Next Article in Journal
Quantitative Assessment of the Learning Curve for Robotic Thyroid Surgery
Next Article in Special Issue
Mental Health and Proximal Stressors in Transgender Men and Women
Previous Article in Journal
Efficacy and Safety of Intravenous Thrombolysis in Patients with Acute Ischemic Stroke and Pre–Existing Disability
Previous Article in Special Issue
Couple Relationship and Parent-Child Relationship Quality: Factors Relevant to Parent-Child Communication on Sexuality in Romania
Search for Articles:
All Article Types
    Advanced Search
     
    Journals
    JCM
    Volume 8
    Issue 3
    10.3390/jcm8030401
    jcm-logo
    Submit to this Journal Review for this Journal Edit a Special Issue
    ► Article Menu

    Article Menu

    share announcement textsms
    0
    first_page
    settings
    Font Type:
    Arial Georgia Verdana
    Font Size:
    AaAaAa
    Line Spacing:
    Column Width:
    Background:
    Open Access

    J. Clin. Med. 2019, 8(3), 401; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm8030401

    Review
    Uncovering Female Child Sexual Offenders—Needs and Challenges for Practice and Research
    by Safiye Tozdan *, Peer Briken and Arne Dekker
    Institute for Sex Research and Forensic Psychiatry, University Medical Center Hamburg–Eppendorf, 20251 Hamburg, Germany
    *
    Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
    Received: 20 February 2019 / Accepted: 21 March 2019 / Published: 22 March 2019
    Download PDF

    Abstract

    :
    This article provides a short literature overview on female child sexual offenders (FCSO) focusing on the discrepancy between prevalence rates from different sources, characteristics of FCSO and their victims, as well as the societal “culture of denial” surrounding these women. FCSO are a powerful social taboo. Even professionals in the healthcare or justice system were shown to respond inappropriately in cases of child sexual abuse committed by women. As a result, offences of FCSO may be underreported and therefore difficult to research. The lack of scientific data on FSCO lowers the quality of child protection and treatment services. We therefore deem it particularly necessary for professionals in health care to break the social taboo that is FCSO and to further stimulate research on the topic of FCSO. We provide some general implications for professionals in health care systems as well as specific recommendations for researchers. We end with an overall conclusion.
    Keywords:
    child sexual abuse; female perpetrator; mother-child incest; gender stereotypes; social taboo

    1. Introduction

    1.1. Background

    Stereotypically, child sexual abuse implies the image of a male perpetrator sexually abusing a female child. However, due to an expanding research field since the 1980s [1], it is well established scientific knowledge today, that part of all child sexual offences are committed by women [2,3,4,5,6].
    Although research data on female child sexual offenders (abbreviated female child sexual offenders (FCSO) in the following References [1,2,5,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14]) is available and can be used for reviews and meta-analyses, there is still a noticeable gap of information on what is known about FCSO as opposed to male child sexual offenders [15]. Additionally, most of what is known resulted from studies with only small clinical samples of female offenders registered by the criminal system [16]. Consequently, the assessment and treatment of FCSO is insufficient [2].
    Irrespective of the perpetrator’s gender, child sexual abuse is an underreported crime [17]. One reason for the low level of knowledge about FCSO could be that FCSO are rarely registered in official statistics and are therefore difficult to reach for clinicians and researchers. One possible explanation for this phenomenon is that child sexual abuse committed by women seems to be a powerful social taboo [18]. Therefore, there is a marked resistance against the disclosure of FCSO [19] even among professionals in the health care and justice system [20]. In order to encourage the disclosure of FCSO, enhance the thematic research, and improve the quality of child protection and prevention, we deem it particularly necessary for clinicians and researchers in the field of sexual health to overcome this taboo.

    1.2. Aim

    This article is not a systematic review but is intended to provide a short narrative literature overview on the discrepancy between prevalence rates based on different sources (official reports vs. victimization surveys) and on the adult FCSO’s characteristics (e.g., average age, socioeconomic status, mental health issues, victims). Secondly, we focus on FCSO as a social taboo that even percolates the health care and justice system. In order to overcome this social taboo, we provide some general implications for professionals in health care systems. In order to foster research activities on FCSO, we give specific recommendations for researchers in the field of sexual medicine.

    2. Method

    We explored the current literature on FCSO and mainly included reviews and studies on FCSO from 2000–2019 examining large and/or representative samples. We focused on data from countries sharing similar cultural and societal backgrounds. We included some additional studies that were published before the year 2000, but had an important impact on this research field and are still frequently cited. We excluded articles in which only juvenile FCSO or general female sexual offenders (with adult victims) were analyzed. Search terms included “female”, “woman”, or “mother” with “sexual child abuse”, “child sexual offending”, or “incest” as well as “social taboo” or “gender stereotypes”. Searches were performed in PsychInfo, PubMed, KrimDok, and socINDEX. When necessary, additional references were used (e.g., Google).

