An assessment of youth sex offender empathy levels for general victims of child-on-child sexual abuse

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to focus on youth sex offenders’ empathy for victims of child-on child sexual abuse. In a recent study conducted by Coetzee (2015), the quantitative research results indicate that although some of the youth sex offenders who participated in the study showed empathy towards a general victim of child-on-child sexual abuse, certain empathy deficits were displayed. Following the completion of the questionnaires, in-depth information was obtained regarding the youth sex offenders’ thoughts pertaining to a sex abuse victim portrayed in a case study. An overview of some of their responses will be discussed in this article.