Values in Work with People Who Commit Sex Crimes

This chapter addresses the need to reflect critically on the values embodied in probation practice with sex offenders. It considers two areas: maintaining respectful practice whilst fulfilling a correctional role, and forms of knowledge. Debates concerning voluntary or mandated treatment are re-explored and developed incorporating notions of respect and insights from human rights perspectives. Epistemic values highlight the competing forms of knowledge that inform how sex crimes and people who commit them can be variously understood. The way we understand an issue shapes how we respond to it. The chapter concludes by drawing these issues together and suggesting that respectful practice requires ongoing critical reflection on both what we know and what we do. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2016.