A Practice Survey of Canadian Forensic Sexual Behavior Programs

Forensic sexual behavior programs provide assessment and treatment services to individuals who have committed a sexual offense and/or who are at risk of sexually offending. In Canada, practices vary across these programs as publicly funded community-based forensic sexual behavior programs do not adhere to a federal standard of practice. Although several practice surveys have been developed in previous years to explore techniques within these programs, updated research is needed due to recent developments in the field. The present study provides a comprehensive overview of assessment, treatment, and preventive practices in Canada by surveying 16 publicly funded Canadian forensic sexual behavior programs. Results found that programs generally followed evidence-based practices when conducting risk assessments, although adherence to evidence-based guidelines showed greater variation for treatment. Additionally, 70.6% of surveyed programs reported providing prevention services to individuals who have not crossed a legal sexual boundary, although approaches to these services varied across programs. Findings from the present study allow for a stronger understanding of forensic sexual behavior program practices nationwide and have implications for clinical practice.