    3. Female Sexual Child Offenders

    3.1. Prevalence of Female Child Sexual Offenders

    Due to different methodologies and samples, prevalence reports of sexual child abuse committed by women vary within the literature. There are two main sources of information for estimating the prevalence of FCSO: Firstly, official reports (i.e., from police or court offices); secondly, victim reports. An overview of the results of different studies and reviews is shown in Table 1 and Table 2.
    Table 1. Prevalence rates (PR) for female child sexual offenders (FCSO) based on official reports.
    Table
    Table 2. Prevalence rates (PR) for female child sexual offenders (FCSO) based on victimization surveys.
    Table
    The comparison of prevalence rates based on official reports (Table 1) and those based on victimization surveys (Table 2) clearly demonstrate a great gap. Sexual offences against children committed by women appear to be underreported and not prosecuted adequately. Table 2 only includes studies with large sample sizes and/or those examined representative samples published from 2000 and onwards. Taking into account earlier studies on smaller and/or clinical samples, even higher prevalence rates for FCSO with male victims are reported. For instance, Fromuth and Buckhart [32] investigated male students from a midwestern (n = 253) and a southwestern (n = 329) American university. Thirty-eight males from the midwestern university reported that they were sexually abused as a child and 78% furthermore specified a female perpetrator. Forty-three males from the southwestern university had been sexually abused as children, of whom 78% reported a female perpetrator [32].

    3.2. Characteristics of Female Child Sexual Offenders and Their Victims

    Research so far indicates that FCSO are a rather heterogeneous population with different features [5,33,34,35]. However, some common characteristics of FCSO and their victims were found.
    The average age of FCSO seems to range from 26–36 [5]. For instance, Faller [3,36] reported on a sample of 40 FCSO with a mean age of 26.1 years [36] and on another sample of 72 FCSO with a mean age of 28 years [3]; and Nathan and Ward [37] reported on 12 FCSO with a mean age of 30 years. The majority of FCSO in empirical research showed a rather low socioeconomic status [5,12,38] with little vocational qualifications [12,39,40]. According to Berner, Briken, and Hill [41], more than 50% of FCSO had experienced sexual and/or physical abuse themselves [41]. Indeed, many studies demonstrated FCSO as being mentally, sexually, and/or physically abused during childhood [12,38,42,43,44,45]. They often show mental health problems, particularly substance abuse [45], personality disorders (passive and/or dependent) with rather low self-esteem [46], and are frequently involved in abusive relationships during adulthood [38,47] or have an absence of intimate relationships [45]. FCSO further appear to be impulsive with low levels of emotional self-regulation [48].
    Typically, FSCOs find their victims in their closer social circle [3,16,35,42,49,50]. Often they are their victims’ caregivers, i.e., mothers, other relatives, or babysitters [3,16,38]. The prevalence rates shown in Table 2 indicate that FCSO appear to sexual abuse male victims more often than female victims. However, research results so far are not sufficiently reliably to predict who may be at higher risk to be abused by an adult woman: boys or girls [5]. Victims’ age ranges from infants to adolescents [51,52].

    3.3. Perception and Handling of Female Child Sexual Offenders

    The discrepancy between official reports and victimization surveys on the prevalence of FCSO clearly demonstrates the under-recognition of women who behave in a sexually abusive manner. Official statistics only reflect those women who have had contact with the criminal justice or social service system. This indicates that reporting FCSO to the police or child welfare agencies seems to be a great obstacle. In fact, from the very beginning of scientific confrontation with FCSO in the 1930 [53], women who sexually abuse children have been a powerful social taboo [18]. Women are usually portrayed as victims and as being passive, innocent, and sexually submissive. Moreover, they are primarily normalized as the gatekeepers of sexuality [18]. In terms of anatomy, some have argued that women are receivers of sexuality which might make it difficult to imagine a woman as someone who sexually abuses others [54]. Instead, women are frequently seen as nurturers and protectors in positions of trust. They are thought of as mothers and those who provide care for others. Women who sexually abuse children undermine such normative labels and challenge traditional gender stereotypes that are firmly established in society [18].

    3.3.1. Society

    The way in which members of a society perceive and respond to certain events is significantly shaped by medial reports [55]. Research so far has shown that media’s representation of sexual offenders is biased [56]. In an analysis of 29 newspaper articles published in Australian dailies, Landor and Eisenchlas [56] showed that male sexual offenders are strongly criticized in media reports, whereas female sexual offenders are usually described in a more sympathetic way. Furthermore, the articles on FCSO usually contain excuses to justify or lessen the seriousness of the women’s abusive behavior [56]. Hayes and Baker [18] also analyzed the way in which the media reports on women who sexually abused children. The authors theorized that media reports tend to reinforce traditional gender stereotypes and therefore suppress the development of a public awareness of sexual offences committed by women. Examining 487 media reports from Australia and the United Kingdom, they found that the media mainly presents FCSO as aberrations and pariahs (in terms of outcasts), and thus do not contribute to an atmosphere supporting the safe and timely reporting of offences by victims [18].
    Mackelprang and Becker [57] demonstrated that this unequal perception of men and women who sexually offend against children is in fact reflected in societal judgements. The authors asked 432 undergraduate students to judge teacher sexual offence vignettes (e.g., amount of time the offender should be incarcerated) that varied by offender’s gender and attractiveness. For all outcome measures reflecting punitive judgements and attitudes towards the offender, female teachers who had had a sexual relationship with a student were evaluated more leniently and judged less punitively than male teachers who did the same. In addition, there has been an even greater tolerance for FCSO when they were described as attractive instead of unattractive. This effect was not observed for the vignettes on male child sexual offenders [57].

