PREVENTING FEMALE-PERPETRATED SEXUAL ABUSE

BRIAN E. OLIVER
University of Missouri, St. Louis

Sexual abuse and sexual assault are serious public health concerns. Although
almost all of the research shows that the majority of sexual perpetrators are
males, there is growing evidence that female-perpetrated sexual abuse is not rare
and that the consequences of female-perpetrated sexual abuse can be just as trau-
matic as male-perpetrated sexual abuse. Despite this, there has been very little
research published that has focused on female sex offending. Furthermore,
although there have been some efforts in the past decade to stop sexual offenses
by targeting potential perpetrators, few efforts have specifically focused on pre-
venting females from becoming sex offenders. In an attempt to fill this gap, this
article describes common characteristics of female sex offenders; and, based on
these characteristics, suggestions are given of possible ways to intervene in the
lives of at-risk females before they offend.

Key words: female sex offenders; sexual abuse; sexual abuse prevention; secondary prevention

INCIDENCESCOPE OF FEMALE- perpetrators in approximately 12% of sexual

PERPETRATED SEX OFFENDING
Although there is little debate that the major-
ity of sex offenders are male, recent federal gov-
ernment crime reports and academic research
articles are fairly consistent in showing that the
number of females who commit sexual offenses
is not trivial. According to a 1999 Bureau of
Justice Statistics report, between 1993 and 1997,
2.2% of offenders arrested for forcible rape each
year were female. Although this percentage
may seem small, it is important to realize that
this estimate amounts to 10,000 females being
arrested each year for violent sexual offenses
in the United States (Greenfeld & Snell, 1999).
Another Bureau of Justice Statistics report
revealed that, according to an analysis of cases
reported to law enforcement officials in the
1990s, females in the United States were the
TRAUMA, VIOLENCE, & ABUSE, Vol. 8, No. 1, January 2007 19-32
DOI: 10.1177/1524838006296747
2007 Sage Publications
abuse cases reported to police involving vic-
tims younger than age 6 years and were further
the perpetrators in approximately 6% of sexual
abuse cases reported to police involving vic-
tims between ages of 6 and 11 years (Snyder,
2000). Snyder (2000) further stated that overall
females were responsible for approximately
4% of the sexual offenses reported to the
police1% of the sexual offenses committed
against adults and 6% of sexual offenses com-
mitted against children.
In comparing juvenile female sex offenders
to juvenile male sex offenders, an analysis of
an Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency
Prevention report indicated that in 2002 of the
4,720 juveniles arrested for rape in the United
States, 3% were females, and of the 19,400 juve-
niles arrested for other sexual offenses (excluding
19
20 TRAUMA, VIOLENCE, & ABUSE / January 2007
KEY POINTS OF THE RESEARCH REVIEW
There are several reasons that might help to explain
why female sexual offending is under-recognized.
Possible reasons include a) female sexual abuse
is seen as relatively harmless compared to sexual
abuse committed by males; b) sexual activity
involving adult females and underage males is, in
many ways, glorified in our society; c) the greater
taboo surrounding female perpetration; and d) tra-
ditional sexual scripts which portray females as
sexually passive and innocent.
Studies that have examined the characteristics of
adult female sex offenders have found that these
offenders are most likely to be in their 20s or 30s,
are more likely to be Caucasian than other female
criminal offenders, and rarely target adult victims.
Some of these women offend along with one or
more accomplices (who are usually, but not
always, male), although there is debate over how
common this form of abuse is.
Adolescent female sex offenders do not seem to
offend in the same manner as adult female sex
offenders. Adolescent female sex offenders typically
target younger children of both sexes, often offend
in the course of babysitting, and are often related to
their victims. They also almost always offend inde-
pendently, without accomplices or co-offenders.
The research that has compared male sex offend-
ers with female sex offenders has shown that the
two groups are different in some areas but also
share several similarities. Differences include that
female offenders were more likely to have experi-
enced severe and repeated sexual abuse prior to
the age of six, were more likely to have been vic-
tims of incest, were more likely to have attempted
suicide, and were more likely to be diagnosed as
suffering from PTSD. The two groups tended to be
similar, however, in terms of age and ethnicity.
