VICTORIA - The British Columbia government has suspended a program that attempts to test the sexual responses of young male sex offenders by attaching sensors to their genitals.
The tests require offenders as young as 13 to look at images of nude and semi-nude children and listen to audio descriptions of forced sex while their physical responses are measured.
"It sounded like something out of the 1950s," David Eby, executive director of the B.C. Civil Liberties Association, said. "I was shocked that it was still happening today. We have so many more sophisticated ways of treating people and evaluating them. It seemed very primitive."
Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond, B.C.'s children's representative, announced Wednesday that the testing program has been suspended while she investigates.
That came as welcome news for the civil liberties association and Vancouver-based Justice for Girls, which first raised concerns.
The machine that was attached to the genitals and used in the program is called a penile plethysmograph.
Eby said child sex offenders were told the tests were part of their court-ordered treatment program.
"They've been trying to identify where there are certain trends in arousal patterns that indicate someone is more or less likely to re-offend," said Eby. "So, essentially like a crime-predictor machine."
Annabel Webb, Justice for Girls' director, said in a statement she's relieved the government has stopped the "abusive tests."
Webb said she hopes Turpel-Lafond's investigation will address the harm the tests can do, as well as review the ethics surrounding the assessments on children.
The tests were part of research by B.C.'s Youth Forensic Psychiatric Services and involved young sex offenders who were ordered by a court to participate in sex offence treatment.
A statement from Children and Family Development Minister Mary Polak said the Youth Forensic Psychiatric Services exists to help youths get treatment and identify risks and prevent relapse.
She said the ministry relies on the advice of medical professionals and clinical practitioners as it relates to the treatment of youth who have committed -- and have been found guilty of -- serious sexual offences.
Polak said the form of assessment is completely voluntary, involves parental or guardian consent, and can be withdrawn at any stage.
She said she is willing to discuss any concerns with the civil liberties association and welcomes Turpel-Lafond's review.
Andre Picard, director for Youth Forensic Psychiatric Services, said he also welcomes the review and the opportunity to show officials that British Columbia is at the forefront when it comes to treating and studying youth sexual offenders.
"What we're talking about here is one particular assessment tool of many that we use to gather information about the deviant sexual arousals of young persons who have been charged and convicted of a serious sexual offence," he said.
