Healing and Recovery
Karen A. Duncan, M.A., LMFT, LSW

Female Sex Offenders

"If we are to prevent child sexual abuse and stop it when it is occurring, we are going to have to accept that female perpetrators do exist and that they abuse both boys and girls." from "Healing from the Trauma of Sexual Abuse: The Journey for Women" by Karen A. Duncan, M.A., LSW, LMFT released by Praeger Publishers 2004.

A Cultural Disbelief

Among the reasons our culture resist recognizing, acknowledging and talking about female sexual perpetrators is primarily due to a cultural belief that sexual abuse by women, especially when they act alone, is rare and that women are the victims of physical, emotional and sexual violence and not the perpetrators of it.

While it is true women and girls are the majority of victims of sexual abuse in their childhood that frequently extends into their teen years and adult life-there are a group of women who are also commit sexual crimes. These women sexually abuse both boys and girls. Female sexual offenders are different from male perpetrators. And, although men remain the majority of perpetrators, research indicates that females also sexually abuse children.

The Cost of Denial:

When our society denies that sexual abuse occurs by women we deny their victims the support they need to report this trauma and to seek help in their healing. We also aid the female offenders who commit this traumatic crime in not seeking the help they need to stop their offending. Tragically, through this cultural denial, we also allow the crime of sexual abuse by female offenders to continue to the millions of children they offend against today and we deny children who were their past victims the support they need to be believed.

Sexual Abuse of Boys by Women:

Boys are no more helped into manhood by women who sexually abuse them than girls are helped into womanhood by the men who sexually abuse them (Duncan, 2004). Boys are especially harmed when they are victims of sexual abuse by women. Our culture can still refuse to accept that sexual abuse happens to girls and may even blame the female child or adolescent when it does. When sexual abuse happens to boys society blames them too but in a different way. One of the most harmful cultural beliefs is that sexual abuse to boys by women is harmless-this belief is so embedded that jokes are actually made about the sexual abuse to boys. Sexual abuse is just that--sexual abuse! Sexual perpetrators, whether men, women or juveniles are not teaching any child or teen about human sexuality when they commit sexual abuse. Instead, they are introducing their victims into a cycle of a sexual abuse that can sometimes last a lifetime. The traumatic crime of sexual abuse is known to create pathways to other types of victimization and perpetration years after the original abuse ends. When we stop and realize that most victimization occurs by men, then we also have to recognize that women who abuse boys are contributing to the creation of perpetrators. Not a good legacy to leave our sons!

What do we know:

According to reports by the Safer Society Press, Center for Sex Offender Management and the U.S. Office of Criminal Justice female sexual offenders:

  1. In 2002, females accounted for 6000 sexual offenses (BJS, 2002).
  2. Estimates are that 1.6 million men and 1.5 million women have been sexually abused by women when they were children (1989 figures; estimates are consider underreported).
  3. Among male offenders convicted and sentenced for the crime of sexual abuse 24.6 percent were sexually abused by women (1991 figures).

Background of Female Offenders:

Women who sexually abuse have similarities to their male counterparts. They have issues of low self-esteem, are viewed as socially inadequate and use their power to control and manipulate their victims. Unlike their male counterparts, a significant number of women who sexually abuse children have been victims of sexual or physical abuse in childhood or adult life and sometimes emotional abuse as well. There is also the intergenerational aspect of sexual abuse with these women--not only were they victims of sexual abuse as children, but so were their mothers.

Characteristics of female sex offenders:

  1. The majority of women who are reported are young with an average age ranging from 22 to 33 years old.
  2. A high percentage of women have experienced sexual abuse as children or teens; they are victimized at twice the rate as men.
  3. They often have a history of alcohol and/or drug abuse.
  4. Poor coping skills and an inability to respond to stress in a healthy manner is also identified.
  5. The majority are not mentally ill in terms of suffering from a psychotic disorder.
  6. A majority are employed in professional jobs or as managers.

Their victims:

  1. Are disproportionately young. Women who are reported have offended against children under the age of 17.
  2. A high percentage of their victims are in the family or the perpetrator is close to the victim - friend, teacher, coach, sitter, clergy.
  3. Victims are both boys and girls with a slightly higher number of girls but these number are considered low for boys given the underreporting of boys as victims by both men and women.
  4. Younger children, under the age of 12, are more often the victims of women over the age of 30 years old.
  5. Children between the ages of 13 to 17 are often the victims of women who are between the ages of 18 to 25 years old.
  6. Women do not tend to show a "victim age preference" in the same way male perpetrators may show.

Four types of female sexual offenders are proposed by Duncan (2006) based on current research1

  1. Predisposed familial offender: An adult female family member who has a history of trauma and is predisposed to sexual offending and other types of child maltreatment as an outcomes of her own history of sexual abuse and maltreatment. This typology would include a woman who is currently the victim of domestic violence by a male who is sexually offending. This category recognizes the risk of previous and current victimization in the developmental pathway to sexual offending for females either alone or with a partner.

  2. Developmentally delayed offender: An adult females 18 years or older who indicates some types of developmental delay that is diagnosed by a standardized assessment. This category recognizes the impact developmental problems and organic syndromes have on the history of sexual offending for this group of females as well as their risk for a history of sexual victimization.

  3. Child exploiter offender: An adult female who is a non-family member and has a history of exploiting her dominant relationship or authority status with a child or adolescent. This category recognizes the cognitive distortions that may be distinct to this category of female offender in terms of believing that her sexual abuse is based on mutual attraction and love interests rather than on planned manipulation of a minor for her own sexual and emotional gratification.

  4. Violent female offender: An adult female who primarily uses physical coercion to commit her sexual offenses and may cross over to the above categories of typology. These women may most often resemble the predatory type of aggressive sex offender who has a predominant need for power and control over her victim.

What Schools Can Do:

Provide prevention education to students about this group of sex offenders. Monitor and evaluate teachers for their behavior with regard to appropriate standards of touching, dress, language and relationship with students. Set appropriate limits with regard to teacher-student time spent together and appropriate supervision. Act when violations occur and report suspected abuse to authorities and parents.

What the Media Can Do:

Educate and provide training to reporters, journalists and producers about female sexual perpetrators and child sexual abuse. Use language in media coverage-television, radio and print-that conveys sexual abuse as a traumatic crime committed by women and men against children. Talk to and interview professionals who know about sexual abuse and perpetrators. When interviewing a convicted female or male offender balance the interview with information from a professional expert in order to maintain ethical reporting and provide the public accurate and thoughtful information. When interviewing victims whether children, teens or adults have a professional and knowledgeable expert on the television or radio show and quoted within the text of an article so as not to present sexual abuse as harmless and better explain the traumatic crime of sexual abuse. The media can provide a valuable community service by taking a primary role in educating the public about this crime and the people who commit it. Ms. Duncan offers a one-day workshop for the media titled: "The Media's Role in Preventing Sexual Abuse". Ms. Duncan can be reached at www.healing4women.com or at 317-888-4141.

1Matthews, R., Matthews, J.& Spelz, K. (1993); Vandiver & Kercher (2004); Duncan (2006).

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