They further exhibited similar offense characteris-
tics and were similar on measures of depression,
anxiety, suicidal ideation, self concept, and per-
sonality characteristics.
prostitution) in the United States, 9% were
females (Snyder, 2004). This finding showed
that approximately 7.8% of juvenile sex offend-
ers reported to police in the United States were
female. Similar results were reported in a
British study that found that 8% of juveniles
from a West Midlands city reported to juvenile
protection authorities for sexually abusive
behavior between 1993 and 1999 were female
(Taylor, 2003).
Many people, however, believe that the per-
centage of cases of sexual abuse not reported to
the authorities is much higher for cases involv-
ing female offenders than for cases involving
male offenders (Nathan & Ward, 2001). Several
possible reasons have been given that have tried
to explain why few cases of female sexual abuse
are reported to the authorities. One possibility is
that sexual abuse committed by females is less
likely to be reported because it is seen as rela-
tively harmless compared to sexual abuse com-
mitted by males (Becker, Hall, & Stinson, 2001;
Denov, 2003; Hetherton, 1999). A reason why
some believe that female-perpetrated sexual
abuse is less serious than male-perpetrated
sexual abuse is because sexual abuse committed
by females does not involve a perpetrators
penis (Hetherton, 1999). Along the same lines,
some believe that female-perpetrated sexual
abuse is less serious because sexual activity
involving adult females and underage males is,
in many ways, glorified in our society
(Hetherton, 1999). Another possibility is sexual
abuse committed by females is less likely to be
reported because of the greater taboo surround-
ing female perpetration (Hetherton, 1999). This
is evidenced in the finding by Lawson (1993)
that male victims of motherson incest often
only disclosed while in long-term therapeutic
relationships. An additional possibility is given
by Denov (2003), who stated that traditional
sexual scripts, particularly the societal percep-
tion of females as sexually passive and innocent,
may play an important role in the underrecog-
nition and underreporting of female sex offend-
ing (p. 308). Other possible reasons given are
that women can mask some forms of abuse
under the guise of caretaking, women may
engage in more subtle forms of abuse, and some
boys may be less likely to report sexual abuse
committed by females because of embarrass-
ment (Kaplan & Green, 1995).
Self-report studies have generally confirmed
that the actual percentage of cases involving
female offenders is larger than the number of
cases reported to the authorities, though the per-
centage of cases involving female offenders has
varied greatly. Perhaps the most widely cited
finding regarding the rate of female sexual
offenses comes from Finkelhor and Russell (1984)
who stated that the best estimates, based on a
variety of surveys of the general population, put
the percent of sexual contacts by older females to

be about 20% (range 14% to 27%) for male
children and about 5% (range 0% to 10%) for
female children (p. 177). In addition, Becker
et al. (2001) noted that, according to self-report
surveys, between 4% and 24% of child sexual
abuse victims reported their perpetrators had
been female. Other researchers, however, have
found a much wider range of offending for
female sex offenders. Kaplan and Green (1995)
found self-report studies from adult survivors of
child sexual abuse indicated between 4% and
60% of sexual offense perpetrators had been
female. Similarly, Bumby and Bumby (1997)
stated
retrospective surveys of college students, incar-
cerated males, and other specialized samples have
yielded a much wider range of findings, with as
few as 2% and as many as 78% of those having been
sexually abused reporting that the perpetrator was
a female. (p. 10-2)
These findings emphasize the difficulty in
trying to assess the true scope of female sexual
offending. This difficulty comes from the
reporting methods and from an inherent con-
fusion over exactly what constitutes female
sexual offending. After reviewing the research
that had been conducted, Lawson (1993) con-
cluded that using a retrospective self-report
approach could be unreliable in trying to esti-
mate the extent of sexual abuse committed
against male children by their mothers. She
based this finding on reports from clinical liter-
ature that found that motherson incest was
underreported. These finding revealed that
patients were often only able to admit to having
been the victim of motherson incest during
long-term psychotherapeutic treatment. The
findings further contradicted reports from
empirical literature that found it to be a rare
event. Hetherton (1999) also reviewed previous
research and identified several reasons why
trying to establish the true extent of female sex
offending is problematic. The confusion over
exactly what constitutes sexually abusive behavior
by females is confounded by the fact that women
are permitted a much greater range of physical
contact with children than men. Some women,
for example, may bathe or dress children while
others may sleep in the same bed as a child.
These behaviors are all viewed as more accept-
able for women than for men; and, therefore,
Oliver / FEMALE-PERPETRATED SEXUAL ABUSE 21
they are much less likely to be seen as warn-
ing signs of abuse when they involve women
even though they all can lead to sexual abuse.
