Could demonising sex offenders, pushing them out to the margins of society, do more harm than good?
It's a weighty – possibly the weightiest – of questions.
And Mick Peelo, who has been making documentaries for RTÉ's Would You Believe series for 24 years, and investigating sexual abuse within the Catholic Church for over 20 years, has had to face up to that question, while conducting his latest investigation.
"This one, this particular one tonight, is probably the most difficult one I've ever had to make," he told Sean O'Rourke this morning, talking about tonight’s Would You Believe special, Beyond Redemption?
In the documentary, Mick is confronted by harsh evidence that most sexual abuse in Ireland takes place within the family, and he realises that Irish families are doing exactly what the Roman Catholic Church did in the past: covering it up and keeping it secret in order to protect the institution.
Mick visits Arbour Hill prison to hear about the sex offenders' treatment programme and travels to Canada to see a groundbreaking programme started by a Mennonite pastor 20 years ago.
It looks at society’s treatment of paedophiles and asks whether they are they beyond redemption or if there could be another way.
"My understanding of sex offenders has been challenged; my attitude towards sex offenders has been challenged… I would have stereotyped sex offenders; I would have seen them as 'paedos' and as the scumbags that people thought they were – and are – but that language isn't very helpful."
The film also talks to convicted sex offenders and their families and reveals that almost 40 per cent of perpetrators of child sex abuse are actually children themselves.
"They're not paedophiles. They're not monsters. We need to start rethinking this," says Mick, also describing the language we use around sexual abuse, in the media and in society, as understandable but "unhelpful".
But joining the discussion, a man with different perspective: Cormac Walsh, a survivor of sexual abuse at the hands of former teacher and band leader, Michael Byrne, in Wicklow, for most of his teenage years. Here are some of his powerful and disturbing memories.
"He groomed me. He lied to me. He deceived me. He made me think that what he was doing to me was for my own good; that he was helping me. When all the time he was abusing me and satisfying his own deviant sexual desires."
For his crimes, Michael Byrne was sentenced to eight years in Arbour Hill prison with four years suspended. Cormac thinks he will be released next spring and he has no qualms in using strong language to describe his abuser.
"Michael Byrne is a psychopathic monster. He's beyond redemption."
Cormac is by no means an unforgiving person, although such a position would be understandable. But he makes an important distinction: "People can make mistakes. If people are sorry for their mistakes they can be helped. But the paedophiles I'm referring to don't even accept that they've done anything wrong."
Beyond Redemption also takes the viewer to Canada, where police officer Wendy Leaver has been working with the sex crimes unit in Toronto for 20 years. She held the view that sex offenders are beyond redemption until she became involved in the 'Circles of Support' initiative.
"At the end of 1996, the Canadian government came out with new regulations in relation to a 'peace bond', giving police officers the ability to take a look at sex offender's files coming out of the system and make a decision that 'yes, this person is more likely to reoffend, therefore we're going to take him before the court and have conditions put on him'", she said.
One of those conditions was that they join the 'Circles' group: like an AA meeting for sex offenders.
Over time, Wendy, who initially saw these ‘tree-hugger Christians’ as misguided and naïve, changed her perspective. She's now one of the initiative's biggest advocates.
"The circle acts as another set of eyes and ears, and the police are part of the circle; the outer part of the circle," she says.
Cormac, however, is not convinced of the method.
"Should we have circles of support for bank robbers too? … It's all very well to treat the sex offenders, but paedophiles, they're a different breed."
There's no doubt that it's an area fraught with emotional difficulty and fear.
If you have been affected by any of the issues associated with this article, Childline and Childline Online are open every day. You can contact Childline's phone service 24 hours a day on 1800 666 666.
www.childline.ie
You can also contact One in Four, a service that professionally supports men and women who have experienced sexual abuse during childhood, on (01) 6624070 (Monday – Friday 9.30 to 5.30pm).
www.oneinfour.ie