    3.3.2. Professionals

    Professionals in healthcare, criminal justice, and child protection systems were also shown to respond inappropriately in cases of child sexual abuse committed by women [58,59,60,61,62]. For instance, children’s disclosure was brushed aside as fantasies [63] or abusive women gained further access to potential victims [64]. In 2010, Mellor and Deering [20] examined professional responses and attitudes toward FCSO. A total of 231 Australian psychiatrists, psychologists, probationary psychologists, and child protection workers were presented with a variation of vignettes describing women and men who had sexually offended against children. Afterwards they completed a questionnaire on their attitudes to women’s offending behavior toward children. Compared to male-perpetrated child sexual abuse, female-perpetrated child sexual abuse was more likely to be rated leniently. This “indicates that a level of professional minimization towards female-perpetrated child sexual abuse exists” [20] (p. 433). Psychotherapists who treat young patients experiencing mother-incest-abuse initially often struggle with the idea of reporting these cases [65]. As Haliburn concluded, the frequency of mental health patients reporting histories of child sexual abuse does not surprise clinicians anymore. However, when the perpetrator is a woman, clinicians’ reaction often is “shock and disbelief and a tendency to be dismissive” [65] (p. 423).

    3.3.3. Victims and Offenders

    As a consequence of FCSO being a social taboo, their victims often have difficulties in recognizing their experiences as sexually abusive [66] and feel intensly confused [67]. It is not unusual that FCSO disguise their abusive behavior as part of childlare activities [67]. This might in part be the reason why in fact even the offenders themselves have difficulties in recognizing their behavior as sexually abusive [68]. FCSO’ victims are faced with serious issues regarding the disclosure of their abuse [69], thus hesitating more often to disclose the abuse than victims of male offenders [70]. It is particularly worth mentioning that victims of FCSO in early treatment stages even appear to lie to their therapists about their abuser’s sex, claiming that they were perpetrated by a man [71]. These difficulties might be even worse when the female perpetrator is the own mother [72]. Usually shrouded in secrecy, Haliburn [65] called mother–child incest a “double betrayal”, since both, the violation of trust as well as the exploitation of the child’s affection and dependency needs to take place. Individuals who were sexually abused by their own mother were described as feeling additional shame and stigma [73].

    4. Implications

    Based on the outlined research, we propose some general implications for professionals in health care followed by more specific recommendations for researchers in the field of sexual health. As there are many possible clinical and research implications, we do not make any claim to comprehensiveness.

    4.1. General Implications

    Offences of FCSO are underreported and therefore FCSO are difficult to study. The resulting knowledge gap about FSCOs reduces the quality of child protection and treatment services. We therefore deem it particularly necessary for health care professionals to overcome the social taboo that is FCSO.
    As mentioned, there seems to be a marked resistance in the general public and the health care system to detect FCSO [19]. Historically, the same kind of resistance was documented for the acceptance and awareness of men who sexually abuse children [74]. Thus, in accordance with Mellor and Deering [20], we state that the overall awareness and appropriate attitude towards FCSO have to be improved in health care, criminal justice, and child protection systems. Since a structured training as proposed by Mellor and Deering [20] may strain the organizational capacities of most institutions, we recommend an increased engagement of the issues concerning FCSO in internal conferences and discussions. This may lead to a more open discussion of FCSO among colleagues and therefore to a stronger representation of the issue in the professional’s mind. Consequently, this should help to uncover the abusive behavior for both victims and offenders.
    As media portrayals of FCSO and their victims are generally inadequate [18], instructions for journalists concerning the appropriate attitude towards FCSO are also deemed necessary.
    The tendency to deny and minimize, leads to FCSO being a hidden phenomenon, undeniably difficult to uncover (cf. References [18,75,76,77,78,79,80]). We therefore advise professionals in both clinical practice and scientific research to consciously challenge and control their own underlying mechanisms of denial when confronted with cases of FCSO.
    Since it is assumed that victims of FCSO and even FCSO themselves have difficulties to recognize the women’s behavior as sexually abusive [18], we deem an active approach towards FCSO in order to meet their needs is most appropriate. Therefore, we propose education and information within health care, justice, and other systems. For instance, wherever undetected FCSO and/or their victims might occur (e.g., pediatrician practices, youth welfare offices, kindergarten, schools, counselling for victims of sexual offending, women’s house), an educational brochure could be distributed to adults. It might briefly and simply inform the reader about the fact that women are also capable of sexually abusing children including contact details for both FCSO and victims. By this, a network including members of different professions within health care, justice, and other systems might be built so that regular communication and information between different systems regarding the issues of FCSO can be established.
    Furthermore, we find it important that FCSO are also recognized by the general public, making public outreach necessary. Where great campaigns and activities for public outreach are difficult to implement, we suggest rather simple ways to contribute to public awareness of FCSO. Media reports can be considered to have an impact on social discourses [81] and to play a crucial role in the way society perceives and responds to women who sexually abuse children and therefore undermine traditional gender stereotypes [55]. Professionals in the health care system are sometimes being consulted as experts for child sexual abuse, child sexual offenders, or any other related topic for newspaper articles or television reports. In these situations, we believe in the professional’s responsibility to address child sexual abuse by women as an existing problem which can be just as harmful for the victims as child sexual abuse by men can be. In time, the topic may affect and receive more attention in broader circles of the general public and be discussed beyond the professional fields.