Another related problem centers on the way
women are constructed as nurturing and caring
(Hetherton, 1999; Turner & Turner, 1994). This
allows some womens abusive behaviorsuch
as caressing a child or sleeping in the same bed
as a childto be perceived as something other
than sexual abuse. Turner and Turner (1994) fur-
ther wrote that some therapists interpreted sto-
ries of female abuse as distorted nurturing. In
addition, the way males are socialized to believe
all heterosexual contact with females is sup-
posed to be beneficial is also problematic (Becker
et al., 2001; Hetherton, 1999). These problems led
Hetherton (1999) to conclude the actual number
of female offenders may be higher than reported
in retrospective, self-report studies.
CHARACTERISTICS OF FEMALE
SEX OFFENDERS
At one point in time, when female sex offend-
ers were thought to be extremely rare, a general
consensus was that all female offenders were
severely disturbed or psychotic (Allen, 1991).
Recent research with this population, however,
has shown that, like their male counterparts,
female sex offenders are a highly heterogeneous
group. Some target adolescents, others young
children. Some target boys, others girls, others
both sexes. Some have normal heterosexual
interests and offend only one time because
of simple adolescent curiosity; others have
entrenched pedophilic or violent thought pat-
terns and commit multiple predatory offenses.
Although there is no clear-cut example of one
specific type of female who will be a sex
offender, studies have begun showing charac-
teristics common to adult and juvenile female
sex offenders.
Adult Female Sex Offenders
According to studies that have examined the
characteristics of adult female sex offenders,
these offenders were most likely to be in their 20s
or 30s (Allen, 1991; Ferguson & Meehan, 2005;
Vandiver & Kercher, 2004; Vandiver & Walker,
2002) and were more likely to be White than
22 TRAUMA, VIOLENCE, & ABUSE / January 2007
other female criminal offenders (Ferguson &
Meehan, 2005; Vandiver & Kercher, 2004;
Vandiver & Walker, 2002). Although there is
agreement that adult females rarely target
adult victims, studies have been inconclusive
about whether women are more likely to target
adolescents or children. Recent studies that
reviewed the ages of the victims of convicted
adult female sex offenders indicated that these
offenders appeared more likely to target ado-
lescents (Ferguson & Meehan, 2005; Vandiver,
2006; Vandiver & Kercher, 2004); however, oth-
ers have indicated that women are more likely
to target young children (J. K. Matthews,
Mathews, & Speltz, 1991; Nathan & Ward,
2001). Studies of adult female sex offenders
also reveal that some women offend along with
one or more accomplices (who are usually,
but not always, male; Kaplan & Green, 1995;
J. K. Matthews et al., 1991; Vandiver, 2006),
although there is debate over how common
this form of abuse is (Becker et al., 2001).
J. K. Matthews et al. (1991) studied 16 women
who had been referred to a sex offender treat-
ment program from May 1985 to December
1987. Ten of the participants had been referred
from the criminal justice system, 5 had been
referred from child protection services, and 1
had been referred by a psychiatrist. The victims
included 1 vulnerable adult and 44 children
ranging from infants to adolescents. In all, 64%
of the victims were female, and 36% were
male. One half of the women perpetrated
independently, and one half participated in
conjunction with their husbands. Based on
these cases, J. K. Matthews et al. (1991) devel-
oped a typology for adult female sex offend-
ers with three categories.
The first type of offender was the teacher/
lover offender. This type of an offender targeted
one or more adolescent males who they
believed they were in love with. These offenders
believed their victims were their equals and had
difficulty understanding that their behavior was
criminal because it appeared to be consensual.
The second type of offender was the intergen-
erationally predisposed offender. These women
reported being sexually abused frequently by
multiple perpetrators as young children. As
teenagers, they found it very difficult to establish
positive relationships with adolescent males and
frequently were promiscuous because they did
not realize they had the right to say no. They
were often abusive toward others around them
and frequently engaged in self-destructive
behavior. These offenders abused while alone
and attributed their abusive behavior to anger or
frustration and to their way of coping with their
own abuse.
The third type of offender was the male-
coerced offender. These women were very
passive and stated they felt powerless in inter-
personal relationships. They feared being alone
and, because of this, ended up being married to
men who dominated them. The men subjected
these women to verbal, physical, and sexual
abuse. The men further began sexually abusing
children and adolescents and coerced the
women to also become involved in the abuse.
