Approximately 18% of the 64,783 sentenced UK prisoners committed sexual offences. Almost all (99%) are male. In the UK, sexual crimes incur costs to victims and society that is estimated to be £12.2 billion per year. The causes of sexual crime are complex. Sexual preoccupation is often a major contributing factor.
Psychological treatment programmes have a limited ability to address this, but medicines such as hormonal therapy and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) can. Hormonal therapy medications (anti-androgens, gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists) are recognised as treatments for individuals with sexual convictions, but are used after SSRIs have failed to improve sexual preoccupation or when a person experiences very high uncontrollable levels of preoccupation.
In this session we will be discussing human sexuality, the biopsychosocial factors underpinning sexual offending and management options for men who have committed sexual offences (or are at risk of doing so).
We will present a recent comprehensive systematic review of evidence of effectiveness of medications to manage sexual preoccupation. We will enrich these evidence with clinical examples from our own extensive experience.
Finally, we will discuss evidence from a nation-wide QI project on current prescribing practices and will suggest clinical and research implications alongside future plans.
This session aims to help you:
- Develop understanding of human sexuality, sexual deviancy and biological factors associated with sexual offending.
- Learn of different pharmaceutical management options for sexual preoccupation in men who have committed sexual offences.
- Learn of recent evidence in medication prescribing for sexual preoccupation/arousal in men who have committed sexual offences.
Chair: Daniel Whiting, Nottingham University, United Kingdom
Channa Jayasena, Imperial College, United Kingdom
Artemis Igoumenou, University College London, United Kingdom
Callum Ross, Broadmoor Hospital, London, United Kingdom
