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Smile through tears

Member since
September 2021

2548 posts

Posted Thu August 10, 2023 7:08amReport post

I listened to a lecture on u tube which I found very interesting, by

Alice Levins - talk about sex offenders in uk prisons - dated 22/10/15 so quite dated which would make today's statistics very alarming on the number of people convicted.

it is quite lengthy but very thought provoking.

Upset mum

Member since
June 2020

2401 posts

Posted Thu August 10, 2023 10:26pmReport post

Smile my dear friend x

Very thought provoking, statistics show there are now currently 800 + men been charged every month, for every offender they have a family that are also impacted, there are of course victims :-( we never loose sight of them it's just so so scary that we only find out once we find ourselves here xx

Smile through tears

Member since
September 2021

2548 posts

Posted Fri August 11, 2023 10:04amReport post

What shocked me was high percentage of sex offenders in custody. It's certainly not general knowledge is it? Perhaps if it was something might be done (or attempted) to be done about it.......

Edited Fri August 11, 2023 10:07am

Bettyboo65

Member since
June 2022

339 posts

Posted Fri August 11, 2023 12:24pmReport post

It is a major pandemic isn't it at the moment, with all the mental health issues at the moment you would think that a pandemic of this sort would be hugely investigated and different measures put in place to deal with these cases. I see that a lot of our persons are suicidal so surely something must be done to help rather than have these crimes to continue being seen as they are by the public.



How people get to this point needs looking at, the person's own history and what has led them down such a dark path. My person was abused sexually from the age of around 9 and never told anybody as he said "who would listen and what would they do" which he is right, a child of 9 wouldn't know what to do in such circumstances and would be in complete emotional distress inside. He only talks of it now to his counsellor and when talking to myself I can see he gets PTSD and he says sometimes he can't even remember what he's told me or the counsellor as he tries to block it all out. I can totally see why he's done what he's done, this was done to him and his whole outlook on life has been totally tainted.



All I can think is that some b$%tard has ruined his life but hopefully, he will get through this and come out the other side much stronger and free from emotional distress.



xx

Smile through tears

Member since
September 2021

2548 posts

Posted Fri August 11, 2023 2:27pmReport post

I was also suprised that the vulnerable wings in prisons were bursting at the seams with men that had committed this type of crime., hence now, many prisons house just sex offenders.

Much like the conversion of the prison my son is in now! Doesn't that just tell you something..... for goodness sake do something - not just ignore it, unbelievable....

Edited Fri August 11, 2023 2:28pm

Bitterbean

Member since
December 2021

635 posts

Posted Fri August 11, 2023 9:15pmReport post

Smile, I have a feeling that this whole thing of Internet sex offenders is going to reach a critical mass at some point because it just can't go on. I think the calculation I did a while back, based on the national population, means that we are probably already at the point where every person knows someone who is a sex offender. Even if they don't actually know that they *are* a sex offender, if you know what I mean.

We will run out of prison space, there will not be enough court time, there will not be enough staff for offender management,, there will not be enough social workers to delay with the families of offenders, there will be too many additional people (sex offenders) unable to find work and so on benefits that the state won't be able to afford, there will be too many families of sex offenders on benefits for the same reason. There will be further pressure on housing because of families living apart, and so on and so on. More traumatised family members putting pressure on NHS mental health services.

Tackling the problem of abuse of children via the Internet by focusing on consumers /end users, as is done in this country, may at first seem cheap and easy, but it is proving anything but fot the national economy. Nor is it serving as a deterrent, as detail of the law is poorly understood, and not widely publicised.

I don't know what the response will be, when things come to a head, as surely they must do. Dealing with the problem at source would be best. I read recently that a number of porn websites have stopped providing services in some states in the US that have made mandatory proof of age to access these sites, which is interesting. A wide ranging media publicity campaign would help, illustrating how easy it can be to offend. Automatic removal of offending uploaded images as soon as they are identified (this is possible with copyrighted material so it must be possible with illegal images). Punitive sentences for platforms that carry this material, similar to those applied to consumers.

Smile through tears

Member since
September 2021

2548 posts

Posted Sat August 12, 2023 5:31amReport post

Yes, I agree, there's no public information on this, although warnings on child awareness on the internet is aired. Why not for adults?



everything what you say Bitterbean is so true plus the enormous amount of money spent to keep someone in custody.

no one will face any of it though. Let's hope we follow American trend - we usually follow everything else they do, it would be a start!!!!!!!

edel2020

Member since
March 2022

373 posts

Posted Sat August 12, 2023 11:21amReport post

There was a report earlier this year, that acknowledges the problems and admits the police are being overwhelmed by the numbers.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/independent-review-of-police-led-sex-offender-management

As for the American 'solution', anyone can easily get around it with a VPN. The problem is international and if you read the 2022 IWF report, you can see why it is so difficult to do anything about it.

https://www.iwf.org.uk/

As fast as the IWF get these websites taken down, they just reappear somewhere else. If the images, or the website, are hosted in a third world country, then the police here are powerless to do anything about it.