Intimate partner violence and sexual assault are under-researched experiences in autistic people's lives. Recent research, however, has shown that autistic people are more likely to have been victimized than non-autistic people. This research, therefore, sought to explore the firsthand accounts of a range of autistic people about intimate partner…

Research has consistently found high rates of victimisation among autistic children. There is emerging evidence that disproportionate victimisation continues into adulthood, however the extent, nature and impact and the mechanisms that underlie high rates of interpersonal violence are not well understood. Here we investigate the nature and impact…

Fear of unmediated touch between adults and children has become a feature of life in Anglophone countries, including Australia. Previous research has shown that this fear has had an impact on interactions between adults and children, particularly in education and early years care contexts. To assess the extent to which these fears have influenced…

This study examines the efficacy, as experienced by offenders with their victim, of self-protection strategies used in child sexual abuse cases. It also investigates whether the efficacy of self-protection varies according to victim characteristics. The sample consists of 94 adult offenders who sexually abused a single child and who agreed to…

There is sparse systematic examination of the potential for growth as well as distress that may occur for some adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse. The presented study explored posttraumatic growth and its relationship with negative posttrauma outcomes within the specific population of survivors of childhood sexual abuse (N = 40). Results…

The Good Way model is being used increasingly in New Zealand and Australia in both community-based and residential programmes for the treatment of adolescents and adults with intellectual difficulties who have sexually abusive behaviour. It is also being used with children and, in adapted forms, with mainstream adolescents and people of indigenous…

This retrospective study explores, through quantitative and qualitative methods, the relationship of two variables (perpetrator relationship and perpetrator methodology) to posttraumatic and dissociative symptomatology. The quantitative sample comprised a nonpsychiatric group (N = 39) of Australian adults reporting sexual abuse histories. A MANOVA…

While the phenomenon of sexual fantasy has been researched extensively, little contemporary inquiry has investigated the structural properties of sexual fantasy within the context of sexual offending. In this study, a qualitative analysis was used to develop a descriptive model of the phenomena of sexual fantasy during the offence process.…

Interviewed 194 Australian adult male survivors of sexual abuse. Found that victimization of boys is underrecognized and underreported, and that boys are not adequately protected by parents or child protection programs. Sexual curiosity, ignorance, sexualization of emotions, and lack of affection contribute to victimization and vulnerability.…

A study examined age-cohort differences of self-reported child sexual abuse (CSA) experiences of 1,784 Australian adults. CSA was reported significantly less by younger males than older males. Among females who had intercourse before 16, older women were more likely to say they were an unwilling partner on the first occasion. (Contains…

This paper discusses the lack of attention that has been given by helping professionals, police, welfare systems, and legal systems concerning the sexual assault of adults who are intellectually disabled, with special emphasis on the situation in New South Wales, Australia. Reasons why people with intellectual disability are particularly…

A study was conducted of 13 male sex offenders with mild intellectual disability (ages 17 to 43) in Victoria (Australia). Results suggest that cognitive restructuring, consequence training, relapse prevention, and covert sensitization appear to be promising intervention techniques. The importance of early intervention to prevent sexual offenses is…