The Forensic Evolution of Compulsive Sexual Behavior Disorder

"Fear of forensic misuse was one of the main reasons why "Hypersexual Disorder" was excluded from DSM-5."

"The ICD-11 introduction of "Compulsive Sexual Behavior Disorder" revives concerns about forensic misuse."

"Courts must distinguish those who cannot control impulses from those who simply choose not to."

"When Weinstein reportedly sought treatment for sex addiction following allegations of predatory misconduct, experts and the public alike pushed back, arguing that abusive, coercive acts reflect an abuse of power and a lack of empathy rather than a clinical addiction."

Fear of forensic misuse helped drive the exclusion of Hypersexual Disorder from DSM-5. ICD-11’s introduction of Compulsive Sexual Behavior Disorder brings back concerns that the diagnosis could be used in legal settings in ways that distort responsibility. Forensic psychiatry faces a conceptual struggle over where personal responsibility ends and a mental disorder begins. High-profile sexual scandal cases have often framed behavior as psychological pathology, including claims of compulsive conditions or recovery. #MeToo-era cases, including allegations involving predatory misconduct, have intensified skepticism that abusive, coercive behavior should be treated as clinical addiction rather than misuse of power and lack of empathy. Courts must distinguish inability to control impulses from deliberate choice not to.

Read at Psychology Today