Unfitness to Plead. Volume 1: Report.

This has been produced along with Volume 2: Draft Legislation as a combined document Presented to Parliament pursuant to section 3(2) of the Law Commissions Act 1965 Ordered by the House of Commons to be printed on 12 January 201

Sexual offending and autism spectrum disorders

Purpose - Studies have found innate vulnerabilities which potentially may increase the risk of an individual with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) finding themselves involved with the criminal justice system as a result of being charged with a sexual offence. The purpose of the present review is to evaluate the literature which has explored sexual offending in individuals with ASD. Design/methodology/approach - A systematic PRISMA review (PRISMA, Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) was conducted using internet-based bibliographic databases (PsycINFO, MEDLINE, Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection and PsycARTICLES) in order to access studies which investigated to any degree the association between ASD and sexual offending. Findings - Only a small number of case reports (N = 7) on sexual offending in individuals with ASD and a small number of prevalence studies (N = 7) were identified. Research limitations/implications - Research is urgently required to identify the specific requirements and needs of sexual offenders with ASD in order to inform an appropriate treatment strategy for successful outcomes. Originality/value - Relatively few studies and reviews have investigated the area of ASD and sexual offending specifically