U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice.

NCJRS Virtual Library

The Virtual Library houses over 235,000 criminal justice resources, including all known OJP works.
Click here to search the NCJRS Virtual Library

Exploratory Qualitative Study of the Self-Reported Impact of Female-Perpetrated Childhood Sexual Abuse

NCJ Number
234492
Journal
Journal of Child Sexual Abuse Volume: 20 Issue: 1 Dated: January-February 2011 Pages: 58-76
Author(s)
Rebecca Deering; David Mellor
Date Published
February 2011
Length
19 pages
Annotation
This study examined the impact of female perpetrated sexual abuse.
Abstract
The limited findings on the impact of female-perpetrated sexual abuse of children are often contradictory, particularly in relation to males. In this exploratory qualitative study, a sample of nine men and five women who reported that they had been sexually abused by women in their childhood were recruited from the general community. They completed a questionnaire that asked them to describe various aspects of their abuse experiences and the perceived consequences. For both men and women, the abuse was associated with negative outcomes across a range of functional areas in both childhood and adulthood. Many impacts were similar to those reported by victims of male-perpetrated sexual abuse. It is argued that the consequences of female-perpetrated child sexual abuse are serious, and further research is required to bring these issues to the awareness of both the public and professionals working in the field of child protection and counseling. (Published Abstract)