    4.2. Implications for Researchers

    FCSO are usually only investigated when they are registered in the judicial system (i.e., when they were reported to the police by victims or others). As described earlier, women who sexually offended against children remain undetected very often due to several reasons [70]. We therefore encourage researchers to attempt additional and more active approaches to recruit FCSO for their examinations. For instance, as research results indicate that FCSO are young women between mid-twenties and mid-thirties, online surveys may be an appropriate tool to investigate this population. Online surveys are a highly economic way to reach out for participants who are inhibited due to several barriers such as women who sexually abuse children and furthermore provide a high level of identity protection. Both of which should be helpful when trying to recruit FCSO. Additionally, online surveys are highly suitable to reach women who are at risk to sexually abuse children but did not yet offend against a child. Besides, researchers already investigated female sexual offenders on the internet concluding that they use the internet to connect with like-minded women [82,83].
    When creating the survey, we recommend simple language due to the relatively low socioeconomic status of FCSO [5]. As many FCSO reported on being abused in their childhood [41] and having mental health problems, such as depression [84] and alcohol abuse [45], researchers are advised to distribute their study link in internet forums and self-help groups on the internet for victims of child abuse, depressive patients and alcohol abusers.
    Additionally, we suggest that researchers should not only include FCSO in their online surveys but also those women who are solely at risk to offend against children and did not yet offend against children. Differentiation between women who have a sexual interest in children can be made, e.g., those who have a pedophilic interest as motive vs. those who have other motives for offending against children or those who are willing to be in treatment vs. those who do not want to be in treatment. These differentiations may lead to different subgroups with varying characteristics implying different research questions and assumptions. This would be in alignment with research on men who are sexually interested in children [85,86,87].
    Finally, if the conditions regarding institutional capacity and financial management are met, qualitative interviews with FCSO or those women who are at risk to sexually offend against children would be valuable to ascertain more details of FCSO’ characteristics, their offence behavior, and their specific underlying mechanisms of denial and minimization.

    5. Conclusions

    General public and professionals both reinforce and maintain traditional gender stereotypes which appear to be barriers to the detection of FCSO [80]. The “culture of denial” surrounding women who are sexually offensive [67] conceals their acts as “silent crimes” [88]. It is likely that the diverting prevalence rates based on different sources (official reports vs. victimization surveys) are related to this biased perception and inappropriate handling of FCSO. As a result, FCSO are underreported and difficult to study which leads to insufficient scientific knowledge. The lack of research data on FSCOs lowers the quality of child protection and treatment services. The fact that even professionals in the judicial and health system appear to be part of this collective repression clearly demonstrates that there is a particular responsibility for researchers and clinicians in the field of sexual health to be aware of their own underlying mechanisms and inner processes of denial. It is important to pursue an active approach towards FCSO. Overcoming the social taboo of FCSO is obligatory, especially in the light of the harsh consequences for victims of FCSO [89]. Moving beyond traditional gender stereotypes seems to be necessary to get over the confusion that women considered so far as caregivers, guardians, and defenders (cf. Reference [90]) are able to be just as sexually abusive to children as men.

    Author Contributions

    Conceptualization, S.T., P.B., A.D.; Methodology, S.T., P.B., A.D.; Software, not applicable; Validation, S.T., P.B., A.D.; Formal Analysis, not applicable; Investigation, S.T.; Resources, P.B., A.D.; Data Curation, not applicable; Writing-Original Draft Preparation, S.T.; Writing-Review & Editing, S.T., P.B., A.D.; Visualization, S.T.; Supervision, P.B.; Project Administration, P.B.; Funding Acquisition, P.B., A.D.

    Funding

    Research is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung, BMBF, 01SR1602).

    Conflicts of Interest

    The authors declare no conflict of interest.

