Female Sex Offenders Research Articles

Understanding the Characteristics and Motivations of Female Sexual Offenders: A Systematic Review

Sexual offenses are considered among the most egregious crimes in modern society. While some information is available in the public sphere, most popular conceptualizations of female sexual offenders are more heavily influenced by mythology and popular culture than science. Nonetheless, research helps further identify the characteristics of those who commit these crimes and their relation to those they victimize. This systematic review has been conducted to collect data on female sexual offenders. The initial literature search yielded 5,344 potential articles, 16 of which met the review’s eligibility criteria. The data organized from these articles provide this phenomenon's most recent state of science and provide a detailed picture of these women's identities, along with possible developmental and behavioral trajectories. Findings suggest extensive trauma histories and problematic boundary development in personal and familial relationships are critical factors for consideration--data that doesn't necessarily align with portrayals of these women in popular culture.

What if Marquis de Sade Was a Woman? New Evidence of Sex Differences in Behavioral Manifestation of Sadism.

This study aims to explore the behavioral manifestation of sadism in females involved in sexual crimes. The sample includes 24 female sex offenders for which sadism was assessed with the SeSaS. To conduct a gender-based comparison analysis, we conducted a random selection of 100 sadistic male offenders. Bivariate comparisons and multidimensional scaling analysis were used to determine whether behavioral manifestation and dimensions of sadism are different in female sex offenders. Results showed that sadism in women manifests itself differently from male offenders and practical implications are discussed.

"Pretty Women" and "Lucky Blokes": Unpacking Australian Social Media Responses to Female-Perpetrated Sexual Assault Against Men.

Female-perpetrated sexual violence research in Australia and elsewhere has been limited, part of a less common and arguably contentious field of criminology. Because of gendered social and cultural stereotypes, female sexual offending is often perceived as harmless or too rare to warrant attention. Utilizing Schippers' pariah femininities, this paper presents a critical criminological exploration of social media users' constructions of female sex offenders and their male victim-survivors. Examining 28 Facebook posts from 13 popular Australian newspapers, our findings identified social media users' tendency to question offence severity and sexualize offenders based on appearance, revealing how offender legitimacy and conceptions of harm are shaped by gendered expectations of "pretty women" and "lucky blokes." Conclusions suggest online discourse remains influenced by gendered stereotypes, though awareness of pariah femininities is growing, with further research needed worldwide to explore the impact of such social media attitudes and commentary on the incidence of and reactions to female sexual offending against men, including victim-survivors' help-seeking behavior.

Sexual Grooming Behavior and Processes of Women Who Commit Sexual Offenses Against Children.

Individuals who sexually offend often engage in manipulative and coercive behavior to begin, conceal, and continue the sexual abuse of children over time, referred to as grooming behavior. The large majority of research regarding grooming behavior derives exclusively from male sex offending samples, which is problematic because male and female sex offenders vary widely in their offending patterns, motivations, and behaviors. For the present study, we examined the nature of sexual grooming and processes exhibited by a sample of 50 women convicted of sexual offenses against a child. We were guided by Craven et al. model of sexual grooming, which focuses on self, environmental, and child grooming. To date, this is the only proposed model of sexual grooming that includes self-grooming as a step in the grooming process. Data included narrative interviews with women who were arrested, convicted, and assessed for risk and community notification purposes between 2014 and 2019. We also examined interviews with victims, witnesses, and other guardians. The findings from the current study indicated that women who sexually offend utilize a variety of self, environmental, and child grooming behaviors. Self-grooming was an intricate, complex, and layered process that continued throughout the duration of the offense. Details provided by the women in our sample suggested that environmental and child grooming occurred simultaneously rather than two distinct steps. A better understanding of grooming behaviors can assist in the detection of grooming behavior, development of appropriate responses to child victims, and inform future legislation and its implementation. Theoretical and policy implications are discussed.

Insights on Female Sex Offenders from the Missouri Registry.

