Should we be taking stronger action against sexual/indecent exposure as the behaviour might escalate to contact sexual offending?
This was one of the key issues for the Angiolini Inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the sexual murder of Sarah Everard by a serving police officer, Wayne Couzens, whose offending history included sexual exposure (‘flashing’) and cyberflashing.
My latest research with Dr Fiona Vera-Gray examining this issue has been published by the College of Policing. They commissioned us to undertake a comprehensive new research review into the evidence of links between sexual/indecent exposure and contact sexual offending to inform new guidance for police.
What’s the answer?
Yes, we should be taking sexual/indecent exposure more seriously, but because it is harmful in and of itself.
Contrary to the Angiolini Inquiry emphasis, there is no evidence that masturbatory sexual exposure is any more harmful or likely to lead to further offending.
The evidence also suggests that men who engage in sexual exposure sometimes escalate to contact offending, sometimes de-escalate their behaviour and often carry on sexually exposing themselves.
We should therefore be focussing on patterns of offending rather than only escalation.
Terminology matters: We use the term sexual exposure rather than indecent exposure as this better reflects the nature and harm of this prevalent form of sexual offending and I’m very pleased to see the College of Policing now using this terminology.
Our research is the largest review of its kind since 2014 and we made a number of key findings including that:
The overwhelming majority of sexual exposure crimes and offenders do not come into contact with the police.
The limited research on sexual exposure offline finds evidence of the offending behaviour remaining the same as well as escalating, and deescalating, among exhibitionist offenders.
There is some evidence that greater levels of interaction with victims during sexual exposure may be a risk factor for offenders who move to contact sexual offending.
There is no evidence that ‘masturbatory indecent exposure’ is either more harmful to victims or indicates a greater risk of future contact sexual offending.
Some evidence suggests voyeurism may be more indicative than sexual exposure of more extensive patterns of sexual offending.
We made a number of key recommendations including that:
Crimes of sexual/indecent exposure must be taken seriously in and of themselves as harmful, threatening and violating forms of sexual offending
The focus of policy and policing should shift from ‘escalation’ to contact offending to consider ‘patterns of offending’ more broadly.
New police guidance should apply to all forms of sexual exposure, not only incidents involving masturbation.
Reporting mechanisms for victims of non-contact sexual offences should be reviewed, including for ‘intelligence only’ reporting.
Proactive policing responses which respond to sexual exposure as a serious offence should be explored.
Next steps: new guidance and training
We are now working with the College of Policing to produce new guidance and training for police officers investigating a range of non-contact offences including sexual exposure and voyeurism.
Further information
Read the College of Policing press release and access the review here.
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