    References

    1. Stathopoulos, M. The Exception that Proves the Rule: Female Sex Offending and the Gendered Nature of Sexual Violence. ACSSA Research Summary, 5th ed.; Australian Institute of Family Studies: Melbourne, Australia, 2014.
    2. Cortoni, F.; Hanson, R.K.; Coache, M.E. The recidivism rates of female sexual offenders are low: A meta-analysis. Sex Abuse 2010, 22, 387–401. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
    3. Faller, K.C. A clinical sample of women who have sexually abused children. J. Child Sexual Abuse 1995, 4, 13–30. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
    4. Finkelhor, D.; Hotaling, G.; Lewis, I.A.; Smith, C. Sexual abuse in a national survey of adult men and women-Prevalence, characteristics, and risk-factors. Child Abuse Neglect. 1990, 14, 19–28. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
    5. Gannon, T.A.; Rose, M.R. Female child sexual offenders: Towards integrating theory and practice. Aggress. Violent Behav. 2008, 13, 442–461. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
    6. Peter, T. Exploring taboos comparing male- and female-perpetrated child sexual abuse. J. Interpers. Violence 2009, 24, 1111–1128. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
    7. Becker, J.V.; Hall, S.R.; Stinson, J.D. Female sexual offenders: Clinical, legal and policy issues. J. Forensic Psychol. P. 2001, 1, 29–50. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
    8. Clements, H.; Dawson, D.L.; das Nair, R. Female perpetrated sexual abuse: a review of victim and professional perspectives. J. Sex. Aggress. 2014, 20, 197–215. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
    9. Cortoni, F.; Babchishin, K.M.; Rat, C. The proportion of sexual offenders who are female is higher than thought: A meta-analysis. Crim. Justice Behav. 2017, 44, 145–162. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
    10. Grayston, A.D.; De Luca, R.V. Female perpetrators of child sexual abuse: A review of the clinical and empirical literature. Aggress. Violent Behav. 1999, 4, 93–106. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
    11. Johansson-Love, J.; Fremouw, W. A critique of the female sexual perpetrator research. Aggress. Violent Behav. 2006, 11, 12–26. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
    12. Nathan, P.; Ward, T. Females who sexually abuse children: Assessment and treatment issues. Psychiatr. Psychol. Law 2001, 8, 44–45. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
    13. Tsopelas, C.; Spyridoula, T.; Athanasios, D. Review on female sexual offenders: Findings about profile and personality. Int. J. Law Psychiatry 2011, 34, 122–126. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
    14. Wakefield, H.; Underwager, R. Female child sexual abusers: A critical review of the literature. Am. J. Forensic Psychol. 1991, 9, 45–69. [Google Scholar]
    15. Bourke, A.; Doherty, S.; McBride, O.; Morgan, K.; McGee, H. Female perpetrators of child sexual abuse: characteristics of the offender and victim. Psychol. Crime Law 2014, 20, 769–780. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
    16. Vandiver, D.M.; Walker, J.T. Female sex offenders: An overview and analysis of 40 cases. Crim. Justice Rev. 2002, 27, 284–300. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
    17. Dreßing, H.; Dölling, D.; Hermann, D.; Kruse, A.; Schmitt, E.; Bannenberg, B.; Salize, H.J. Sexueller Missbrauch von Kindern [Child sexual abuse]. PSYCH up2date 2018, 12, 79–94. [Google Scholar]
    18. Hayes, S.; Baker, B. Female Sex Offenders and Pariah Femininities: Rewriting the Sexual Scripts. J. Criminol. 2014, 1, 1–8. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
    19. Kramer, S.; Bowman, B. Accounting for the “invisibility” of the female paedophile: An expert-based perspective from South Africa. Psychol. Sexualit. 2011, 2, 244–258. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
    20. Mellor, D.; Deering, R. Professional response and attitudes toward female-perpetrated child sexual abuse: A study of psychologists, psychiatrists, probationary psychologists and child protection workers. Psychol. Crime Law 2010, 16, 415–438. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
    21. Richards, K. Misperceptions about child sexual offenders. Trends Issues Crime Crim. Justice 2011, 429, 1–8. [Google Scholar]
    22. Savage, L. Female offenders in Canada, 2017. Juristat 2019, 1, 1–20. [Google Scholar]
    23. Snyder, H.N. Sexual Assault of Young Children as Reported to Law Enforcement: Victim, Incident, and Offender Characteristics; DIANE Publishing: Washington, DC, USA, 2000. [Google Scholar]
    24. German Federal Statistical Office. Lange reihen zur Strafverfolgungsstatistik-II.2 Verurteilte nach ausgewählten Straftaten, Geschlecht und Altersgruppen (Deutschland) [Criminal prosecution statistics–II.2 convicts among offences, sex, and age groups (Germany)].; Statistisches Bundesamt: Wiesbaden, Germany, 2016.
    25. Boroughs, D. Female sexual abusers of children. Child. Youth Serv. Rev 2004, 26, 481–487. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
    26. McLeod, D.A.; Craft, M.L. Female sexual offenders in child sexual abuse cases: National trends associated with child protective services systems entry, exit, utilization, and socioeconomics. J. Publ. Child Welfare 2015, 9, 399–416. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
