Completed research

Understanding and preventing youth sexual violence and abuse: An investigation of offender development, offending onset and offence progression

This project maps the development, onset and progression of youth sexual violence and abuse by investigating developmental pathways, sexual offence situations and offending trajectories of adolescent sex offenders. Analyses of developmental pathways and offending trajectories include comparisons with serious youth nonsexual offenders. Practical outputs from the project include: (i) development of actuarial risk assessment tool for juvenile sex offenders; (ii) understanding of developmental and situational factors related to onset of juvenile sex offending; and (iii) risk and protective factors related to recidivism. This knowledge is important because it will result in improved management and treatment of juvenile sex offenders.

Preventing Youth Sexual Violence and Abuse in two remote Indigenous communities

This project aims to investigate the extent and origins of youth sexual violence and abuse at two sites in Far North Queensland - a remote Aboriginal community and a suburban area of a major regional centre and based on an analysis of findings, to devise locally-tailored preventative strategies. The project applies a solution-focused, problem solving approach, drawing mainly on the theoretical and applied prevention framework developed by Smallbone, Marshall and Wortley (2008; see also Wortley & Smallbone, 2006; Smallbone & Cale, in press). The project obtained data from five main sources: official records; stakeholder interviews; direct site observation; a review of recent initiatives aimed at addressing youth crime at the two sites; and an audit of existing services and resources that might be directed toward preventing the target problem. Data was analysed with both qualitative and quantitative methods and was used to inform a series of specific recommendations for youth sexual violence and abuse prevention strategies at the two sites. The project addresses issues related to the potential replication of this approach in other community locations.

Testing theoretical propositions concerning the onset and progression of child-sex offending, and field testing a new sexual abuse prevention model

Child sexual abuse poses serious threats to the health and well-being of Australian children. Data from a variety of sources indicate that, for a variety of reasons, Indigenous children are exposed to a heightened risk of sexual abuse. The project is expected to lead to new discoveries about the causes of sexual abuse and to new evidence-based prevention methods both within Indigenous communities and in the wider community. The project contributes at a national level, as well as at a local community level, to broader efforts to improve the life chances of Australian children.

Understanding and managing the occupational health impacts on investigators of Internet child exploitation

Through developing best practice models for managing vicarious trauma in investigators of Internet child exploitation, the project will result in enhanced job satisfaction and less burnout of workers, and reduced health costs for policing organisations. Thus the project addresses a serious occupational health issue and contributes to the goal of promoting and maintaining good health. Further, by better managing the occupational health of investigators, the project enhances the capacity of police organisations to deliver on their mission of investigating and preventing Internet child exploitation. This in turn contributes to the reduced consumption of Internet child exploitation and the associated traumatisation of abused victims.

A prospective longitudinal study of sexual offender recidivism

This project aimed to replicate and expand upon Smallbone and Wortley’s 1999-2000 research, investigating the characteristics and modus operandi of individuals convicted of child-sex offences. In the years following the completion of Smallbone and Wortley’s 1999-2000 study, there have been many significant developments in our understanding of child-sex offending, particularly in relation to the role of interpersonal and situational factors that are related to the offending behaviour. The current study aimed to investigate these further and will have significant implications for the prevention, prediction, and treatment of sexual offending against children.

A study of the characteristics and modus operandi of child molesters in Queensland (Project Axis)

This project’s dominant purpose is to study the nature and extent of paedophile activity (particularly the potential for repeat and multiple offending) within the State, assess its past, present and likely future social impact and develop better and more effective ways of dealing with it. The study aimed to gather both official demographic and offence history data, and confidential self-report data, from a large sample of men currently serving sentences in Queensland for sexual offences against children. In particular, the study aimed to investigate a number of features that were considered to be of theoretical and practical significance, and which might inform preventative, investigative and corrective efforts.