Sexual Consent in the Digital World

With nearly three-quarters of the world’s population being online in 2025, the internet has become increasingly important for creating and maintaining social interactions. While technology is often credited with making life easier, when it comes to sexual consent, it introduces new complications.

PhD Candidate Rebecca Fisico, Dr. Margaret McKinnon, and Dr. Heather Moulden recently published a narrative review to examine how technology may be reshaping sexual consent. They suggest updating sex education using principle- and ethics-based approaches and educating adults as well as children and teens.

Helping Patients in Forensic Mental Health Feel Motivated and Ready for Treatment

A lack of motivation to change is one of the main barriers to successful treatment for individuals involved in the criminal justice and forensic mental health systems. A two-month group therapy program helped patients in a forensic mental health hospital feel more motivated and ready for treatment. While such preparation programs have been studied in other settings, a recent study is the first in forensic mental health.

Forensic Psychiatry Patients More Likely to Self-Harm After Harming Healthcare Workers, Support Staff, or Another Patient

Self-harm is a serious concern in forensic psychiatry settings, being more common there than in the general population. Recent research shows that the risk of self-harm depends more on who the patient harmed during their original offence than on the circumstances of the offence itself.

Coping with COVID-19: Pandemic Life and Problematic Sexual Behaviour

As a result of COVID-19 related restrictions around the globe, individuals have experienced a stark shift in the way we socialize and connect. This has impacted many facets of people’s lives, one being sexual experience and expression. Although the fact that sex and sexuality were affected by the pandemic and the public health measures and restrictions is no surprise, the specific impacts are proving to be quite fascinating and unexpected. On the one hand, we may predict increased intimacy among partners due to closer proximity and more time together. However, a counter point could be that all that time together combined with the stress of the pandemic suffocated desire. And what about sexual interests? How and why might those be a casualty of pandemic life?

Structured Professional Judgment Tool in Assessing Fitness to Stand Trial

In this letter, the authors review briefly the concept of assessing fitness to stand trial and the benefit of developing a structured professional judgment tool.

Comparaison franco-canadienne du développement des Cercles de soutien et de responsabilité (CSR) pour la prévention du risque de récidive des délinquants sexuels

Les Cercles de Soutien et de Responsabilité (CSR), nés il y a 24 ans à Hamilton au Canada pour répondre à l’inquiétude du public provoquée par le retour des délinquants sexuels dans la société après leur libération, se développent partout dans le monde. Ils proposent l’accompagnement de l’agresseur dans sa réinsertion sociale. Efficaces dans les pays étrangers, ces dispositifs se développent lentement en France. L’objectif de cet article est de tenter d’expliquer les freins à l’implantation des CSR en France au regard des difficultés rencontrées lors des expériences françaises passées et actuelles, mais aussi des différences interculturelles entre la France et le Canada.

Relationships Between Patient-Level Factors and Criteria for Fitness to Stand Trial

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