According to a prominent charity leader, societal understanding and attitudes towards pedophilia have remained largely unchanged over the past three decades, despite efforts to support offenders and prevent further harm to children. Rev. Harry Nigh, the trailblazing founder of Circles, an international organization that assists child sex abusers in reintegrating into communities after serving prison sentences, recently shared his insights on the challenges still faced in this controversial field.
Speaking in London while marking the 30th anniversary of Circles’ first “circle” of volunteers supporting a known offender in Canada, Rev. Nigh emphasized that while child protection must always remain the top priority, isolating and shaming individuals who have committed sexual offenses against minors often backfires. “Anything that drives people underground even further endangers the community itself,” he cautioned, arguing for a more nuanced approach beyond simply locking offenders away.
Circles Model: Support and Accountability
The Circles program, which has expanded from its humble beginnings in Ontario to the UK, Europe, and Australia, pairs a released offender (known as the “core member”) with a group of local volunteers who provide both support and supervision as the individual navigates re-entry into society. Evaluations have consistently shown this community-based model to have a significant impact on reducing rates of re-offense.
We started with one guy who needed to have some support. It’s an amazing thing to see it spread like that.
Rev. Harry Nigh, founder of Circles
However, Rev. Nigh acknowledged that public perception of pedophilia has not noticeably improved over the 30 years since Circles began its work. “I don’t think that the public perception has improved an awful lot,” he admitted. “While there is a little bit of credibility with this work now, it’s a very fragile thing.”
Adapting to Changing Landscape of Abuse
As the nature of child sexual abuse has evolved, particularly with the rise of online offending, Circles has had to adapt its approach. In the UK, the Reboot program was developed to provide structured sessions for internet offenders, focusing on building offline relationships and coping strategies. Yet the core principles of community support coupled with accountability have remained constant.
Rev. Nigh emphasized the importance of affirming the humanity of offenders, even as they are held responsible for their actions. “It’s not all hugs and kisses,” he noted. “There can be some very hard conversations and confrontations. But the studies show that men with a Circle are 70 to 80% less likely to reoffend than a control group.”
Political Headwinds and Funding Challenges
With public funding under pressure in both Canada and the UK, Rev. Nigh expressed concern that the current political climate makes it increasingly difficult for decision-makers to justify supporting interventions for reviled offenders. “When there’s an impulse that moves to the right, it’s a very easy call for politicians to say ‘lock them up,'” he observed. “It’s short thinking.”
This is one of the most creative ways in which we can invest public funds for community safety. How does withdrawing funding for these initiatives affect the rate of offences against children and vulnerable people?
Rev. Harry Nigh
Despite the challenges, Rev. Nigh remains committed to the ethos of restorative justice that underpins Circles. “Harm cannot be remedied completely by locking people up,” he asserted, while acknowledging the need for offenders to face consequences. “These are people who have finished their prison sentence. And so what do they come out to?”
Volunteers: Getting Their Hands Dirty
One of the strengths of the Circles approach, according to Rev. Nigh, is the grassroots nature of the volunteer engagement. It “allows people to get their hands dirty, to have a face-to-face experience of walking with people as they leave prison.” Notably, a small but significant number of Circles volunteers are themselves survivors of childhood sexual abuse.
While recognizing why many view offenders as undeserving of support, Rev. Nigh maintains that active involvement in an offender’s life is ultimately better for public safety than allowing them to languish unsupervised. “It’s better for people to be checking in on a guy who is isolated in a basement apartment somewhere,” he argued, “than for him to have no one.”
Investing in Community Safety
As Circles marks its 30th anniversary, Rev. Nigh’s pioneering vision of community-driven accountability and support for some of society’s most marginalized and maligned individuals is facing daunting headwinds. Yet as he surveys a movement that, against all odds, has managed to seed itself across continents, his faith in the transformative power of human connection remains unshaken.
While acknowledging the need for continued vigilance in protecting children, Rev. Nigh argues passionately for viewing even the most egregious offenders through a lens of shared humanity. In an age of political polarization and hardening attitudes, his unwavering advocacy serves as a poignant reminder that true community safety may hinge less on reflexively punitive measures than on a collective willingness to confront uncomfortable realities with both clear-eyed pragmatism and courageous compassion.
