Abstract
Sexual violence is among the offences on which the public has expressed the greatest alarm and punitiveness and towards which more severe norms and restraining measures have been introduced in several countries in recent years. Outside of Anglo-American countries, few studies have been conducted on the factors that influence public judgments about individuals who commit sexual offences. To address this question, we surveyed a sample of 517 individuals from the general population in Italy. Participants were randomly presented with a vignette describing a case of sexual violence that varied according to the socioeconomic profile of the male offender, his involvement in treatment, and the age of the victim. Participants rated their level of agreement on various issues such as rehabilitation, accountability, and community management. Controlling for pre-existing attitudes, participants reported that when the offender was involved in treatment, the risk of re-offending was low, that his release into society could be considered, and that it would not be a problem to have a treated offender as a neighbor (especially if of high socio-economic status). Attribution of responsibility varied depending on the victim. When the victim was a young girl, rather than a woman, the responsibility for the violence was attributed exclusively to the offender. In the case of a young victim, participants overestimated how the rate of sex offending affected the country. Attention is also given to the role of comfort with sexuality in influencing these perceptions. Implications for public policy are discussed.
Similar content being viewed by others
Data Availability
The data from this study will be available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
References
Armborst, A. (2017). How fear of crime affects punitive attitudes. European Journal on Criminal Policy and Research, 23, 461–481. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10610-017-9342-5
Bailey, D. J. S., & Klein, J. L. (2018). Ashamed and alone: comparing offender and family member experiences with the sex offender registry. Criminal Justice Review, 43, 440–457. https://doi.org/10.1177/0734016818756486
Bergstrøm, H., Evjetun, P., & Bendixen, M. (2017). Punishment justifications in rape cases: a community study. Journal of Scandinavian Studies in Criminology and Crime Prevention, 18, 123–140. https://doi.org/10.1080/14043858.2017.1387451
Brown, S. (1999). Public attitudes towards the treatment of sex offenders. Legal and Criminological Psychology, 4, 239–252. https://doi.org/10.1348/135532599167897
Brown, S., Deakin, J., & Spencer, J. (2008). What people think about the management of sex offenders in the community. The Howard Journal, 47, 259–274. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2311.2008.00519.x
Burrell, J. W., & Laskey, P. (2017). Attitudes towards sexual offenders returning to live in the community. Journal of Applied Psychology and Social Science, 3, 52–69.
Church, W. T., Sun, F., & Li, X. (2011). Attitudes toward the treatment of sex offenders: a SEM analysis. Journal of Forensic Social Work, 1, 82–95. https://doi.org/10.1080/1936928X.2011.541213
Church, W. T., Wakeman, E. E., Miller, S. L., Clements, C. B., & Sun, F. (2008). The community attitudes toward sex offenders scale: the development of a psychometric assessment instrument. Research on Social Work Practice, 18, 251–259. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049731507310193
Cochran, J. C., Toman, E. L., Shields, R. T., & Mears, D. P. (2021). A uniquely punitive turn? Sex offenders and the persistence of punitive sanctioning. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 58, 74–118. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022427820941172
Cowan, D., Zgoba, K. M., Guerette, R. T., & Levenson, J. S. (2021). Do views on sex offending vary by nationality? A comparative analysis of community sentiment toward sex offense legislation in the United States and United Kingdom. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 65, 1242–1261. https://doi.org/10.1177/0306624X20964168
DeLuca, J. S., Vaccaro, J., Rudnik, A., Graham, N., Giannicchi, A., & Yanos, P. T. (2018). Sociodemographic predictors of sex offender stigma: how politics impact attitudes, social distance, and perceptions of sex offender recidivism. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 62, 2879–2896. https://doi.org/10.1177/0306624X17723639
DiBennardo, R. A. (2018). Ideal victims and monstrous offenders: how the news media represent sexual predators. Socius, 4, 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1177/2378023118802512
Geiger, J., & Litwiller, R. (2014). Different groups’ perceptions as to the rehabilitation of sex offenders. Psychology and Education: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 51, 33–39.
