Innocence Betrayed: Paedophilia, the Media and Society

Innocence Betrayed is the first sustained attempt to address the issue of how we can best protect children from the threat posed by predatory paedophiles. It asks all the difficult questions: Can paedophiles be treated? Do they change their behaviour? Does naming and shaming help protect our children or make matters worse?
Combining the skills of journalistic research and academic scholarship, this engaging and accessible book carefully untangles the News of the World's 'Sarah's Law' and presents, for the first time, the behind-the-scenes reaction to the newspaper. It contains an enlightening series of interviews with paedophiles, both in a penal setting and after release, in England, Wales and North America, as well as interviews with the victims of sexual abuse.

This important and timely book will be of interest to anyone who wishes to understand the complexity of the problem posed by paedophiles and how we can make our communities safer places for children.

In the wake of the murder of eight-year-old Sarah Payne in the UK in July 2000, the tabloid paper News of the World began a campaign of "naming and shaming" convicted pedophiles, there was an outbreak of vigilante style violence, and British legislators began considering community notification laws. Silverman (Home Affairs Correspondent, BBC) and Wilson (criminal justice, U. of Central England) analyze the development of these events and criticize "naming and shaming" as counterproductive. They also argue that fears of stranger abuse are exaggerated, helping to minimize the real danger of inter-familial sexual abuse. Annotation (c)2003 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Jon Silverman is the BBC’s Home Affairs Correspondent.

David Wilson is Professor of Criminal Justice at the University of Central England in Birmingham, and is a former Prison Governor.