Product Description

Innocence Betrayed is the first sustained attempt to address the issue of how we can best protect children from the threat posed by predatory paedophiles. It asks all the difficult questions: Can paedophiles be treated? Do they change their behaviour? Does naming and shaming help protect our children or make matters worse?
Combining the skills of journalistic research and academic scholarship, this engaging and accessible book carefully untangles the News of the World′s ′Sarah′s Law′ and presents, for the first time, the behind–the–scenes reaction to the newspaper. It contains an enlightening series of interviews with paedophiles, both in a penal setting and after release, in England, Wales and North America, as well as interviews with the victims of sexual abuse.


This important and timely book will be of interest to anyone who wishes to understand the complexity of the problem posed by paedophiles and how we can make our communities safer places for children.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #412363 in Books
• Published on: 2002-10-14
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 200 pages

Review
"We fear it and loathe it but if we want to protect our children we must understand it too. The authors use formidable research to put paedophilia in context. This book is uncomfortable reading – but essential." John Humphrys, ′Today′, BBC Radio 4

"No one has previously put the case so well for having an adult, rational debate about how we should respond to paedophilia. Nor have the counterproductive dangers of outing, naming and shaming with responses like Megan’s Law been so clearly discussed. A thoroughly researched and well argued study." Rod Morgan, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of the Probation Service for England and Wales

"Silverman and Wilson manage to achieve what many of us aspire to – a book that will appeal both to a specialised and lay audience. In the emotionally charged atmosphere of considering the threat posed by predatory paedophiles ... it is important that we have a text that is thoughtful and measured, while also recognising the deep emotions that the topic raises among the populace. ...[T]his is a well–written book that can be recommended to the interested layperson ... while, for the specialist, it draws the threads together of the recent painful scenario where the News of the World has largely orchestrated the terms of the debate." The Howard Journal of Criminal Justice

From the Back Cover
Innocence Betrayed is the first sustained attempt to address the issue of how we can best protect children from the threat posed by predatory paedophiles. It asks all the difficult questions: Can paedophiles be treated? Do they change their behaviour? Does naming and shaming help protect our children or make matters worse?
Combining the skills of journalistic research and academic scholarship, this engaging and accessible book carefully untangles the News of the World’s ‘Sarah’s Law’ and presents, for the first time, the behind–the–scenes reaction to the newspaper. It contains an enlightening series of interviews with paedophiles, both in a penal setting and after release, in England, Wales and North America, as well as interviews with the victims of sexual abuse.

This important and timely book will be of interest to anyone who wishes to understand the complexity of the problem posed by paedophiles and how we can make our communities safer places for children.

About the Author
Jon Silverman is the BBC’s Home Affairs Correspondent.

David Wilson is Professor of Criminal Justice at the University of Central England in Birmingham, and is a former Prison Governor.

Customer Reviews

A Glimpse BEHIND the Headlines
It is difficult to try and imagine a figure in society more reviled that the paedophile, and the moral panic over paedophilia limits our ability to put the issue into perspective. Wilson and Silverman open their book with a fascinating and illuminating 'history' of sex offending, comparing concerns over paedophilia with the garroting 'panic' of 1860s London.

A large proportion of the book has developed from extensive research and interviews with offenders and victims, and with therapists, prison governors and other professionals working with paedophiles.

The interviews provide some of the most interesting parts of this book. A group of mothers from the Paulsgrove estate in Portsmouth - scene of the biggest paedophile riots in 2000 - talk at length about their experiences both as victims but also as concerned parents. Former sex offenders talk candidly about their offending and what 'made' them, or 'led' them to offend. The book includes an interview with the managing editor of the News of the World, the detail of which is reason enough to read this book. The book also gives a glimpse into the world of government dealing with the media, and examines in detail the pitfalls in calls for 'community notification' and 'naming and shaming'.

Perhaps the most important chapter of this book is the penultimate one, in which the authors detail 'Circles of Support', a community based programme designed to safely aid the paedophile's resettlement into the community after release from prison; a programme somewhat reliant on community awareness but also community tolerance. The chapter provides a clue as to the direction in which we should be heading, rather than continuing on the destructive course currently being mapped out.

Invaluable to my dissertation!
In the thick of my final year at Uni, with no going back on my decision to write a dissertation for Criminology, I despaired of ever getting that 2:1. Having desperately clawed for inspiration and finally settled on the topic of paedophiles and the current media/public reaction to this crime, I was immensely relieved to discover that this book existed.

It was indeed the answer to my prayers: covering all aspects of society's understanding of paedophilia, including quotes and comments from sex offenders themselves, Wilson and Silverman have produced a comprehensive, intelligent critique on this very sensitive subject. They bravely challenge common viewpoints on the 'hideous monster', enlighten readers with historical information and attitudes, and back up their words with factual evidence. Most importantly, they keep a steady eye on the serious nature of the crime itself, never reducing their criticisms to facetious sarcasm (as could so easily be done when reviewing tabloid behaviour). They are very open about the abuse they themselves have received for daring to speak out against the hysteria and over-sentimentality of many media and public figures, but justify their positions with strong, well-considered arguments.

Many academic texts try to impress (or distress) their readers with the use of obscure words or long, incomprehensible sentences, but Silverman and Wilson have ably conveyed their message without pomp and ceremony. Consequently, this book can be read and enjoyed by those other than students of social science. In fact, I would thoroughly recommend it to parents because above all, Innocence Betrayed says what very few people dare to: there is very little threat from 'stranger danger'.