Michael Seto, Ph.D.
Editor-in-Chief, Sexual Abuse
You will have noticed that the journal name has changed to Sexual Abuse, dropping the secondary title. This change was something that I have been thinking about since taking over as Editor-in-Chief in January 2015, and indeed it was something that I proposed to the Board of Directors of the Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers early in my tenure. Because I did not sufficiently or convincingly explain my thinking, the proposal was rejected in a close vote in May 2015. I’m pleased to announce that the ATSA Board of Directors recently voted unanimously to support my updated proposal to change the title, in order to better reflect the evolving mission of the journal.
In particular, the change reflects that the journal’s aims involve high-quality scientific research and a scope that focuses on but is broader than treatment. The journal is intended to be an outlet for scholarly work on the characteristics of perpetrators or those at risk of perpetration, and with the etiology, life course, assessment and prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse. Treatment providers have been and will remain a core part of the journal’s intended audience, but we also want to include policy-makers, judges and lawyers, correctional staff, and other professionals who all have something to contribute to our understanding and our response to the problems of sexual exploitation and abuse.
As I noted in my inaugural editorial as Editor-in-Chief, the journal has a rich and impressive history supporting scholarship in our field. I believe Sexual Abuse is widely recognized and respected in the field, and my goal is to help the journal become even stronger and more effective in contributing to evidence-based theory, policy and practice. I think these goals can be achieved in part through making it clear we are multi-disciplinary and broadening the journal’s reach.
This notice has been published in The Forum newsletter and will appear in an upcoming Journal editorial.