Most of these women did so only after a strug-
gle; however, some of them later initiated
sexual abuse on their own.
More recent research indicates that some
women who offend with a male coperpetrator do
so willingly and of their own accord. Nathan and
Ward (2002) interviewed 12 convicted female sex
offenders from Australia. Of the 9 women in the
study who had offended along with a male coof-
fender, only 4 stated they had been coerced or
threatened into participating. The remaining 5
appeared to play an active role in the offending
and appeared to enjoy the experience. The pri-
mary motivations these women gave for offend-
ing were jealousy, rejection, and revenge. Based
on these findings, Nathan and Ward recom-
mended that a new category be added to the
typology of female offendersmale accompa-
nied: the rejected/revengeful offender. Nathan
and Ward also found that all of the women who
offended independently and one of the women
who offended with a male cooffender experi-
enced deviant sexual arousal during the commis-
sion of the offenses.
Several other typologies for female sexual
offenders have been proposed during the past
two decades, though the studies that have pro-
duced them have had serious limitations
(Vandiver & Kercher, 2004). One limitation has

been small sample sizes. Another limitation has
been that these typologies have been based on
either clinical or prison samples. A limit of clin-
ical samples is the impression they may leave
that most female sex offenders are severely dis-
turbed. A limit of prison samples is that only the
most serious offenders are sent to prison; thus,
the typology would likely be based only on the
most serious type of offender. In an attempt to
overcome some of these limitations, Vandiver
and Kercher (2004) analyzed the victim and
offender characteristics of all 471 female sex
offenders who were required to register as sex
offenders in the state of Texas. They found that
the offenders ranged in age from 18 to 78 years,
with approximately two thirds being age 32
years or younger. In all, 88% of the female
offenders required to register were White, an
indication that Whites were overrepresented in
the number of females required to register for
sexual offenses in Texas (U.S. Census Bureau,
n.d.). The victims ranged in age from infancy to
97 years. Males were the victims in 50% of the
cases, and females were the victims in 47% of
the cases. The offenders were acquainted with
but not related to the victims in 46% of the cases,
they were related to the victims in 37% of the
cases, and they were strangers to the victims in
7% of the cases. The mean age for victims was
11.6 years, and the most common victim age
was between 12 and 17 years. Offenders
between ages 18 and 25 years were more likely
to sexually abuse victims between ages of 12
and 17 years than were offenders older than
age 25 years. In addition, the offenders older
than age 32 years who were not related to their
victim were more likely to victimize those
younger than age 6 years than offenders
younger than age 33 years. They further devel-
oped six categories for female offenders based
on the characteristics of 461 of these registered
female sex offenders.
Heterosexual nurturers constituted 31.7% of
the offenders. Many of these offenders were
women who became involved in a teaching or
mentoring relationship with a young male
whose average age was 12 years. These offend-
ers generally had no significant criminal
history outside of the offense they were
Oliver / FEMALE-PERPETRATED SEXUAL ABUSE 23
required to register for. These offenders were
similar to the teacher/lover offender described
by Matthews et al. (1991).
Noncriminal homosexual offenders compro-
mised 24.7% of the offenders. Many of these
offenders were women who exploited females
with an average age of 13 years. These offenders
generally had no significant criminal history
outside of the offense they were required to reg-
ister for. It was speculated that some of these
offenders may have acted along with a male
accomplice.
Female sexual predators compromised
24.3% of the offenders. These offenders were
most likely to have a rearrest after their target
offense and had a higher overall arrest rate
than other categories of offenders. These
offenders victims were male in 60% of the cases
and the victims average age was 11 years.
Overall, these offenders appeared to have char-
acteristics similar to other nonsexual female
criminals.
Young child exploiters constituted 10.9% of
the offenders. These offenders targeted child
victims with an average age of 7 years. They
were related to their victims in one half of the
cases. These offenders typically had fewer
arrests than any other type of offender.
Homosexual criminals constituted 4.8%
of the offenders. These offenders were not
involved in sex crimes that involved direct
sexual assault; instead, they were arrested for
offenses that included indecency with a child,
sexual performance of a child, and compelling
prostitution. Many of these offenses appeared
to have an economic rather than sexual moti-
vation. These offenders were likely to have the
most extensive criminal history and were most
likely to have a subsequent arrest.