There is limited research on female sex offenders and their offending characteristics. The sociocultural description of women as being nurturing, nonaggressive and, more significantly, nonsexual has diverted the attention from female sexual offending. Although reports have shown that female sex offenders make up two percent of the whole sex offender population, the true rate is remarkably higher because the caretaking behavior of women masks their sexual offenses. The purpose of our study is to explore the characteristics of female sex offenders. We analyzed the publicly available Missouri sex offender registry database and selected all female sex offenders (n = 532) of any age who committed their crimes in Missouri and were convicted in Missouri. We found that the 532 female offenders had a mean age of 29.8 years at the time of their first offense and were convicted for a total of 992 offenses. The calculated recidivism rate was close to 0.6 percent. Moreover, 89.5 percent of offenders had strictly contact offenses, whereas five percent had strictly pornography offenses. Implications for risk assessment are discussed.

La délinquance sexuelle féminine : état des connaissances

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.

Unjust Desserts! Unravelling the Gender-Specific Dimensions of Female Sexual Offending

ABSTRACT Western society historically views females as protectors who engage in acts of violence or sexual aggression only when they are triggered by a combative male partner. Nevertheless, research indicates some patterns of female violent offending have been on the rise, and this includes sex crimes. In fact, it has been estimated that female offenders may account for up to 12% of all sexual offenses.. In the present study, we conducted face-to-face interviews with ten females on the sex offender registry in Southeast Texas to explore patterns in sexual offending. Results indicated that respondents in our sample had unique motivations and circumstances that set them apart from male sex offenders. Similar to other studies, our findings reveal the dynamics of female sexual offending are vastly different from sex crimes perpetuated by men.

Caractéristiques sociodémographiques, psychopathologiques et criminologiques de femmes auteurs d’infraction sexuelle

IntroductionSince 2000, the phenomenon of female sexual offenders has been more and more studied in many countries, although it has been minimized for a long time. This population seems to present specific characteristics, different from those of male sexual offenders. ObjectivesStudying sociodemographic, psychopathological and criminological characteristics of a French population of female sexual offenders. Material and methodsThis study is descriptive and retrospective. The first author collected data from a database made of 30 years of psychiatric assessments written by the second author for French courts. The material was created in order to respond to court's questions. The inclusion criteria was being a female sexual offender, according to a wide definition of sexual offending, including rapes, sexual assaults, sexual harassment, corruption of a minor, pimping, exhibitionism. No exclusion criteria were defined. The assessments could be made for pre-trial evaluation of the women or for post-trial evaluation during custody. The data were then collected thanks to a systematic analysis of listed sociodemographic characteristics, psychopathological characteristics and criminological characteristics. Sociodemographic characteristics included: age when the assessment was made and when the offending occurred, year of the assessment, date and place of birth, living department, sentence, level of education, working status, marital status, motherhood, number of children, separation of parents, relationship with the father during childhood, relationship with the mother during childhood, physical, emotional or sexual violence incurred during childhood, life-time history of sexual abuse. Psychopathological characteristics were composed of medical, chirurgical, gynaecological and psychiatric history. The psychiatric history was made of: outpatient follow-up, hospitalization, medical treatment, suicidal, addictive comorbidities, legal protection, allowance for adult disabilities. Criminological characteristics encompass the number of victims, their age, their gender, their link with the female sexual offender, the frequency of the assault, the presence of a co-offender, the level of implication of the female sexual offender. Expert's conclusions included presence of an acute mental trouble, accessibility to a sentence, abolished or altered discernment when it comes to pre-trail assessments. Post-trial assessment examined the presence of an acute mental trouble, implemented cares during custody, evolution of personality, recidivism risk, opportunity of a medial treatment order. Thirty-one cases of female sexual offenders were collected, 16 pre-trial assessment and 16 post-trial ones. Quantitative data were analysed by mean, minimum and maximum. Qualitative data were analysed by and percentage. Association between two qualitative data was led by Fisher exact test. Names were systematically removed from files. ResultsThe mean age of those 31 women is 37-years-old at expertise time and their educational level is low. Most of them are married, and have children (77.4%). They often describe a history of break-up and lack of stability as well as childhood violence or negligence (65.2%). An important number of those women has suffered or still suffers from psychiatric trouble, mostly mood disorders or personality disorder such as dependant personality (12.9% and 48.4%) or cluster-B personalities (32.3%). Yet, those troubles seldom led to an abolishment of discernment (12.5%). Altered discernment concerned more of these women (18.8%). Most of the time, their victims are juveniles and often are one of their children (67.7%). They often acted with a co-offender (57.1%), generally their husband or boyfriend (80%). The incarcerated women have been judged for numerous types of sexual infraction. Psychological and psychiatric cares have been implemented for all of them during their incarceration. A medical treatment order was recommended by the psychiatric expert most of the time in order to consolidate this work (68.8 %). ConclusionThis study raises the same specificities of this population as those found in other past studies, and highlights the important prevalence of chaotic, non-structuring or even traumatic life-pathways within this population.

