Sexual Crime and Circles of Support and Accountability

This book offers a collection of original contributions to current research available on Circles of Support and Accountability (CoSA) by engaging with current literature and unpublished research in the field. The book explores the role of narrative identity in desistance from sexual crime and how CoSA maps onto this, as well as a history of CoSA across the world. The text then moves into an empirical section, reporting on some unpublished findings, including an evaluation of a new prison-based CoSA in the UK. Lastly, the experiences of service users and the influence of media perceptions are explored, offering a space for the ‘unheard voices’ as well as consideration of future directions for practitioners. The book is relevant not just to psychologists, criminologists, social workers and students, but to practitioners and the general public with an interest in learning about CoSA. The editors of this volume have all been involved in the setting up of the Safer Living Foundation, a charity formed in 2014 to reduce and prevent sexual offending.  

Helen Elliott is a Lecturer in Counselling at Bishop Grosseteste University, UK. She has a background in forensic psychology and is a trainee integrative psychotherapist. Kerensa Hocken is a registered forensic psychologist at HMPPS Whatton, UK. She has oversight for the assessment and treatment of people in prison for sexual offending in the Midlands region. Rebecca Lievesley is a Lecturer in Forensic Psychology and member of the Sexual Offences, Crime and Misconduct Research Unit at Nottingham Trent University, UK. Nicholas Blagden is a Senior Lecturer in Forensic Psychology. He is aChartered Psychologist and has worked and researched within the criminal justice system and HM Prison Service for many years. Belinda Winder is Head of the Sexual Offences, Crime and Misconduct Research Unit at Nottingham Trent University, UK. Phil Banyard is Associate in Psychology at Nottingham Trent University, UK. He was recently honoured with the British Psychological Society’s Award for Distinguished Contributions to Psychology Education.