The Unpopular Victims: Individuals Who Are Sexually Abusive - The Black Swans

This article contends that youth who engage in persistent coarse sexual improprieties and/or, sexually abusive behaviors are too often viewed primarily through a criminological lens, regardless of their age, gender, judicial status, and/or experiences of past trauma/victimization. Such a posture likely falsifies the clinical perception of the individual referred for "treatment." Assessment and interventions for these youth must be holistic and idiosyncratic, considering numerous multiplex developmental variables (i.e., overall human sexual development, gender identity, sexual identity, sexual orientation, erotic development, intimacy deficits, adverse childhood experiences/trauma), as well as sociological and anthropological fundamentals. The lens for assessing and intervening with youth must also include in its focus the constantly changing Zeitgeist, that is, the spirit or the mood of the times. The proposed lens is applicable to all youth, adjudicated and non-adjudicated. Specific considerations are discussed related to those youth with a history of significant child maltreatment who later engage in persistent coarse sexual improprieties and/or sexually abusive behaviors.