The Press
Friday, August 19, 1988.

Religious men 'more likely' to abuse


Men with religious backgrounds who are considered “pillars of society” have a greater chance of being child abusers, a Wellington psychologist’s research has found.

Mr Hamish Dixon, a member of Men for Non-violence in Wellington is involved with a group for treating sexually abusive fathers.

He told the Psychological Society Conference that the backgrounds of men in his group showed that those with strong religious backgrounds had a higher chance of being abusers.

After working with the group he said imprisonment should not be the only form of punishment for men who abused their children.

Mr Dixon said the justice system was too rigid in dealing with sexual abusers, with the police and child protection team stepping in as soon as an, offence was reported.

But often imprisoning an abuser could create more stress for the victim and the family, Mr Dixon said.

"It is really important the men are seen to be punished severely but I do think the current system is becoming too rigid," Mr Dixon said.

The group, which treats men in 16 week courses, with a two-year follow-up, has men join voluntarily and after referrals from prisons or probation.

He said there was a shortage of male psychologists and a severe shortage of Justice Department psychologists to help sex abusers.

This shortage meant there was a "desperate need" for counselling groups in the community, he said.

There were only three such groups in New Zealand: in Auckland, Wellington and Whangarei.

Community concern about child abuse was understandable but there should be more flexibility in treating it, he said.

Men treated in the counselling group were removed from their homes after the event but should eventually be able to return.

Often abusers were sent to prison, lost all contact with their family, and on release linked up with a new family and started abusing again, he said.

Mr Dixon said he also wanted to clear up the "dangerous" myth that men who had been abused were very likely to abuse their children. Less than a third of his treatment group's members had been abused as children.

All types of men were abusers, from company managers to railway workers, he said.
Most men in his group had abused their children because they felt inadequate sexually and felt a child would not criticise their performance, he said.