Aggressive homosexual offenders consti-
tuted 3.7% of the offenders. These offenders
had a higher average age than any of the other
groups and victimized the oldest group of vic-
tims. The average age of the victim was 31
years, and 88% of their victims were female.
Although it was not explicitly stated, the fact
that 14% of the female offenders were arrested
for more than one sexual offense may help
explain how some of the victims of offenders
24 TRAUMA, VIOLENCE, & ABUSE / January 2007
classified as noncriminal homosexual offenders,
homosexual criminals, and aggressive homo-
sexual offenders had been male. Specifically,
these three types of offenders may have gener-
ally targeted females; however, some may have
also committed offenses against male victims.
Although the study conducted by Vandiver
and Kercher (2004) helped overcome many of
the limitations of earlier studies, it also had a
serious limitation. Specifically, females con-
victed of sex offenses are often only those who
commit the most serious offenses. Those who
commit less serious sex offenses are likely
either not to be charged or to be diverted from
the criminal justice system (Allen, 1991).
Therefore, the characteristics of female sex
offenders from this study are almost certainly
not be representative of this population.
Adolescent Female Sex Offenders
Adolescent female sex offenders do not seem
to offend in the same manner as adult female
sex offenders. Adolescent sex offenders typically
target younger children of both sexes (Bumby
& Bumby, 1997; Fehrenbach & Monastersky,
1988; Fromuth & Conn, 1997; Hunter, Lexier,
Goodwin, Browne, & Dennis, 1993), often offend
in the course of babysitting (Bumby & Bumby,
1997; Fehrenbach & Monastersky, 1988; Kubik,
Hecker, & Righthand, 2002), and are often
related to their victims (Bumby & Bumby, 1997;
Fromuth & Conn, 1997). They also almost
always often offend independently, without
accomplices or co-offenders (Fehrenbach &
Monastersky, 1988; Hunter et al., 1993).
Bumby and Bumby (1997) examined the
characteristics of 18 juvenile female sex offend-
ers in an inpatient psychiatric facility for emo-
tionally and behaviorally disordered children
and adolescents and compared them to groups
of juvenile female nonoffenders, juvenile male
sex offenders, and juvenile male nonoffenders
within the facility. What they found was that
juvenile female sex offenders were more likely
to have been sexually abused than the other
youth. The juvenile female sex offenders often
came from chaotic households characterized
by parental violence, domestic violence, and
substance abuse. They also often suffered
from emotional and psychological difficulties,
evidenced by suicide attempts, anxiety, depres-
sion and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
R. Mathews, Hunter, and Vuz (1997) exam-
ined 67 juvenile female sex offenders involved
in inpatient and outpatient treatment and com-
pared these girls to a group of 70 juvenile male
sex offenders. They found that more than one
half of the girls had a history of a mood distur-
bance and nearly one half met the clinical crite-
ria for the diagnosis of PTSD. The girls in the
study had a more extensive history of sexual
victimization than their male counterparts, were
initially victimized at a younger age, had a
greater likelihood of having had multiple per-
petrators, and were more likely to report that
one or more of their perpetrators had used force.
A large number of the female offenders further
reported having themselves been molested by a
female.
R. Mathews et al. (1997) further reported
that juvenile female sexual offenders, similar
to youthful male offenders, are a diverse group
and can be classified into subtypes that may
prove useful to clinicians and criminal justice
system practitioners (p. 195). One subtype of
offenders found in the outpatient sample had
engaged in a single or few incidents of offend-
ing of a nonrelated child, usually within the
context of babysitting. In this group of youths,
there was relatively little indication of individ-
ual psychopathology, past maltreatment, or
familial dysfunction. These youths reported
little or no prior sexual experimentation and
described their offending as motivated primar-
ily by sexual curiosity (p. 196).
The other, and more prevalent, subtype of
offender had engaged in more extensive
offending. Many of these girls had experienced
significant levels of individual and family psy-
chopathology and dysfunction. They had suf-
fered severe abuse and neglect as children and
may have developed a sexualized presentation
of themselves as a way to cope. Some of these
offenders further appeared to have developed
deviant arousal patterns based on eroticizing
one or more of their own victimization experi-
ences (R. Mathews et al., 1997).
