These two reviews focus on two professors of psychology at John Jay College and prolific contributors to our field, Elizabeth L. Jeglic and Cynthia Calkins. Jeglic and Calkins are each on the Editorial Board of Sexual Abuse, also known by members as “The ATSA Journal.” The first is an edited volume intended for a scholarly audience, while the second is for a general audience readership (primarily parents and teachers) interested in protecting their children.

Sexual Violence: Evidence Based Policy and Prevention
Elizabeth L. Jeglic and Cynthia Calkins, Editors
2016: Springer, New York
336 pages, USD $138.00

Policy and prevention have long been a primary interest of ATSA members, with the organization focusing for many years in these directions through its committee work, amicus briefs, white papers, etc. This edited volume serves as a “who’s who” of researchers in the field of policy and prevention. It is an excellent follow-up companion to the ATSA task force report edited by Keith Kaufman in 2010 and published in collaboration with NEARI Press.

Jeglic and Calkins start the volume off with an overview of the issues addressed in subsequent chapters without summarizing their highlights. Brandy Blasko provides an overview of considerations regarding the typologies, recidivism, and treatment of people who have sexually abused. In some cases, the use of historical language may be surprising (e.g., situational versus preferential child molesters), but Blasko’s intent is to provide a historical framework that serves as a springboard to what follows.

Policy chapters focus on the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (Kristen Zgoba and Deborah Ragbir), residence restrictions (Jill Levenson and Claudia Vicencio), civil commitment (Michelle Cubellis and Andrew J. Harris), Internet sexual offender laws (Ashley Spada), and the use of electronic monitoring as a supervision tool (Stephen V. Gies). Each chapter is well-researched, often by the acknowledged leaders in the field (e.g., Jill Levenson on residence restrictions). In some cases, there may have been a slight over-reach in attempts to place each topic in context (there is, for example, a discussion of castration in the chapter on electronic monitoring that may appear out of place), but the overall result is above reproach: each chapter extends beyond what one might find in the literature reviews of scholarly journal articles. Indeed, some chapters are themselves extended studies.

The second half of the volume focuses on prevention and includes chapters on public health approaches to preventing sexual violence (Ryan Shields and Kenneth Feder), situational approaches (Stephen Smallbone), community-level approaches (Sarah DeGue, Tracy Hipp, and Jeffrey Herbst), measuring the outcomes of prevention programs (Gwenda Willis and Natalie Germann), a social norms change approach to prevention (Elizabeth Miller and colleagues), proactive strategies to prevent child abuse and the use of child abuse images – the Dunkelfeld Project (Klaus Beier), providing help to young men who are sexually attracted to children (Luke Malone), the use of civil commitment in prevention (Eric Janus), and the economics of policy and prevention (Anthony Perillo).  

As one might expect, the writing and editing make for an easily accessible read, especially for those professionals in areas (such as treatment provision, education, or research) that have an interest in policy and/or prevention. It is an excellent opportunity to catch up on projects (such as Dunkelfeld) and various authors and their perspectives (Eric Janus has written entire books in the area of civil commitment). Likewise, it provides newer perspectives and information (Willis and Germann’s chapter on outcomes and their implications being a prime example).

In the end, the authors and editors are clear in their assessments (e.g., residence restrictions “are a failure”) and recommendations. Although more expensive than other volumes, it provides the best overview of the issues to date in a single book.

Protecting Your Child from Sexual Abuse: What You Need to Know to Keep Your Kids Safe
Elizabeth L. Jeglic and Cynthia Calkins
2018: New York, Skyhorse Publishing
158 pages, USD $8.99

Jeglic and Calkins teamed up for this volume in the wake of the above academic project. Available in print and electronic forms, this smaller volume provides a needed overview for parents. It is comprehensive without becoming overbearing and will find a different audience than previous works by authors such as Melissa Pirwani and the late Jan Hindman.

The structure and writing are user-friendly and informative. Professionals in the field (including those in child welfare as well as those assessing and treating abuse) can use this as a reference for parents. It moves from an overview of myths and realities into what one can expect from sex offender registries. It then focuses on how to start difficult conversations and addresses the limitations of the well-known “good touch bad touch” approach. From there, the volume turns into the direction of online dangers and the perennial question of whom one can trust in these situations. The authors then follow a developmental pathway, from talking to your tween, to talking to your teen and finally the college years. The book concludes with an excellent overview of ways that readers can help their communities to stop sexual violence and provides questions for group discussions.

Armed with the knowledge described earlier, the authors were almost uniquely poised to produce this book. It is an excellent resource, plain and simple.