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Do Circles of Support and Accountability Work? A Review of the Literature

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Book cover Sexual Crime and Circles of Support and Accountability

Part of the book series: Sexual Crime ((SEXCR))

Abstract

Circles of Support and Accountability (CoSA) are growing in popularity on an international scale. To ensure that CoSA projects continue to grow in both success and public confidence, a solid research base is essential. The body of literature on the effectiveness of CoSA, particularly from Canada, US, UK and the Netherlands, is in fact growing. However, it has been argued that there is still not yet enough evidence to determine whether CoSA significantly reduces sexual recidivism by the Core Member (Elliott, Zajac, & Meyer, 2013). The following chapter includes an overview of this debate along with the key CoSA efficacy studies carried out to date. In addition, more qualitative explorations of the psychosocial implications of being involved are considered.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, UK

    Rosie Kitson-Boyce

Authors
  1. Rosie Kitson-Boyce
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Bishop Grosseteste University, Lincoln, United Kingdom

    Helen Elliott

  2. HMPPS Whatton, Whatton, United Kingdom

    Kerensa Hocken

  3. Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, United Kingdom

    Rebecca Lievesley

  4. Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, United Kingdom

    Nicholas Blagden

  5. Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, United Kingdom

    Belinda Winder

  6. Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, United Kingdom

    Phil Banyard

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Kitson-Boyce, R. (2018). Do Circles of Support and Accountability Work? A Review of the Literature. In: Elliott, H., Hocken, K., Lievesley, R., Blagden, N., Winder, B., Banyard, P. (eds) Sexual Crime and Circles of Support and Accountability. Sexual Crime. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-74823-8_3

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