Grady, M. D., & Strom-Gottfried, K. (2011). No easy answers: ethical challenges working with sex offenders. Clinical Social Work Journal, 39, 18–27. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10615-010-0270-9
Harper, C. A., & Hogue, T. E. (2015). Measuring public perceptions of sex offenders: reimagining the Community Attitudes Toward Sex Offenders (CATSO) scale. Psychology, Crime, & Law, 21, 452–470. https://doi.org/10.1080/1068316X.2014.989170
Harper, C. A., & Hicks, R. A. (2022). The effect of attitudes towards individuals with sexual convictions on professional and student risk judgments. Sexual Abuse, 34, 948–972. https://doi.org/10.1177/10790632211070799
Harper, C. A., Hogue, T. E., & Bartels, R. M. (2017). Attitudes towards sexual offenders: what do we know, and why are they important? Aggression & Violent Behavior, 34, 201–213. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.avb.2017.01.011
Hartley, M., & Bartels, R. M. (2022). Public perception of men who have committed intrafamilial and extrafamilial sexual offences against children. Sexual Abuse, 34, 1003–1028. https://doi.org/10.1177/10790632211062188
Hilinski-Rosick, C. M., Freiburger, T. L., & Verheek, A. (2014). The effects of legal and extralegal variables on the sentences of sex offenders. Victims & Offenders, 9, 334–351. https://doi.org/10.1080/15564886.2013.845637
Hilton, N. Z., Scurich, N., & Helmus, L. M. (2015). Communicating the risk of violent and offending behavior: review and introduction to this special issue. Behavioral Sciences & the Law, 33, 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1002/bsl.2160
Hogue, T. E., & Peebles, J. (1997). The influence of remorse, intent and attitudes toward sex offenders on judgments of a rapist. Psychology, Crime, & Law, 3, 249–259. https://doi.org/10.1080/10683169708410821
Höing, M. A., Petrina, R., Hare Duke, L., Völlm, B., & Vogelvan, B. (2016). Community support for sex offender rehabilitation in Europe. European Journal of Criminology, 13, 491–516. https://doi.org/10.1177/1477370816633259
Imhoff, R. (2015). Punitive attitudes against pedophiles or persons with sexual interest in children: does the label matter? Archives of Sexual Behavior, 44, 35–44. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-014-0439-3
Kamorowski, J., Ask, K., Schreuder, M., Jelícic, M., & de Ruiter, C. (2022). ‘He seems odd’: the effects of risk-irrelevant information and actuarial risk estimates on mock jurors’ perceptions of sexual recidivism risk. Psychology, Crime & Law, 28, 342–371. https://doi.org/10.1080/1068316X.2021.1909016
King, L. L. (2019). Perceptions about sexual offenses: misconceptions, punitiveness, and public sentiment. Criminal Justice Policy Review, 30, 254–273. https://doi.org/10.1177/0887403416660150
Klein, J., & Copper, D. (2017). Do perceptions of statutory rape vary based on offender and victim pairings? Testing the effects of race and gender. Applied Psychology in Criminal Justice, 13, 33–50.
Kleinke, C. L., Wallis, R., & Stalder, K. (1992). Evaluation of a rapist as a function of expressed intent and remorse. The Journal of Social Psychology, 132, 525–537. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224545.1992.9924732
Kury, H., Brandenstein, M., & Obergfell-Fuchs, J. (2009). Dimensions of punitiveness in Germany. European Journal of Criminal Policy & Research, 15, 63–81. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10610-008-9090-7
Levenson, J. S., Brannon, Y. N., Fortney, T., & Baker, J. (2007). Public perceptions about sex offenders and community protection policies. Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy, 7, 137–161. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1530-2415.2007.00119.x
Love, M., & Farber, B. (2017). Let’s not talk about sex. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 73, 1489–1498. https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.22530
Lowe, G., & Willis, G. (2020). “Sex offender” versus “person”: the influence of labels on willingness to volunteer with people who have sexually abused. Sexual Abuse, 32, 591–613. https://doi.org/10.1177/1079063219841904
Lynch, K. R., Jewell, J. A., Wasarhaley, N. E., Golding, J. M., & Renzetti, C. M. (2020). Great sexpectations: the impact of participant gender, defendant desirability, and date cost on attributions of a date rape victim and defendant. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 35, 3437–3461. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260517709800
Mackelprang, E., & Becker, J. V. (2017). Beauty and the eye of the beholder: gender and attractiveness affect judgments in teacher sex offense cases. Sexual Abuse, 29, 375–395. https://doi.org/10.1177/1079063215597646
Mancini, C., & Budd, K. M. (2016). Is the public convinced that “nothing works?”: predictors of treatment support for sex offenders among Americans. Crime & Delinquency, 62, 777–799. https://doi.org/10.1177/0011128715597693
McAlinden, A. M. (2012). The governance of sexual offending across Europe: penal policies, political economies and the institutionalization of risk. Punishment & Society, 14, 166–192. https://doi.org/10.1177/1462474511435573
O’Neal, E. N., Tellis, K., & Spohn, C. (2015). Prosecuting intimate partner sexual assault: legal and extra-legal factors that influence Charging decisions. Violence Against Women, 21, 1237–1258. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077801215591630
Payne, B. K., Tewksbury, R., & Mustaine, E. E. (2010). Attitudes about rehabilitating sex offenders: demographic, victimization, and community-level influences. Journal of Criminal Justice, 38, 580–588. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2010.04.029
Pica, E., Sheahan, C., & Pozzulo, J. (2020). “But He’s a star football player!”: how social status influences mock jurors’ perceptions in a sexual assault case. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 35, 3963–3985. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260517713715
Pickett, J. T., Mancini, C., & Mears, D. P. (2013). Vulnerable victims, monstrous offenders, an unmanageable risk: explaining public opinion on the social control of sex crime. Criminology, 51, 729–759.
