The assessment of individuals charged with a sexual offence has evolved over many years and has become more specialized. The most comprehensive evaluation is available in specialized centres for assessing and treating sexual deviations. Sexually motivated homicide is an extremely rare event. Empirical studies have provided evidence-based characteristics of those who commit sexual homicide and the nature of sexual homicide offences, particularly in the last 10 years. This has assisted in defining whether a sexually motivated homicide has occurred. It can also be incorporated into sexual behaviour evaluations when factors associated with a sexually motivated homicide may be recognized before the person acts out violently. This paper reviews evidence-based research on sexual homicides and how this is used to classify whether a homicide is sexually motivated. Risk factors associated with sexually motivated homicides are reviewed.
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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?
Read moreShifts in the Significant Risk Threshold
This Editorial addresses the concept of significant threat pertaining to Canadian law.
Read moreVicarious trauma and occupational hazard for forensic mental health professionals
Vicarious trauma or vicarious traumatization is the effects on a health-care worker that results from the empathic engagement or therapeutic relationship with clients or patients and their reports of traumatic experiences. The term was coined in response to the experience of psychotherapists working with trauma survivors and is widely attributed to McCann and Pearlman 1990 [1]. They developed a constructivist self-development theory discussing therapist reactions to clients’ traumatic material. They described that vicarious trauma can be understood as related to the graphic and painful material trauma clients portray to the therapists as well as the therapists unique cognitive schemas or beliefs and assumptions about self and others [1]. This theory has developed, has subsequently been described as compassion fatigue and has been subject to a considerable amount of research since this early description [2-18]. It has also focused on various professionals, including mental health professionals, and their vulnerability from working with a variety of clients or patients [4-6,8-10,12-14,19]. In this context, forensic mental health professionals are not specifically mentioned, although it is quite clear that the nature of the work that they do would make them vulnerable to vicarious trauma and “compassion fatigue.”
Read moreEvidence-based practice in the evaluation and treatment of sexual offenders
This editorial addresses evidence based medical practice in forensic psychiatry and particularly in the field of paraphilia. John Bradford is a Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences, McMaster University. He is an Emeritus Professor at the University of Ottawa where he was a founder of the Royal Ottawa Institute of Mental Health Research. He is a Founder of Forensic Psychiatry, granted by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. Abdullah Alqahtani is an Assistant Professor and Consultant Psychiatrist at King Fahd University Hospital, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, Saudi Arabia. He is currently completing a clinical fellowship in forensic psychiatry at McMaster University – St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton. Andrew Olagunju is an aca-demic psychiatrist with a Senior Lecturer position at the College of Medicine, University of Lagos, Nigeria. He is also completing a clinical fellowship at McMaster University – St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton.
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