According to Department of Justice Statistics, about half of accused rapists were released before trial. Of those tried, only half were sentenced to prison. The average sex offender may commit hundreds of crimes in his lifetime, which means that most rapes not only go undetected, but unpunished. Many rapists begin as voyeurs, peeking into windows, before actually breaking into homes. Their fantasies about rape eventually escalate to planning and committing rape.
Sex offenders tend to be compulsive and repetitive, the kind of criminals that are hardest to treat.
A 1989 study by the American Psychological Association found no evidence that the rate of recidivism for treated offenders was any lower than it was for offenders who received no treatment. Psychologists who work with sex offenders stress that society must be realistic about what therapy can do. They say that while it is crucial to provide treatment to any man who is sexually abusive, one of the most important functions of therapy is to identify sex offenders who are not likely to change so they remain separated from society. Violence Against Women is made possible in part by a grant from the Albert and Elaine Borchard Foundation and the Dr. Ezekiel R. and Edna Wattis Dumke Foundation. The documentary is a production of public television station KUED in Salt Lake City, Utah.