A New Identity: Enhancing Life Skills and Work-Readiness for Those With a Sexual Offending History

TL;DR

This study explores how community-based life skills and work-readiness programs help individuals with a sexual offending history build new identities and reduce reoffending.

Contribution

The research provides novel insights into the experiences of individuals with a sexual offending history in community-based rehabilitation programs.

Findings

Participants found a supportive environment that helped them create a new identity away from their offending past.

The program enabled them to develop healthy routines and achieve personal goals through structured support.

The study supports the use of strengths-based approaches for rehabilitation in this group.

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to examine the experiences of individuals, with a sexual offending history, who have engaged with a community-based life skills and work-readiness programme. With a view to understand the impact of such programmes on their rehabilitation and to inform a growing body of research around the approaches needed for promoting rehabilitation within this group. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with four participants about their experiences of accessing a community-based charity and three themes were identified using Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis: “a place to belong without fear or judgement;” “creating an identity away from offending;” and “space and time to realise own potential.” These findings were discussed in relation to the Good Lives Model; previously identified protective factors for people with a history of sexual offending; and desistance research. The research offers a number of recommendations for practice which can be used by organisations to help them develop an inclusive and meaningful approach to supporting individuals with a history of sexual offending.

There is a growing body of research into rehabilitative approaches for men with a sexual offending history, with it being widely accepted that strengths-based approaches are more successful than punitive. Life skills and work-readiness programmes are offered as a rehabilitative approach within the criminal justice system, however previous research has either not distinguished between offence types or have excluded individuals with a sexual offending history altogether. Therefore, there is limited research on how life skills and work-readiness programmes are experienced by individuals with a history of sexual offending. This research aimed to explore the experiences of individuals with a sexual offending history who had engaged with a life skills and work-readiness programme as part of a community-based charity.

The highest level of sexual offences was recorded in the UK in the year ending March 2022 (195,315) and the number of sexual offences recorded by police has been increasing since 2012 (53,519). This means that there is an ever-increasing number of people in the community who have a history of sexual offending. It is important for us to understand how we are able to support them to live an offence-free life. This is crucial in preventing future harm from offending and preventing future victims of sexual offences.

The researchers interviewed men with a sexual offending history about their experiences of attending a community-based charity programme that delivers life skills and work-readiness courses. The charity supports a mixed community whereby not all the people who attend have an offending background or a history of sexual offending. The researchers found that the participants reported positive experiences of attending these programmes. They reported that having a place to belong where they were not judged enabled them to develop constructive support networks and a sense of community. This allowed them to create a new identity away from their offending past. The programme gave them the space and time to realise their own potential and achieve their goals. This was achieved by having a positive structure and routine; being able to develop healthy techniques to manage their wellbeing; and setting and achieving realistic goals.

The findings of this study identified that engaging in the community programme supported the participants’ rehabilitation. Organisations and services looking to support change for those convicted of sexual offences should consider the following recommendations to facilitate and encourage engagement: 1) Creating a safe place for people to attend by considering: the physical environment; the values and ethos of the service; prioritising health and wellbeing; and having robust and informed risk management processes. 2) Focus on identity change by offering person-centred, non-judgemental support that provides social inclusion through a needs-led approach. 3) Offering meaningful opportunities with personalised goal-focussed support and an opportunity to learn new skills with no time constraints.

Participants report positive experiences of accessing community-based programmes.The community programme appears to support the move towards strength-based approaches to contribute to desistance from further offending.The community programme environment encourages the development of pro-social identities.The research supports a strengths-focussed approach for this cohort.

Participants report positive experiences of accessing community-based programmes.

The community programme appears to support the move towards strength-based approaches to contribute to desistance from further offending.

The community programme environment encourages the development of pro-social identities.

The research supports a strengths-focussed approach for this cohort.