The Primary Prevention of Female Sexual Offending: Current Opportunities

A public health approach to the primary prevention of sexual offending has generated positive outcomes. Recent campaigns have challenged societal stereotypes of sexual offenders; changed organizational policies and increased public knowledge. However, primary prevention has largely been missing for female sexual offenders. This is because female sexual abuse has generated much less attention than its male equivalent. To introduce relevant context, this article initially presents a short literature review. This aims to critically explore the extent of the issue and what motivates relevant women. Typologies are then applied to introduce the distinctions between solo offenders and co-offenders. This distinction is utilized to consider how primary prevention could address female sexual offending. Two key themes emerge in terms of societal stereotypes and key offending spaces. The current evidence highlights the need to challenge societal norms, which minimize women’s propensity to commit sexual offences. It also appears significant to challenge stereotypes, which glorify attractive women who sexually abuse adolescent males. The opportunities within institutional spaces and the domestic setting are also considered, with deliberation to targeting relevant professionals and guardians in future primary prevention efforts.

Modernized female sex offender typologies: Intrapsychic, behavioral, and trauma related domains

Modernized female sex offender typologies: Intrapsychic, behavioral, and trauma related domains

Does Gender Affect Judges' Perceptions of Sexual Assault Cases?

There is growing recognition that females engage in harmful sexual behaviour that is similar in severity and type to males. Existing research, however, suggests that there is a bias towards leniency in judicial systems for female sexual offenders (FSOs) in comparison to male sexual offenders (MSOs). Specifically, FSOs receive shorter sentences than do MSOs and are less likely to be sentenced to prison. The majority of research examining disparity in sentence outcomes for FSOs have been analysed through a quantitative lens. Qualitative methodology is also needed to understand any subjective differences in the way that judges perceive case-relevant factors and whether these perceptions differ as a function of the offender's gender. The present study is a qualitative study that examined judges' perceptions and descriptions of FSO compared to MSO in 10 matched cases of sexual offending. The study found that although there were many similarities in how judges perceived FSO compared to MSO, there were also unique differences that could explain more lenient sentences for FSOs (i.e. the vulnerability, poor mental health and adverse backgrounds of FSOs). Other unique differences found were that judges' perception of FSOs behaviour was described as depraved and cruel, whereas MSOs similar behaviour was not described in such an emotive way. The present study provides additional insight into the reasons for a bias towards leniency for FSOs. In particular, it points towards judicial focus on particular personal circumstances that are seen as relevant in sentencing FSOs but not for MSOs.

Female perpetrators of child sexual abuse: A review of the clinical and empirical literature – A 20-year update

A comprehensive and well-cited review on the topic of female child sex offenders was published by Grayston and DeLuca in 1999. Over the past twenty years, the clinical and empirical literature relating to female child sex offending has grown. In particular, more is now known about the characteristics of female child sex offenders, and the nature, type, and context of offences, as well as motivations underpinning offending. The purpose of this paper is to provide a review of the current clinical and empirical literature on female child sex offenders, and to update the summary profile on these offenders as originally proposed by Grayston and DeLuca (1999). Of particular note are updates to the co-offending literature and new research regarding the use of technology, abuse within the educational context, and recidivism in female perpetrated child sexual abuse. Implications for assessment and treatment of this offender cohort are also discussed, alongside limitations of this review.

