The challenge is how to make up for the lack of 'empathy,' which makes them unable to be considerate toward others or control themselves when they know they are doing something bad.

Trying to create empathy is probably the toughest route to change behaviour and a low success rate is a bad thing in this area.

The consequences - imprisonment and a life of exclusion - may help, as will confronting the addiction, escapism and pleasure that is sought, and the damage that is caused.

Some offenders have mechanisms for justifying or excusing their behaviour to themselves. These need to be shown to be false and self-deceiving.

Some people have addictive personalities. If it is possible to switch an addiction from an abusive behaviour to a benign and non-destructive behaviour, it may be a more effective route away from offending. Then you can treat their general addiction issue through therapy.

Others may need to confront past experiences that have lead to toxic and abusive behaviour, perhaps a malformed self-image or a range of social inadequacies.

Some may be willing to recognise destructive patterns of behaviour and switch away from them in a manner that prevents them, when they recognise them starting. This may be as simple as a Pavlovian response - returning home and working out. It's not really a long term fix, but it breaks a cycle of destructive behaviour and allow time for general therapy.

If an individual has a mess of a life, rebuilding it may be the only way to exclude such behaviour.

It's important to recognise that individuals are different. Although the behaviour you want to stop may be similar in several people, they will each require a personalised approach to best enable them to change. Good therapists have a range of techniques available to them, and will deploy whichever is appropriate for each subject.

An excellent post, GBR48, thank you.

Hard to develop empathy for sexual crimes when the perpetrators have been inundated with images and videos which glorify their actions from a young age.

Why not say also a certain truth : some persons are born his way.

If society accepts homosexuals for instance (to make it easy to understand as an example, no offense), one has to accept that some others are criminal deviants not by choice but due to innate pattern.

Ted Bundy comes to my mind (warning : unspeakable criminal).

If the man is guilty then castration is enough. If the woman is guilty then something equivalent to that is also enough.