[Assessment of a new law for sex offenders implemented in France in 1998].

OBJECTIVES: Most people recognize that incarceration alone will not solve sexual violence. Treating the offenders is critical in an approach to preventing sexual violence and reducing victimization. The Law of June 17, 1998, on the prevention and repression of sexual offences, as well as the protection of minors, makes a provision for the possibility of medical and psychological monitoring adapted to these particular individuals. Sex offenders may well be constrained, after their incarceration, to social and judicial follow-up, which may include coerced treatment in order to reduce the risk of recidivism. In order to control this follow-up, the legislature has created the position of medical coordinator, who acts as an interface between justice and care in conjunction with the treating physician. This study is the first attempt to evaluate the activity of physician coordinators conducted in France since the implementation in 2004 of the 1998 law on monitoring sex offenders.

METHODS: An interview of all the physician coordinators in Upper Normandy was conducted. The files of all sex offenders subjected to coerced treatment were studied.

RESULTS: In our sample of 100 sex offenders who were subjected to coerced treatment (any kind of treatment) (99% men, 60% of sexual assaults on minors, 14% of cases of indecent exposure), minor victims of sexual assault were: 78% females; in 90% of cases the victim was aged under 14 years (under 10 in 52% of cases), 60% of cases were intrafamilial incest; the victim was an unknown aggressor in only one case out of 60. The constraint follow-up contributed to reducing the risk of recidivism (three cases of recidivism in 100 individuals over an average duration of follow-up of five years), although it remains difficult to assess the recidivism over a duration of time as short as five years. A diagnosis of paraphilia was only applied in 19% of cases (in 10 cases pedophilia, exhibitionism in nine cases). Only six subjects were receiving antiandrogen treatment. A diagnosis based on Axis I DSM was established in 57% of cases. Personality disorders were mentioned in the medical records in 65% of cases. An antisocial personality disorder was not prominent (20%). In 56 cases, the individuals had been victims of physical, psychological or sexual abuse. Nearly half of the individuals had a past history of sexual or non sexual offences, among those, 16 subjects had previously been convicted at least three times. The seniority of the prior conviction was more than 10 years in 43% of cases. Physician coordinators interviewed were satisfied with their work and felt they had contributed to improving the care of patients who had committed sexual offences.

CONCLUSION: However, this study shows the need to create a national reference centre, which could enable a multidisciplinary evaluation of difficult cases and could also boost the development of research in this area where many questions remain unanswered, particularly regarding the determinants of deviant sexual behaviour and risk factors for recidivism.