Admission by former star of reality series spurs debate

Should accused people, such as Joshua Duggar of TLC’s “19 Kids,” receive treatment?

Joshua Duggar, the eldest sibling in the former TLC reality show “19 Kids and Counting,” said he’d received counseling when he admitted to “wrongdoing” after a police report surfaced in 2015 accusing him of molesting young girls while he was a teen. His wife Anna said the counseling had “changed his life.”

He was indicted last week on charges of receiving and possessing child pornography, some of which allegedly shows the sexual abuse of girls as young as 12 years old. Duggar has pleaded not guilty to the current charges.

Experts say treatment exists for people who have a history of offenses, but the path to changing behavior is complex and seeped in controversy.

Camille Cooper, vice president of public policy at the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network, explains that there is not a “cure” for sex offending because it “is not a disease, it’s criminal behavior,” but that “every sex offender should have access to treatment.”

Controversy around treatment

Counseling and treatment for sexual offenders, especially those who abuse children, is heavily debated. One reason for this is the recidivism rate, says Jenny Coleman, director of Stop It Now!, an organization focused on preventing child sexual abuse. The recidivism rate is hard to determine for child sexual abusers because there is a low rate of disclosure, meaning offenders are reticent to report if they re-offend.

“While there are many studies on recidivism rates, they generally only measure rearrest rates, not re-offending rates,” Cooper adds. “So far, no treatment approach has come anywhere close to ‘solving’ the problem.”

It’s also controversial because of the individuals themselves.

“As a society, we tend to have ... negative feelings about people who do these terrible things to kids, as we should. And because of that, I think sometimes we’re short-sighted in terms of what should be provided to try and get them help,” said Whitney Gabriel, a board member with the Child Molestation Research & Prevention Institute.

Can abusers be reformed? Experts say an abuser has to desire reform.

“Somebody needs to want to make a change or want to accept help and support and recognizes the need for it,” Coleman says.

A few factors to consider: ensuring the person has an accurate diagnosis and understanding what’s motivating the behavior. “What’s important to understand is that the causes behind somebody’s sexual harmful behaviors differ,” Coleman says.

The effectiveness of treatment also can depend on the individual’s environment and support system.

“The risk of harm is greatly reduced when somebody who is at risk has a community, has support,” Coleman says. “When we’re talking about sexual abuse – when somebody feels isolated, when they feel alone ... that people just think of them as a bad person – that just kind of fuels the fire.”

Coleman said there are different approaches to treatment, including cognitive behavioral treatment and a “variety of other kinds of psychological treatment” as well as treatment models like The Good Lives Model of Offender Rehabilitation, a strengths-based approach to offender rehabilitation.

Cooper says the most widely used treatment is cognitive behavioral therapy, relapse prevention, or the RiskNeed-Responsivity model. According to the Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers, the model “has been specifically applied to the treatment of sexual offense behavior and has also demonstrated increased reductions in sexual offense recidivism.”

RAINN offers support through the National Sexual Assault Hotline: 800-656HOPE, online.rainn.org.