The evaluation and treatment of sexual violence, necrophilia, and asphyxiophilia.

At first sight the phenomena discussed in this paper may seem to have little in common. Yet on close scrutiny it becomes apparent that there is an interesting degree of overlap. Although sexual assaults in general clearly involve multiple causes or factors, social and cultural as well as individual, many sexual aggressors do show psychological or biologic abnormalities which require careful evaluation. Continued empiric study of the variables discussed in this paper is therefore important. The clinical as well as laboratory study of paraphilias with dangerous tendencies to themselves or others is also essential for a better understanding of the causes and relationships between these disorders.