Users of Child Sexual Exploitation Material: A review

Kelly Babchishin

Although they remain a small proportion of identified sex offenders, there is increasing concern about how to manage, assess, and treat users of child sexual exploitation materials (CSEM; also referred to as child pornography offenders). Relatedly, there has been an influx of research on internet sex offenders with new findings reported almost every month. This workshop will review recent findings on CSEM offenders, with a focus on the similarities and differences of CSEM from typical, contact sex offenders. This workshop will conclude by reviewing the risk profiles of CSEM offenders and findings relevant for the assessment and treatment of CSEM offenders.

Kelly M. Babchishin, Ph.D. is a Research Advisor for the Community Safety and Countering Crime Branch Research Division of Public Safety Canada and holds adjunct professorships with the University of Ottawa (School of Psychology) and Carleton University (Department of Psychology) as well as is an adjunct scientist with the University of Ottawa’s Institute of Mental Health Research. Kelly is an action editor for Sexual Abuse, associate editor of Nextgenforensic, and the Director of Research Development for the International Workgroup on Best Practice in the Management of Online Sex Offending. Her current research involves identifying causal candidates for the onset and maintenance of sexual offending behavior, including special population such as incest offenders and online sexual offenders. Other research interests include change in sexual offending behavior across the lifespan and risk assessment.