    27. NSPCC. ChildLine Case Notes. 2009. Children Talking to ChildLine About Sexual Abuse. Available online: https://www.scribd.com/document/39443061/Childline-Child-Abuse-Report# (accessed on 20 March 2019).
    28. Roberts, S.M. Experiencing Sexual Victimisation in Childhood: Meaning and Impact—The Perspectives of Child Sexual Abusers. Ph.D. Thesis, Swansea University, Swansea, UK, 2017. [Google Scholar]
    29. Dube, S.R.; Anda, R.F.; Whitfield, C.L.; Brown, D.W.; Felitti, V.J.; Dong, M.; Giles, W.H. Long-term consequences of childhood sexual abuse by gender of victim. Am. J. Prev. Med. 2005, 28, 430–438. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
    30. NSPCC. ChildLine Case Notes. 2009. What Boys Talk about to ChildLine. Available online: http://assets.mesmac.co.uk/images/what-boys-talk-about-to-childline.pdf?mtime=20151109131208 (accessed on 20 March 2019).
    31. Stadler, L.; Bieneck, S.; Pfeiffer, C. Forschungsbericht Nr. 118. Repräsentativbefragung sexueller Missbrauch 2011; Kriminologisches Forschungsinstitut Niedersachsen e.V: Hannover, Germany, 2012. [Google Scholar]
    32. Fromuth, M.; Burkhart, B. Long-term psychological correlates of childhood sexual abuse in two samples of college men. Child Abuse Negl. 1989, 13, 533–542. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
    33. Miccio-Fonseca, L.C. Adult and adolescent female sex offenders: Experiences compared to other female and male sex offenders. J. Psychol. Hum. Sex. 2000, 11, 75–88. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
    34. Sandler, J.C.; Freeman, N.J. Typology of female sex offenders: A test of Vandiver and Kercher. Sex. Abuse 2007, 19, 73–89. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
    35. Vandiver, D.M.; Kercher, G. Offender and victim characteristics of registered female sexual offenders in Texas: A proposed typology of female sexual offenders. Sex. Abuse 2004, 16, 121–137. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
    36. Faller, K.C. Women who sexually abuse children. Violence Vict. 1987, 2, 263–276. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
    37. Nathan, P.; Ward, T. Female sex offenders: Clinical and demographic features. J. Sex. Aggress. 2002, 8, 5–21. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
    38. Lewis, C.F.; Stanley, C.R. Women accused of sexual offenses. Behav. Sci. Law 2000, 18, 73–81. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
    39. Matravers, A. Understanding women sex offenders. In Criminology in Cambridge: Newsletter of the Institute of Criminology; Institute of Criminology: Cambridge, UK, 2005; pp. 10–13. [Google Scholar]
    40. Tardif, M.; Auclair, N.; Jacob, M.; Carpentier, J. Sexual abuse perpetrated by adult and juvenile females: An ultimate attempt to resolve a conflict associated with maternal identity. Child. Abuse Neglect 2005, 29, 153–167. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
    41. Berner, W.; Briken, P.; Hill, A. Female Sexual Offenders. In Sex Offenders—Identification, Risk Assessment, Treatment, and Legal Issues; Saleh, F.M., Grudzinskas, A.J., Bradford, J.M., Brodsky, D.J., Eds.; Oxford University Press: Oxford, UK, 2009. [Google Scholar]
    42. Fromuth, M.E.; Conn, V.E. Hidden perpetrators: Sexual molestation in a nonclinical sample of college women. J. Interpers. Violence 1997, 12, 456–465. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
    43. Green, A.H.; Kaplan, M.S. Psychiatric impairment and childhood victimization experiences in female child molesters. J. Am. Acad. Child Adolesc. Psychiatry 1994, 33, 954–961. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
    44. McCarty, L.M. Mother–child incest: Characteristics of the offender. Child Welfare 1986, 65, 447–458. [Google Scholar]
    45. Center for Sex Offender Management; U.S. Department of Justice. Female Sex Offenders. 2007. Available online: http://www.csom.org/pubs/female_sex_offenders_brief.pdf (accessed on 20 March 2019). [Google Scholar]
    46. Hunter, J.A.; Mathews, R. Sexual deviance in females. In Sexual Deviance: Theory, Assessment, and Treatment; Laws, D.R., O’Donohue, W.T., Eds.; Guilford Press: New York, NY, USA, 1997; pp. 465–480. [Google Scholar]
    47. Matthews, J.K. Working with female sexual abusers. In Female Sexual Abuse of Children; Elliott, M., Ed.; Guilford Press: New York, NY, USA, 1993; pp. 57–73. [Google Scholar]
    48. Miller, L. Sexual offenses against children: Patterns and motives. Aggress. Violent Behav. 2013, 18, 506–519. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
    49. Hunter, J.A.; Lexier, L.J.; Goodwin, D.W.; Browne, P.A.; Dennis, C. Psychosexual, attitudinal, and developmental characteristics of juvenile female perpetrators in a residential treatment setting. J. Child Fam. Stud. 1993, 2, 317–326. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
    50. Kercher, G.; McShane, M. The prevalence of child sexual abuse victimization in an adult sample of Texas residents. Child Abuse Neglect 1984, 8, 495–502. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
    51. Briggs, F.; Hawkins, R. Protecting boys from the risk of sexual abuse. Early Child Dev. Care 1995, 110, 19–32. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
