Understanding Sex Offenses is designed to help students better comprehend the complex dynamics of sexual crimes. It posits that by learning more about sex crimes and those who commit them, we are better equipped to prevent such crimes and provide education and support to those affected by them. The text recognizes that a general understanding of human sexuality is imperative for understanding sex offenses. It explores the continuum of "normal" sexual behavior, deviant sexual behavior, and criminal sexual behavior. The book presents criminological theories that have been applied to sexual crime, as well as those theories developed specifically to understand sexual offenses. It considers the wide range of individuals who commit sex crimes and the reviews the typologies that have been used to identify them. Readers learn about the ways in which technology and media have transformed sex crimes and the online and offline offenses that are committed. The text critically examines the policies that have been developed to prevent these crimes and discusses contemporary forms of risk assessment and treatment. With the goal of supporting prevention and education efforts until there are no more victims, Understanding Sex Offenses is an essential resource for courses and programs in criminology, criminal justice, and victimology.

From Title IX cases on campus, to #metoo and #timesup, rape is a definitive issue at the heart of feminism, and lately, it's barely out of the news. Cultural critic Mithu Sanyal is picking up where Susan Brownmiller left off in her influential 1975 book Against Our Will. In fact, she argues that the way we understand rape hasn't changed since then, even as the world has changed beyond recognition. She contends that it is high time for a new and informed debate about rape, sexual boundaries and consent. Sanyal argues that the way we as a society understand rape tells us not just how we understand sexual violence, but how we understand sex, sexuality, and gender itself. For instance, why is it so hard to imagine men as victims of rape? Why do we expect victims to be irreparably damaged? When we think of rapists, why do we still think of strangers in dark alleys, rather than uncles, husbands, priests, or boyfriends? The book examines the role of race and the trope of the black rapist, the omission of male victims, and what we mean when we talk about rape culture. She provocatively takes every received opinion we have about rape, and turns it inside out - arguing with liberals, conservatives, feminists and sexists alike.

This is the thoroughly revised and updated edition of the best-selling guide for families of children who have been molested. First published in 1988, this new edition includes current research and information on the nature and effects of molestation on boys and girls, as well as proven techniques for therapy, healing, and recovery. Using everyday language, the authors provide information, comfort, and advice on how to put the pieces back together again after a child has been sexually molested.

"This book is an excellent discovery for parents, child welfare professionals, trauma team members, mental health professionals providing counseling and therapy, and all of those who would seek to help parents of victims and the child victims of sexual abuse."
-Carol A. Brown, retired executive director, Richland County Children's Services, Mansfield, Ohio

"Sexual abuse of a child frequently paralyzes families due to their huge sense of violation and betrayal-but [the book has] a remedy that works! Through [its] warmth and knowledge [it] both alleviates guilt and empowers parents to take constructive action by arming them with clear information and strategies that will both support their child and themselves."
-Patricia A. O'Gorman, psychologist, clinical director of Berkshire Farm and Services for Youth, and coauthor, The Lowdown on Families Who Get High

"Must reading for parents who discover-or fear-that their child has been sexually molested. [The book's] expert advice helps families deal with the problem effectively and heal all affected by it."
-Sue Rusche, chairman, president, and CEO, National Families in Action, and coauthor, False Messengers