CeBSAP Seminar Series 2019–2020

Title: Working as a reflective scientist-practitioner: Assessing Individuals who have engaged in Child Sexual Exploitation Material Offending

Presenter: Dr Hannah Merdian, University of Lincoln

Dr Merdian completed her degrees at the University of Wuerzburg (Germany) and Waikato (New Zealand).  Her research is focused on enhancing professional practice, including psychological assessment and case formulation, with a specific focus on child protection issues.  This work is embedded in classical test-theory and the Scientist-Practitioner Model, with a specific interest in the analysis of "real life" data.  Together with Professor Derek Perkins, she is co-lead of onlinePROTECT [Pathways of Risk and Offender Typologies in the Exploitation of Children through Technology], a research and consultation programme on online child protection.  For more details, please visit www.onlineprotect.org.uk.

Dr Merdian is a founding member of the International Workgroup for Best Practice in the Management of Online Sex Offending (IWG), dedicated to facilitate the development and dissemination of a framework for evidence-led practice in the management of online sex offending behaviour.

Speaker's abstract

Significant increases in the number of arrests of individuals who download or distribute Child Sexual Exploitation Material (CSEM) has highlighted a need to further understand the pathways to offending of this growing offender group. This seminar outlines the theoretical and empirical work that led to the development of an aetiological model specific to CSEM offending. Our research with practitioners and individuals who engaged in CSEM offending led to the development of practical tools with the aim of providing systematic guidance for assessment and treatment providers. This work further highlighted the need to apply the principles of a reflective scientist-practitioner when working in a developing research area.

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