The term ‘sex offender’ encompasses a broad range of offences against both adult and child victims, including contact crimes like sexual assault and non-contact acts such as voyeurism and online exploitation. This broad categorisation obscures the heterogeneity of these offences, grouping markedly different behaviours under a single label. As a result, it shapes public perceptions, informs political narratives, and drives criminal justice responses that fail to reflect the distinctions between these offences. Consequently, this undermines efforts to develop targeted and effective interventions and policies that address the specific needs and risks associated with various offences. This research addresses the gap in understanding Australian attitudes towards sex offenders, particularly about different offence categories, the emotional underpinnings of these attitudes, and the legislative debates surrounding particular risk management strategies. Using a mixed-methods approach, this study integrates qualitative analysis of legislative debates, a visual methodology study (iSquare technique) to explore public attitudes, and an Australian wide survey combining qualitative and quantitative data. The legislative analysis focused on transcripts from the Western Australian Parliament (regarding public sex offender registers) and the Federal Parliament (concerning passport restrictions and mandatory sentencing), revealing that lawmakers frequently expressed visceral, emotionally charged responses towards sex offenders. These emotional undercurrents often led to policy decisions that ignored the diversity of offending behaviours and offender subgroups, resulting in the expedited passage of legislation grounded in myths and assumptions. The visual methodology, employing the iSquare technique, identified stereotypical imagery, with participants predominantly depicting sex offenders as older male paedophiles, frequently conflating them with child victimisation. These stereotypes reflected societal biases, contributing to heightened public fear and the justification of more severe punitive measures. The Australia wide survey examined public attitudes, revealing strong emotional reactions, with nearly 40% of respondents supporting the death penalty for child sex offenders. Anger and disgust were identified as the most prominent emotions evoked by the issue of sex offending. In many cases, individuals struggle to separate the emotional aspects of their views from more rational or evidence-based considerations. This research contributes to the theoretical understanding of emotional responses to sex offenders and emphasises the need to challenge oversimplified typologies and stereotypes. The findings highlight the influence of emotion on public attitudes and legislative decisions, advocating for a systems-based approach that integrates social, educational, health, and community support systems alongside evidence-based legislative responses to address the complexities of risk managing sexual offenders effectively.
Perceptions and policies: analysing public and legislative attitudes toward sex offenders
Goodwin, N. (Author). 3 Dec 2025
Student thesis: Doctoral Thesis