Working with perpetrators of child sexual abuse in slovenian prisons

This Master's thesis deals with the topic of child sexual abuse and its perpetrators. In the theoretical part I presented the meaning of sexual abuse and listed possible factors which could lead to it. I also described some common strategies that perpetrators use to access children. I listed few of the characteristics which are most commonly attributed to perpetrators of sexual abuse and some basic classifications of perpetrators by different authors. I also studied some of the programs of professional work with perpetrators in prisons, post-penal programs and some advices for preventing sexual abuse in the community. Finally, I mentioned the professionals, which are daily working with perpetrators of sexual abuse and their coping with the specifics in this field. In the empirical part of the thesis, which is based on the qualitative research, I conducted interwievs with four experts, which are employed in two Slovenian prisons and are in everyday contact with the perpetrators of sexual abuse. I was primarily interested in what way (if at all) they are working with the perpetrators and what can be done to change their work, improve it or transfer from successful practice in other countries. Data was collected through the help of semi-structured interviews, and then qualitatively analysed. Based on those results I wrote the grounded theory. I learned from the research that eventhough there is a program of working with sexual perpetrators in Slovenian prisons, which is in use for several years, there is still a lot of opportunities for improvement. They are especially seen in the professional work in prisons, post-penal treatment of offenders and prevention programs in the community. My research confirms that professional work with perpetrators of sexual abuse in Slovenia is not expanded enough and is limited only to prisons. Also, there is great potential for the professional work of social pedagogues in the field of child sexual abuse