La délinquance sexuelle féminine : état des connaissances

Abstract

Until recently, the general population tended to believe that a woman could not be the perpetrator of coercive sexual behavior. While it is difficult to identify what may have fueled this belief, it may be associated with misconceptions about female behavior (example: a woman is rarely violent, but rather the target of violence) and/or sexual assault (example: a sexual assault is rape, which necessarily involves penile vaginal penetration). However, research in recent years has shown that women are also capable of committing sexual offenses (example: touching), alone or with a partner, sometimes under duress and other times on their own initiative. Who are these women? During this interview with Jean-Pierre Bouchard, Alexandre Gauthier, Ingrid Ménard, Tamsin Higgs, and Jonathan James attempt to answer this question by addressing: the false beliefs surrounding this form of delinquency and their impact on prevalence rates; the typical profile of female sexual offenders, distinguishing between those who act alone and those who act with a partner; and the main explanatory models of this form of delinquency. The researchers conclude by presenting the main parameters to be considered in the management of these women in a therapeutic context.