    52. Ogilvie, B.; Daniluk, J. Common themes in the experiences of mother–daughter incest survivors: Implications for counseling. J. Couns. Dev. 1995, 73, 598–602. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
    53. Bender, L.; Blau, A. The reaction of children to sexual relations with adults. Am. J. Orthopsychiatry 1937, 7, 500–518. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
    54. Jennings, K. Female child molesters: A review of literature. In Female Sexual Abuse of Children; Elliott, M., Ed.; Guilford Press: New York, NY, USA, 1994; pp. 219–234. [Google Scholar]
    55. Berrington, E.; Honkatukia, P. An evil monster and a poor thing: Female violence in the media. J. Scand. Stud. Criminol. Crime. Prev. 2002, 3, 50–72. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
    56. Landor, R.; Eisenchlas, S. “Coming clean” on duty of care: Australian print media’s representation of male versus female sex offenders in institutional contexts. Sex. Cult. 2012, 16, 486–502. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
    57. Mackelprang, E.; Becker, J.V. Beauty and the eye of the beholder: Gender and attractiveness affect judgements in teacher sex offense cases. Sex. Abuse 2017, 29, 375–395. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
    58. Bunting, L. Dealing with a problem that doesn’t exist? Professional responses to female perpetrated child sexual abuse. Child Abuse Rev. 2007, 16, 252–267. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
    59. Deering, R.; Mellor, D. Sentencing of male and female sex offenders: Australian study. Psychiatr. Psychol. Law 2009, 16, 394–412. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
    60. Hislop, J. Female Sex Offenders: What Therapists, Law Enforcement and Child Protective Services Need to Know; Issues Pres: Ravensdale, Ireland, 2001. [Google Scholar]
    61. Mayer, A. Women Sex Offenders: Treatment and Dynamics; Learning Publications Inc.: Holmes Beach, FL, USA, 1992. [Google Scholar]
    62. Saradjian, J. Women Who Sexually Abuse Children: From Research to Clinical Practice; Wiley: Chichester, UK, 1996. [Google Scholar]
    63. Wilkins, R. Women who sexually abuse children: Doctors need to become sensitised to the possibility. BMJ 1990, 300, 1153–1159. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
    64. Freel, M. Women Who Sexually Abuse Children; Social Work Monograph: Norwich, UK, 1995. [Google Scholar]
    65. Haliburn, J. Mother-child incest, psychosis, and the dynamics of relatedness. J. Trauma Dissociation 2017, 18, 409–426. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
    66. Hayes, S. Sex, Love and Abuse: Discourses of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault; Palgrave Macmillan: Bassingstoke, UK, 2014. [Google Scholar]
    67. Denov, M.S. Perspectives on Female Sex Offending: A Culture of Denial; Ashgate: Aldershot, UK, 2004. [Google Scholar]
    68. Elliott, M. Female Sexual Abuse of Children–The Ultimate Taboo; Longman: Harlow, UK, 1993. [Google Scholar]
    69. Goldhill, R. What was she thinking? Women who sexually offend against children–implications for probation practice. Probat. J. 2013, 60, 415–424. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
    70. Davidson, J. Child Sexual Abuse: Media Representations and Government Reactions; Routledge-Cavendish: Abingdon, UK, 2008. [Google Scholar]
    71. Bunting, L. Females Who Sexually Offend Against Children: Responses of the Child Protection and Criminal Justice Systems; Executive summary; NSPCC: London, UK, 2005. [Google Scholar]
    72. Peter, T. Mad, bad, or victim? Making sense of mother-daughter sexual abuse. Fem. Criminol. 2006, 1, 283–302. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
    73. Courtois, C.A. Healing the Incest Wound: Adult Survivors in Therapy, 2nd ed.; Norton: New York, NY, USA, 2010. [Google Scholar]
    74. Jenkins, P. Moral Panic: Changing Concepts of the Child Molester in Modern America; Yale University Press: New Haven, CT, USA, 1998. [Google Scholar]
    75. Amendt, G. Wie Mütter ihre Söhne sehen; Ikaru: Bremen, Germany, 1993. [Google Scholar]
    76. Gavin, H. “Mummy wouldn’t do that”: The perception and construction of the female child sex abuse. In Grotesque feminities: Evil, women and the feminine; Barrett, M., Porter, T., Eds.; The Inter-Disciplinary Press: Oxford, UK, 2006. [Google Scholar]
    77. Heyne, C. Täterinnen-Offene und versteckte Aggression von Frauen [Female Offenders—Women’s Visible and Hidden Aggressions]; Kreuz-Verlag: Zurich, Switzerland, 1993. [Google Scholar]
    78. Robinson, S. From victim to offender: Female offenders of child sexual abuse. Eur. J. Crim. Pol. Res. 1998, 6, 59–73. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
    79. Cortoni, F.; Gannon, T.A. Understanding female sexual offenders. In Theories of Sexual Offending; Ward, T., Beech, A.R., Eds.; Wiley-Blackwell: Chichester, UK, 2017; pp. 453–471. [Google Scholar]
    80. Denov, M.S. The myth of innocence: Sexual scripts and the recognition of child sexual abuse by female perpetrators. J. Sex Res. 2003, 40, 303–314. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
    81. Kuhlmann, C. Journalismus als Moderation gesellschaftlicher Diskurse [Journalism as moderation of social discourses]. In Handbuch Journalismustheorien [Handbook Theories of Journalism]; Löffelholz, M., Rothenberger, L., Eds.; Springer: Wiesbaden, Germany, 2016; pp. 403–416. [Google Scholar]