Sexual Victimization Involving Solo Female Offenders: A Crime Script Approach

This study aims to provide a theoretically grounded analysis of the crime-commission process of solo females involved in sexual offending, using crime scripts. The sample includes 93 cases of sexual assaults perpetrated by female offenders in an extrafamilial context. Latent class analysis was used to identify the scripts involved in female sexual offending as well as to explore the relationship between each step of the crime-commission process. Also, additional variables related to victim, offender, and location characteristics were used to test the external validity of the model. Results suggest four different scripts used by females: Daytime Indoor, Coercive Outdoor, Coercive Indoor, and Nighttime Indoor. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Childhood trauma history of female sex offenders: A systematic review

This review examined the existing empirical literature on trauma histories of female sex offenders to investigate the effects of childhood sexual abuse along with other traumatic experiences that lead to developmental traumas. For this, validated questionnaire were used; we searched for articles in PsycInfo, PubMed, CINAHL, MEDLINE, and EMBASE. The inclusion criteria comprised studies that employed the Adverse Childhood Experience Questionnaire and the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire and that were published in English from 2007–2020. To direct this review, the articles’ selection followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews guidelines. After reviewing 2039 abstracts, 78 met the criteria; after removing duplicates, 12 articles were assessed for eligibility. Eventually, four abstracts that used the validated questionnaires were considered admissible and their methods involved non-randomized convenience samples of sex offenders either in prison or in treatment programs. Statistics on female sex offender prosecutions were relatively low compared to victim reports of sexual abuse committed by females. Compared with males, sexual abuse perpetrated by females had more damaging effects on the victims. The results indicated that childhood sexual abuse history was the most common type of maltreatment, along with physical abandonment, emotional abandonment, mental illness at home, and family instability due to divorced or unmarried parents, contributing to the development of sex offending behaviors. Future research should address policies that allow for early intervention and treatments that target the understanding of maltreatment histories to ameliorate the child sexual abuse effects in life's early stages.

Do community females display a propensity towards sexual aggression? An empirical assessment of prevalence and psychological predictors

ABSTRACT Objective: Despite growing interest in female sexual offending, academic understanding of community females who display a propensity towards sexual aggression (PSA) is lacking. Method: Across three vignette studies, we recruited three independent samples of community females (Noverall = 555) to assess the prevalence of female PSA towards males. We also examined whether established risk factors associated with male PSA are valid predictors of female PSA. These included ambivalent sexist attitudes, inappropriate sexual interests, non-sexual aggression, impulsivity, male rape myth acceptance, and sexual preoccupation. Results: Across studies, findings showed that between 26.9% and 44.0% of participants did not emphatically reject an interest in adult male-directed PSA. Key predictors of participants’ non-zero endorsement included an interest in violent sexual activities, rape myth acceptance, and sexual preoccupation. Conclusions: Though lower than their male counterparts (see Bohner, G., Reinhard, M. A., Rutz, S., Sturm, S., Kerschbaum, B., & Effler, D. (1998). Rape myths as neutralizing cognitions: Evidence for a causal impact of anti-victim attitudes on men’s self-reported likelihood of raping. European Journal of Social Psychology, 28(2), 257–268), some community females self-report an interest in perpetrating male-directed sexual aggression. We discuss the implications of our findings on harm prevention efforts with females, alongside avenues for future research.

