NCJ Number
217583
Journal
Trauma, Violence, & Abuse: A Review Journal Volume: 8 Issue: 1 Dated: January 2007 Pages: 19-32
Date Published
January 2007
Length
14 pages
Annotation
This literature review focuses on studies of the prevalence/scope of sexual offending by females, characteristics of female sex offenders, similarities and differences between male and female sex offenders, and the prevention of sexual abuse by females.
Abstract
Female sex offenders are more likely than male sex offenders to have experienced severe and repeated sexual abuse prior to 6 years old, are more likely to have been victims of incest, are more likely to have attempted suicide, and are more likely to be diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder. Suggestions for preventing female-perpetrated sexual abuse are to offer greater support to female survivors of childhood sexual abuse, address cognitive distortions and enhance empathy in females, reduce deviant sexual fantasies in nonoffending females, and educate the public about female sex offenders. According to a 1999 Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) report, between 1993 and 1997, 2.2 percent of persons arrested for forcible rape each year were female. This amounts to 10,000 females being arrested each year for violent sexual offenses. Another BJS report shows that in the 1990s females were perpetrators in approximately 12 percent of sexual abuse cases reported to police that involved victims younger than 6 years old. Studies that have examined the characteristics of adult female sex offenders have found that most are in their 20s or 30s, are more likely to be Caucasian than other female offenders, and rarely target adult victims. Some commit their offenses with one or more accomplices, who are usually male. Adolescent female sex offenders typically target younger children of both sexes, often offend in the context of babysitting, and are often related to their victims. 42 references and 6 suggested readings