Rade, C. B., Desmarais, S. L., & Mitchell, R. E. (2016). A meta-analysis of public attitudes toward ex-offenders. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 43, 1260–1280. https://doi.org/10.1177/0093854816655837
Reynolds, L. L., & Birkimer, J. C. (2002). Perceptions of child sexual abuse: victim and perpetrator characteristics, treatment efficacy, and lay vs. legal opinions of abuse. Journal of Child Sexual Abuse, 11, 53–74. https://doi.org/10.1300/J070v11n01_03
Rice Lave, T. (2011). Inevitable recidivism-the origin and centrality of an urban legend. International Journal of Law & Psychiatry, 34, 186–194. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijlp.2011.04.005
Rogers, D. L., & Ferguson, C. J. (2011). Punishment and rehabilitation attitudes toward sex offenders versus nonsexual offenders. Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma, 20, 395–414. https://doi.org/10.1080/10926771.2011.570287
Rogers, P., Hirst, L., & Davies, M. (2011). An investigation into the effect of respondent gender, victim age, and perpetrator treatment on public attitudes towards sex offenders, sex offender treatment, and sex offender rehabilitation. Journal of Offender Rehabilitation, 50, 511–530. https://doi.org/10.1080/10509674.2011.602472
Rosselli, M. K., & Jeglic, E. L. (2017). Factors impacting upon attitudes toward sex offenders: the role of conservatism and knowledge. Psychiatry, psychology, and law: An interdisciplinary journal of the Australian and New Zealand Association of Psychiatry, Psychology and Law, 24, 496–515. https://doi.org/10.1080/13218719.2016.1254562
Rothwell, M., Fido, D., & Heym, N. (2021). Perceptions around adult and child sex offenders and their rehabilitation as a function of education in forensic psychology independent of traditionalism and perpetrator sex. Forensic Science International: Mind & Law, 2, 100039. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fsiml.2020.100039
Russell, B. L., Oswald, D. L., & Kraus, S. W. (2011). Evaluations of sexual assault: perceptions of guilt and legal elements for male and female aggressors using various coercive strategies. Violence and victims, 26, 799–815. https://doi.org/10.1891/0886-6708.26.6.799
Schiavone, S. K., & Jeglic, E. L. (2009). Public perception of sex offender social policies and the impact on sex offenders. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 53, 679–695. https://doi.org/10.1177/0306624X08323454
Sedkaoui, H., & Mullett, E. (2016). Mapping French people’s views on chemical castration of child and adolescent sex offenders (Vol. 15). Universitas Psychologica. https://doi.org/10.11144/Javeriana.upsy15-3.mfpv
Schnittker, J. (2022). What makes sexual violence different? Comparing the effects of sexual and non-sexual violence on psychological distress. Mental Health, 2, 100115. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssmmh.2022.100115
Socia, K. M., Rydberg, J., & Dum, C. P. (2019). Punitive attitudes toward individuals convicted of sex offenses: a vignette study. Justice Quarterly, 38, 1262–1289. https://doi.org/10.1080/07418825.2019.1683218
Stevenson, M. C., Sorenson, K. M., Smith, A. C., Sekely, A., & Dzwairo, R. A. (2009). Effects of defendant and victim race on perceptions of juvenile sex offenders. Behavioral Sciences & the Law, 27, 957–979. https://doi.org/10.1002/bsl.910
Tromovitch, P. (2013). Multidimensional measure of comfort with sexuality. In T. D. Fisher, C. M. Davis, & W. L. Yarber (Eds.), Handbook of sexuality-related measures (pp. 34–39). Routledge.
Varela, J. G., Boccaccini, M. T., Cuervo, V. A., Murrie, D. C., & Clark, J. W. (2014). Same score, different message: perceptions of offender risk depend on Static-99R risk communication format. Law & Human Behavior, 38, 418–427. https://doi.org/10.1037/lhb0000073
Wiley, T. R., & Bottoms, B. L. (2009). Effects of defendant sexual orientation on jurors’ perceptions of child sexual assault. Law & Human Behavior, 33, 46–60. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10979-008-9131-2
Willis, G. M., Malinen, S., & Johnston, L. (2013). Demographic differences in public attitudes towards sex offenders. Psychiatry, Psychology, & Law, 20, 230–247. https://doi.org/10.1080/13218719.2012.658206
World Health Organization. (2021). Violence against women prevalence estimates, 2018: global, regional and national prevalence estimates for intimate partner violence against women and global and regional prevalence estimates for non-partner sexual violence against women. WHO Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO.
Zara, G., Veggi, S., Ianì, F., & Bucciarelli, M. (2022). Looking at the moral judgements of offenders through new lenses. Journal of Criminal Psychology, 12, 90–110. https://doi.org/10.1108/JCP-04-2022-0010
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of Interest
The authors declare no competing interests.
Additional information
Publisher’s Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Veggi, S., Cipresso, P. & Zara, G. Public Punitiveness Towards Individuals with Sexual Convictions in Italy: A Vignette Study. Eur J Crim Policy Res (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10610-023-09561-x
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10610-023-09561-x