Beech's Theory Of Victim Empathy

Crime has a meaningful yet differ consequences on victims’ on psychological and emotional, social, spiritual, financial, and physical outcomes (Wasserman and Ellis). Crime may harm victims in devastating and profound way to them and their loved ones, victims’ view of the world may alter and leave them with new and problematic emotions and responses. As humans, people are mostly wondering why sexual crime could have happened. One of the most general explanations of sexual assault is the lack empathy of the offenders, the explanation is so common that most of the sexual offenders treatment programs assessed victim empathy (Hanson, 2003). Empathy is both a capacity and act, and people encounter in act of empathy if they able to imagine how others

The fundamental theories is that if the offenders realized on how much harm that they cause because of sexual assault, they would not repeat it again. However, there is a debate towards the assumption. It has been suggested that these assumptions were, unfortunately, not verified by research (Marshall, Anderson and Fernandez (1999). There are a lot of elements in empathy, including emotional component, cognitive component and behavioral component (Marshall et al, 1995. Beech (1998) suggested that one form of commonly well-validated method for evaluating cognitive component in sexual offenders. It may be able to measure cognitive component well but however less helpful in evaluating sympathy. Despite argument, it is not suggested to remove victim empathy in the sexual offenders treatment program, clinicians however recently described empathy sessions came out to be a turning point for the offenders (Beech, Craig, Brown,). Baumeister (1991) however suggested that what was previously assumed, as a victim empathy deficit is that it can be re theorised with citation to cognitive destruction theory. Beech, Craig and Browne () suggested “cognitive deconstruction theory proposed that offences are committed in the context of powerful emotional state for the offender”. Cognitive deconstruction is a

Yet empathy work should be detail, directed, treatments for the offenders, concentrate on the offenders’ reactions and recall memory in the period of the offence, and motivate them to remembering unconscious behavioral or visual cue distress. Offenders usually reported a paradox effect on role play where they realized on how much pain that they caused and experiences a personal feeling of relief. Cognitive dissonance is most likely able to explain this occurrence, the condition of maintaining a belief becoming more and more discomforting and unpleasant facts, which leads them to shift their beliefs and feel the sense of relieving. Some recent studies in the treatment on sexual offender did not focus on victim empathy (e.g. Marshall et al, 2006). But, however, forgetting victim empathy might be too hasty, offenders themselves thought that what works to them should not be de-emphasized, peculiarly if they are not independent enough to help