Exploring Sexual Grooming in Female Perpetrated Child Sexual Abuse

ABSTRACT According to official statistics, two percent of those who commit sex crimes are women, most of which involve child victims. However, victimization surveys suggest the true rate of female-perpetrated child sexual abuse is significantly higher than official statistics, and that it is under-detected and under-reported. Compared to men, relatively little is known about the behaviors and tactics that females employ to perpetrate child sexual abuse. While as many as half of male-perpetrated child sexual abuse involves sexual grooming, sexual grooming has not been empirically studied as it pertains to women. Existing literature, case studies, and media reports describe behaviors and strategies of women who abuse minors which may be suggestive of sexual grooming, particularly in cases of child sexual abuse perpetrated by female educators and child sex traffickers. This article explores what is known about female sexual offending, integrating it with the research on sexual grooming to provide a framework for understanding female sexual grooming behaviors. Implications for prevention, policy, and practice will be examined.

‘Lucky Boy!’; Public Perceptions of Child Sexual Offending Committed by Women

This exploratory study addresses the existing gaps on the public perceptions of child sexual offending committed by women. Using thematic analysis, the study extracted, coded and analysed the comments ( N = 1,651) made by the general public to nine Daily Mail online newspaper articles published from 2018 to 2019, reporting the sentencing decisions of female sex offenders, who have been charged and found guilty with the offence of sexual activity with a child. From those comments, 170 coded themes were identified, and this amounted to 3,394 coded incidences. Unlike previous research, this study cross-examines public responses to different typologies of offending behaviour; teachers, mothers, same sex offenders, co-offenders and finally those who offended for financial gain. The impact of these typologies was analysed through key descriptive case variables, which were quantitively evaluated against the prominent themes that emerged. It found that while people demand equal sentencing decisions between male and female child sex offenders, this is limited by public perception when the abuser is an attractive female and, as a result, perceived as less harmful to the child, who is not seen no longer as a victim but as a ‘Lucky Boy’. Such preconceptions fuel shame, social stigma and stereotyping towards sexual exposure and prevents victims to disclose their abuse and achieve closure and justice.

A Dual-Process Approach to Moral Panic and Public Support for Sex Offender Management Policies.

The current study explores if and how dual-process thinking styles (System I/experiential and System II/rational processing) predict and explain the degree to which members of the public express moral panic toward and support for existing sex offender management policies (registration, notification, residence restrictions), regardless of their efficacy or effects on recidivism rates, for different types of individuals who commit sex offenses (sex offender, juvenile sex offender, cybersex offender, female sex offender, rapist, child molester). Online experimental methods were used with a lay sample (N = 324). Results show that the extent to which participants exhibited a reliance on System I processing significantly predicted their feelings of moral panic (concern, hostility, and volatility) toward individuals classified as child molesters. Further, feelings of concern, hostility, and volatility, as significant predictors of support for existing sex offender management policies for individuals classified as child molesters, were found to increase as a function of participants' reliance on the System I, experiential thinking style. Implications of this work, specifically related to addressing public support for existing sex offender management policies for individuals classified as child molesters, are discussed.

The Silence of Female Sexual Offending: A Public Health Issue

The idea that females can engage in sexually predatory behavior against children and adolescence is difficult to convey to the lay pubic since most of society believes the notion defies conventional ways of viewing the gendered nature and roles that women traditionally perform. Despite this, scholars and researchers examining child sexual abuse are beginning to report on silent offenders (women and young females) and their victimizations that have been largely ignored by criminal justice personnel who are responsible for holding sex offenders accountable. We argue that female sex offending is more common than believed and is both a criminal justice and a public health issue. We also argue that until society recognizes that sex offending is not a gendered crime, more cases will escape the attention of both criminal justice and public health systems that are in positions to punish and treat where appropriate.

Redrawing the Boundaries: The Adequacy of the Sexual Offences Act in Addressing Female Sexual Offending

Discussion around sexual offending traditionally focuses on the notion of male offenders and female victims. In this article, we argue that there is clear evidence that females commit offences and that males are often the victims of these offences. We discuss the evidence for this and the impact it has on the victims of these offences. We argue that the processes which have informed policy in this area have dismissed this class of offending and as a result the Sexual Offences Act and associated policies do not provide a clear enough framework for the prosecution of these offenders. We present some suggestions for how this lacuna could be addressed.