MnATSA members have specialized knowledge about sexual offending. We stand ready to serve as resources to policy makers who are considering legislation addressing the costs (both financial and human) of sexual violence.
MNCASA policy efforts promote change by strengthening prevention approaches, supporting targeted funding, and building a strong justice system response through effective laws and policies.
Through research, education, and shared learning MnATSA and its parent organization,ATSA, promote evidence-based practice, public policy, and community strategies that lead to the effective assessment, treatment, and management of individuals who have sexually abused or are at risk to sexually abuse.
Residency or zone restrictions for individuals with sexual offences have become increasingly popular in recent years, but such restrictions tend to be rooted in fear and anger, rather than informed public policy. “There is no research to support residence restrictions as effective in reducing sexual recidivism.”1 The Minnesota Department of Corrections concluded in one study that, “during the past 16 years, not one sex offender released from a MCF (Minnesota Correctional Facility) has been re- incarcerated for a sex offense in which he made contact with a juvenile victim near a school, park, or daycare center close to his home.”2
The Minnesota Chapter of the Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers (MnATSA) is the state chapter of the Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers (ATSA). MnATSA is a non-profit, multidisciplinary organization dedicated to making society safer by preventing sexual abuse. MnATSA promotes sound research, effective evidence-based practice, informed public policy and collaborative community strategies that lead to the effective assessment, treatment and management of individuals who have sexually abused or are at risk to abuse. MnATSA is dedicated to the advancement of education, research and professional intervention regarding sexual abuse issues and prevention in the state of Minnesota.
In this spirit, MnATSA encourages a dialogue around recent events regarding sexual harassment. Sexual harassment is on the continuum of sexual abuse and has a ripple effect for not only the individuals involved, and their families but the community as a whole. MnATSA recognizes that sexual abuse and sexual harassment are complicated and very personal. That said, no one should be subjected to sexual harassment. MnATSA reasserts its mission to creating a safer society for ALL people and to ending sexual assault in all its forms. MnATSA also takes this opportunity to applaud and support those individuals who have courageously stepped forward. When ALL people take violations of personal boundaries seriously and are assertive in wanting to make change and holding others accountable, prevention is possible.
There are many factors that contribute to the efficacy of treatment for sex offenders, but it is important to understand that ‘sex offenders’ are a highly diverse group of people (mostly men) who have sexually offended in a variety of ways. Rather than asking whether treatment is effective, perhaps the better questions are what kind of treatment is indicated? Or perhaps how much treatment is enough? But when people ask, “Is sex offender treatment effective,” what they typically want to know is, “Does treatment ‘work’?”