Keep in mind that pedophiles typically will have molested 10 kids before they get caught, and that many victims do not come forward, for lots of reasons.
And not every woman who is raped comes forward, for many reasons.
**A victimization survey conducted by the Ministry of the Solicitor General of Canada and Statistics Canada discovered that only 38% of females who had experienced a sexual assault during 1981 reported their victimizations to police. The survey estimated that 15,100 women above the age of sixteen (or about 6 women per 1000 in the population under study) experienced some form of sexual assault during a one year period in the seven Canadian cities that were surveyed.
For you stat/research-wanters, here's some stuff I found:
**To examine differences in recidivism rates across sex offender type, we separated the offenders into three groups: incest offenders, pedophiles and rapists (see Table 2). This revealed that among newly released sex offenders, rapists had the highest rates of general, violent and sexual recidivism relative to any other group. In contrast, incest offenders demonstrated the lowest rates of general, violent and sexual recidivism relative to pedophiles or rapists, regardless of whether they belonged to the caseload or newly released samples. It is notable that the pedophile group on caseload had the highest rate of sexual recidivism relative to incest offenders or rapists. One exception to this trend involves homosexual pedophiles. These offenders are considerably more likely to reoffend than are heterosexual pedophiles.
**
http://www.johnhoward.ab.ca/docs/sxoffend/page1.htm
Studies of Sex Offenders of all types, and recidivism rates
**Is chemical castration an acceptable punishment for male sex offenders?
Resources used to support "yes"
Sex offenders, such as rapists, pedophiles, and exhibitionists, are among the highest reoccurring offense populations in the United States probation system. These offenders commit crimes that put fear into the general public and pose a threat to people that live in their neighborhoods. These offenders should be punished and not let off or forgiven of their crime(s) just because they have gone through a treatment program, most or which cannot show a significant success rate.
Chemical castration is an ideal punishment for sex offenders. When Depo-Provera is administerd, recidivism rates fall to 5%. Their sexual fantasies are lessened as a result of the reduction of testosterone levels. Although men administered this drug are capable of having sexual intercourse, many people argue that chemical castration is cruel and unusual punishment. This argument is countered by the fact that sex offenders are required to get injections only once a month. What is "cruel and unusual" is allowing sex offenders to attack innocent women and children. This effective therapy will protect future victims. It is an "offender friendly" way of reducing sexual violence. [LaLaunie Hayes.]
(I have no problem with chemical castration, if it works. But if it doesn't work and s/he reoffends, THEN can we kill them?)
**Researchers admit that existing studies provide only limited estimates of the number of reoffences committed by sex offenders. Most recidivism studies report on reconvictions that take place within a two to three year period following convictions for sex offences. However studies that have tracked sex offenders over extended follow-up periods have found higher recidivism rates. Another problem with recidivism rates is that figures based on reconvictions only provide information on offenders who have been officially detected.
**
http://www.csc-scc.gc.ca/text/pblct/.../e011i_e.shtml
Research on Sex Offenders
**Reoffense rates tend to increase over the years and, around the ten year mark, reoffense rates among treated offenders is nearly the same as among untreated offenders.
So, let's say, just for shits and giggles, that a sex offender, of whatever type, gets out of jail...he hasn't seen a woman/man/child for however long he's been in. Now, considering that straight men who get out of jail probably head for the nearest piece they can find, what makes you think that this guy won't?
So we let this guy out, and say, "Oh...he's been in treatment. He's safe." And he goes out and the first thing he does is get him some from somebody who doesn't want to give it. What do you say THEN?? "OOpsie...we fucked up. Sorry about that, miss. Sorry this guy raped you and your little girl, then beat you both and threw you in a dumpster and left you for dead. Our mistake. You know how it goes."??
ONE victim that could have been saved is worth it. Letting him out and giving him the benefit of the doubt may sound nice, but it doesn't mean jack to the next person he harms. It all comes down to choice. He chooses to engage in his behavior. I think we should choose to punish his ass as severely as possible. This isn't breaking a window or boosting a car. Sex crimes are the ultimate INVASION. Victims never really feel safe again. How does someone pay for THAT??
And before someone slams me about the "choice" issue, check this out:
I read in this in Time magazine a few years ago, and this stuck with me because I admired what this man did...The story was about this priest who was caught messing with kids. This man was so remorseful that he voluntarily gave up his collar and went to live in the friggin' MOUNTAINS. He lives in a cabin in the mountains, and he only comes down once a month to get supplies and to give talks to other priests. He refuses to be around children at ALL.
Now THAT'S remorse. THAT'S rehabilitation. That's choosing NOT to engage in, or even put oneself into a situation to engage in the behavior.
That's what crime comes down to. It's not your mommy's fault, it's not your daddy's fault, and it's not society's fault. It's YOUR fault. Choice.
Sidhe