Juvenile sexual offenders: we are the sons of our fathers - Sibonsile Mathe

This briefing reports on how juvenile sexual offenders perceived and experienced their fathers in their developmental years. In-depth interviews were conducted with nine sentenced juvenile sexual offenders at a prison in Durban. The purpose of the interviews was to explore possible family influences on the behaviour of the juveniles and their attachment experiences. The findings indicated that for the majority of the sample, their fathers assumed conventional patriarchal roles and were dominant, controlling and abusive towards women. Many developed insecurities and the associated beliefs that relationships are inherently dangerous and other people are unreliable. The findings further suggest that experiencing negative relations during development might be a risk factor predicting aggressive conduct. Whle acknowledging multiple influences on behaviour, this briefing highlights the significance of these findings for interventions with young people and their families.
From: Agenda 74 (2007)