    82. Elliott, I.A.; Ashfield, S. The use of online technology in the modus operandi of female sex offenders. J. Sex. Aggress. 2011, 17, 92–104. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
    83. Lawson, L. Female sex offenders’ relationship experiences. Violence Vict. 2008, 23, 331–343. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
    84. Muskens, M.; Bogaerts, S.; Van Casteren, M.; Labrijn, S. Adult female sexual offending: A comparison between co-offenders and solo offenders in a Dutch sample. J. Sex. Aggress. 2011, 17, 46–60. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
    85. Tozdan, S.; Kalt, A.; Dekker, A.; Keller, L.B.; Thiel, S.; Müller, J.L.; Briken, P. Why information matters—A randomized controlled trial on the consequences of suggesting that pedophilia is immutable. Int. J. Offender Ther. Comp. Criminol. 2016, 62, 1241–1261. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
    86. Tozdan, S.; Briken, P. The earlier, the worse? Age of onset of sexual interest in children. J. Sex. Med. 2015, 12, 1602–1608. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
    87. Tozdan, S.; Jakob, C.; Schuhmann, P.; Budde, M.; Briken, P. Spezifische Selbstwirksamkeit zur Beeinflussung des sexuellen Interesses an Kindern (SSIK): Konstruktion und Validierung eines Messinstruments [Specific self-efficacy for modifying sexual interest in children (SSIC): Construction and validation of a measuring instrument]. Psychother. Psychosom. Med. Psychol. 2015, 65, 345–352. [Google Scholar]
    88. Eastwood, C. The experiences of child complainants of sexual abuse in the criminal justice system. Trends Issues Crime Crim. Justice 2003, 250, 1–6. [Google Scholar]
    89. Denov, M.S. The Long-Term Effects of Child Sexual Abuse by Female Perpetrators: A Qualitative Study of Male and Female Victims. J. Interpers. Violence 2004, 19, 1137–1156. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
    90. Schippers, M. Recovering the feminine other: Masculinity, femininity, and gender hegemony. Theory Soc. 2007, 36, 85–102. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
    Table 1. Prevalence rates (PR) for female child sexual offenders (FCSO) based on official reports.
    ReferenceCountryYearSource of InformationSample Size (Offenders)PR for FCSO (%)
    [21]Australia2005Incidents reported in official statistics1,294,0001.7 a
    [22]Canada2017Accusations reported in official crime statistics47033.7
    [23]USA1991–1996National Incident-Based Reporting System (incidents reported to law enforcement)8539 (victims younger age 6)12
    12,260 (victims aged 6–12)6
    20,005 (victims aged 12–17)3
    [24]Germany2007–2014Convictions reported in official crime statistics14,0691.4
    [24]Germany2016Inmates remanded in custody reported in official crime statistics4021.7
    Studies included all met the definition of child sexual abuse as experiencing vaginal/anal penetration or attempted penetration with fingers, penis, objects and/or oral sex, attempted oral sex, unwanted sexual touching or fondling or any other kind of sexual interaction before the age of 17. a Only includes female relatives, no female strangers.
    Table 2. Prevalence rates (PR) for female child sexual offenders (FCSO) based on victimization surveys.
    ReferenceCountryYearSource of InformationSample Size (Victims)PR for FCSO (%)
    [25]USA1996National Incidence Study by the National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect (NCCAN)300,20012
    [26]USA2009/10Child protective system reports from the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS)66,76520
    [27]UK2008/09Analyses of call records from ChildLine (free hotline for children in need)12,26817
    [28]UK2005/06Analyses of call records from ChildLine6763 a44 b (male victims)
    5 (female victims)
    [29]USA1995–1997Cohort study among adult members of the Kaiser Permanent’s Health Appraisal Centre in San Diego1276 (male victims)20.8
    2310 (female victims)2.1
    [30]UK2007/08Analyses of call records from ChildLine1803 (male victims)26c
    [15]Ireland2001Retrospective data on adult accounts of childhood abuse from SAVI (population-based interview survey)270 (male victims)14.8
    407 (female victims)1.7
    [31]Germany2011Retrospective data from a population-based survey on child sexual abuse among 16–40 year olds83 (male victims)15.3
    404 (female victims)1.5
    Studies included all met the definition of child sexual abuse as experiencing vaginal/anal penetration or attempted penetration with fingers, penis, objects and/or oral sex, attempted oral sex, unwanted sexually touching or foundling or any other. a To our knowledge, the data on ChildLine cited by Roberts [28] have not been published entirely elsewhere. Due to this, it was not possible to specify the sample size by gender. b PR specified by gender indicates the proportion of female perpetrators within gender groups. For instance, a PR of 44 for male victims indicates that 44% of all male victims reported a female perpetrator. c Only includes female relatives, no female strangers.

    © 2019 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

    Texto original

    Sugiere una traducción mejor