Sexual offender treatment in Europe: an impression of cross-cultural differences

This article is based on some tens of separate presentations in three recent conferences on sexual offender research and treatment in Europe. In these conferences the differences between countries in the development of sexual offender treatment have become apparent. In some northwestern European countries there has been significant progress in this field; however, much slower progress has been made in southwestern European countries, while in Central and Eastern Europe, only incidental treatment facilities are available, or none at all. When treatment does occur in Europe, treatment methods differ markedly between countries. It is not easy to explain these differences, for this requires of the observer an in-depth knowledge of the sociocultural context, judicial system variables, and the nature of the helping profession specific to each nation. This article offers some tentative explanations of the observed differences across countries. However, conclusions should be interpreted cautiously due to the lack of detailed information about these background factors.