appropriate treatement is an appropriate way to mend these 'bent' people and help reduce the likelihood that their actions do not re-emerge if (and when) they are released.

Interestingly the commonly held view of 'dirty old men' seems to be the flipside of reality - where family and friend and older youths are often those who abuse most often.

What causes some of the abused to become abusers themselves? Freda's conclusion is that those who blame their abusers for the crime tend to turn out alright, while those that blame themselves (I asked for it, there must be something about me that attracted him) more likely become abusers in their own right.


For those who abhor child abusers- it may even spark a small light of compassion for these 'broken specimens' who were once innocent children themselves - only to have this stolen and then grow into a monster withig themselves. Given that we can't always lock the away for 'the term of their natural lives' something evidence based should be done.

A riveting but dark read, and disturbing to come face to face with such depravity, not a bed-time read. Painful realizing that it is unlikely that the implications of her research face an uphill battle to change the way society and the criminal justice system sees this very important issue.

This book shows how hurt the victims become, how one moment in a lifetime can ruin a life. It is inspirational and shows how careful we must be with the young children of the world