Window of opportunity: Social acceptance and life transformation in the rehabilitation of imprisoned sex offenders

Ety Elisha, Yael Idisis, Natti Ronel

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

18 Scopus citations

Abstract

Based on a positive criminology perspective and a qualitative research design, the current study was used to identify the internal strengths and external forces that help imprisoned sex offenders correct and transform their lifestyles. The participants were 38 men incarcerated in two prisons in Israel who had been convicted of various sexual offenses. In individual in-depth, face-to-face interviews, most of the participants reported that they had experienced personal and social changes during their current imprisonment, which they attributed to the support they received from sources both inside and outside the jail, particularly spouses, parents, therapists, and religious or spiritual figures. These supporters expressed their personal and social acceptance of the prisoners, which included features of reintegrative shaming. The research findings suggest that positive changes can be achieved under harsh conditions, such as imprisonment by means of exposure to human strengths, thus supporting the positive criminology approach. This research finding may have theoretical and practical implications for the rehabilitative practice.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)323-332
Number of pages10
JournalAggression and Violent Behavior
Volume17
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 2012

Keywords

  • Life transformation
  • Positive criminology
  • Rehabilitation
  • Reintegrative shaming
  • Sex offenders
  • Social acceptance

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