ISRAEL
Times of Israel
This question has been floating around social media lately, as well filling much of my time as Director of Magen, an agency that comprehensively tackles the problem of child sexual abuse in Israel.
When a perpetrator admits to his crimes and expresses a desire to stop offending, Magen believes in providing him with support along with monitoring. Enter the familiar chill in the room… the uncomfortable silence. How can I, as a victim advocate, promote support for “those monsters”? In short, Magen’s goal is to keep children safe from sexual abuse. If a sex offender wants to “stay clean” and stay out of trouble, his success is our success. The ultimate act on behalf of victims is to prevent known abusers from abusing.
How is this done? Magen advocates an approximation of the COSA Model, or Circle of Support and Accountability. A COSA consists of a “core member” or sex offender attempting to reintegrate into a community (usually after prison time), and 4-6 volunteers who form a Circle around the Core Member, as well as a professional who guides and supports the volunteers. (Note: a COSA is in no way a substitute for legal action or following reporting requirements. Magen urges people to report any suspicion of child abuse to the Police and/or other legal authorities). The volunteers in the Circle have a few jobs.
The first job is setting boundaries as to what the Core Member cannot do, based on his risk assessment. This includes his avoiding triggers and access to potential victims. Warning community members may be necessary as a safety measure.
(I’ve heard this described as, “Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.” In truth, monitoring requires a lot of contact with the perpetrator, and not letting him sink beneath the radar, and this requires a rapport. This is the opposite of the time honored approach of “run him out of town.” Running someone out of town may be gratifying in the short term, but translates to driving him to some other community where he will hurt someone else’s children. Even public shaming/warning demands a next step — okay, everyone knows — what should people do with that information? How can we best lower the risk this individual poses? How does the community interact with his wife and children? In short: now what?)
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