In Germany, names of infamous sex offenders such as Frank Schm kel, Dieter Zurwehme, Bernd B ch and many others strike fear in the hearts of their fellow humans. These serial or repeat offenders seem to confirm the popular opinion that this type of perpetrator should be locked up for good - that they may never again become a danger to society. The crimes of the sex offender are heinous. They arise from a rampant drive barreling down the wrong track. Anything is possible in the maelstrom of drives swirling around sexuality, - but not all of it can be understood, let alone empathized with.
Sex offenders are weird.
Sex offenders do not reveal their secret because they do not know it themselves. Criminologist Armand Mergen drives home the dichotomy that exists between society's condemnation of sexual offenders on the one hand and the necessity of treating them on the other. The aim of any treatment is first of all a purely symptom-oriented prevention of additional sexual or violent offenses, and secondly, concerning the offender himself, to address the basic underlying disorder, e.g. an insecurity in his masculine identity, an aggression dysfunction or a relationship disorder. Which leaves the question of which treatment method is right for a given perpetrator. Leygraf distinguishes between three treatment categories.