Experiences of Non-offending Family Members
Non-offending family members are often viewed as a valuable protective resource for offenders, supporting post-accusation/conviction adjustment and reducing risk of re-offending. Learn more by reviewing Elaine Kavanagh’s thesis, “An Investigation of the Lived Experiences of Non-offending Family Members of Men Who Download Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM).”
Chapter 1 Introduction
“It is hell on earth. There is no other way I can describe it. Why didn’t I notice? Is there something I should have seen? Does that make it my fault? What do I say to the children? We will be publicly identified in the papers, but we have no say in this, it has landed on our door. We are looking at getting extra security for the house. Looking back, I wish I had thrown out the f***ing internet”.
These quotes represent the voices of innocent partners and mothers of those accused and/or convicted of downloading child sexual abuse material (CSAM1) in an Irish broadsheet newspaper, the Irish Times (Holmquist; 2003; Maguire, 2018), and offer insight into the many different ways that family members are affected by discovery of a sexual offence. Family members find themselves shunned by others (including other family members), ignored by their social networks and fearful of community retaliation for a crime they did not commit (Holmquist, 2003).
The victimization caused by CSAM offences, indeed sexual crime in general, extends far beyond primary victims and into the world of their nonoffending family members, who can feel that their lives are ruined due to a public outcry against sexual crimes (Harper & Hogue, 2015; King & Roberts, 2017; Malinen, Willis & Johnson, 2014; Olver & Barlow, 2010). The strength of such public outcry can be so intense that family members feel ostracized even though it was one individual (the offender), not the entire family that had sinned (Condry, 2007; Holmquist, 2003; Sample Cooley & ten Bensel, 2018).
Reports of CSAM on the internet are increasing at a rapid rate (Bursztein, Bright, Clarke, Delaune, Elifff…Thomas, 2019). In Ireland, Hotline.ie, an Irish national reporting 1CSAM refers to images or videos of child sexual exploitation that are shared via the internet. 1 centre, noted that since its inception in November 1999, 51% of all CSAM ever identified was recorded in 2019 and 2020, highlighting the sharp and rapid rise in demand for online CSAM.