Regarding sexual abuse, those committing these deviant acts should be dealt with as severely as possible. Too often perpetrators are given slaps on the wrist and are then allowed to re-offend.
I say that until someone finds, or society allows, a biochemical or other effective way to control the impulses of sexual offenders, there should be a one-strike law: One strike, and the offender is in prison for life. This consequence is harsh, but why not let an offender rot away in prison—even if the offender was a victim him or herself at one time? It will prevent several to many more lives from being ruined down the road and break the cycle of perpetrators.
I know there are numerous facets to consider with locking someone away—such as the fact that the incarceration of the perpetrator could mean the loss of a parent for life. But in the greater interest of all children, it's absolutely vital to ensure that one incorrigible life is not allowed to decimate and corrupt many more innocent ones.
© 2008 David Lee Cummings / Healing Embrace
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4 comments:
Can we also have one strike for makers of bad policy which actually exacerbate the children's problems rather than help them resolve them?
I could think of some pretty painful punishments for both perpetrators and bad policy makers.
Bad policy makers -- and bad clinicians and administrators -- should be forced to work in direct care for two years before they can go back to positions of making decisions that affect others. That should cure them of their ivory tower stupidity.
By the way, did I ever mention that Ph.D. too often stands for "piled high and deep"?
By the way, don't get me wrong -- I'm no basher of education. I love education and believe a society and its culture are greatly strengthened and enriched by a strong educational system.
I just think, however, that theory and second-hand knowledge are impotent if not coupled with common sense, which is usually earned through direct, hands-on experience. And in the residential treatment care field, there is, in my personal observation, a paucity of common sense among the professionals in charge.
I, too, advocate the requirement that policy makers, clinicians, and administrators actually work in direct care--but I would add further that they should be required to work in direct care for one year out of every 5 thereafter to remind them and so they can experience the effects of their policies.
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