In perhaps the only study of female sex
offenders that did not involve females who were
either in treatment or had been convicted of sex-
related crimes, Fromuth and Conn (1997) gave

surveys to 546 female college students and
found that 22 of them had committed one or
more acts of abusive sexual behavior with a
child at least 5 years younger than them. Only 1
of these women had committed the offense after
the age of 14 years and only 2 reported molest-
ing more than one child. Only 2 of the offenders
reported using force, and only 4 reported using
bribes. None of the experiences were ever
reported to the police, and none of the women
ever talked to a counselor about the experience.
Four of these former adolescent offenders
admitted to having fantasized about children.
The victims of these former adolescent sex
offenders were all children age 9 years or
younger with the mean age of child victims
being 7 years. Two thirds of the victims were
reported to be either age 5, 6, or 7 years. Cousins
were the victims in 35% of the cases, siblings in
30% of the cases, and friends in 13% of the cases
(Fromuth & Conn, 1997).
SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES BETWEEN
MALE AND FEMALE SEX OFFENDERS
Although there is very limited research com-
paring male and female sex offenders, the
research that has been conducted has found
that female sex offenders are similar to male
sex offenders in some ways, but that the two
groups also exhibit some differences. Allen
(1991) compared 65 female sex offenders from
Iowa, Missouri, and Minnesota with 75 male
sex offenders from Iowa. He found the two
groups were similar in their ethnicity and their
level of education, and similar percentages
from both groups considered themselves to be
alcoholics or had used drugs. The adult female
sex offenders were significantly younger than
adult male sex offenders, though. In addition,
the female offenders were more likely to have
suffered physical abuse as a child and were
more likely to have had less stable childhood
backgrounds.
Bumby and Bumby (1997) compared 18
juvenile female sex offenders in an inpatient
psychiatric facility with 18 juvenile male sex
offenders from the same facility. They found
whereas female and male juvenile sex offend-
ers were similar on measures of depression,
anxiety, suicidal ideation, self concept, and
Oliver / FEMALE-PERPETRATED SEXUAL ABUSE 25
personality characteristics, (p. 10-9) juvenile
female sex offenders usually had experienced
more severe sexual abuse, as evidenced by a
higher average number of molesters, a younger
age at initial victimization, and more frequent
exposure to aggression during molestation.
Miccio-Fonseca (2000) compared 18 adoles-
cent and adult female sex offenders with 332
adolescent and adult male sex offenders. The
offenders were all from southern California
and were either self-referred or referred by a
law-enforcement official (probation officer,
attorney, or judge) or by Child Protection
Services (p. 77). Miccio-Fonseca found that the
two groups were similar in age, ethnic classifi-
cation, level of job stress, and number of stress-
ful events experienced within the past year. She
also, however, found female offenders were
more likely than male offenders to have been
sexually victimized prior to the age 6 years and
were more likely to have been victims of incest.
Female offenders were further more likely to
have attempted suicide than male offenders and
were more likely to have come from families
where other people had attempted suicide.
Kubik et al. (2002) compared 11 adolescent
females with sexual offense histories with a
group of age-matched adolescent males with
sex offense histories. They found the two groups
were quite similar in respect to their general
psychosocial characteristics. The two groups
also exhibited similar offense characteristics,
with no obvious differences between the
groups with respect to victim gender, specific
offense behaviors (e.g., fondling, intercourse),
offense patterns (i.e., single vs. repeat), offense
context, relationship to victims, and level of
coercion (p. 81). The female offenders, how-
ever, had experienced more severe sexual abuse
than their male counterpartsthey were sexu-
ally abused, on average, by more perpetrators
and were more likely to have been penetrated
during the abuse. In addition, the females were
more likely to have been diagnosed with PTSD.
LIMITS IN OUR UNDERSTANDING
Although there have been advancements
made in understanding female sexual offend-
ers, there is still a lot that is not known about
this population. In addition to the previously
26 TRAUMA, VIOLENCE, & ABUSE / January 2007
mentioned limits regarding sample size and
skewed samples, another limit of our knowledge
is that very little is known about what factors are
related to recidivism for female offenders.
Studies have shown that having child-oriented
sexual fantasies and dwelling on them are highly
related to the risk of recidivism for adult male
child molesters (Hanson & Bussire, 1998) and
possibly also related to the risk of recidivism
for adolescent male child molesters (Kahn &
Chambers, 1991; Worling & Curwin, 2000); how-
ever, whether this is also related to recidivism
risk for female child molesters is not known
because research has not been conducted in
this area. In addition, very little is known about
how effective female sex offender treatment
programs are at reducing recidivism. Although
some have commented that it is unclear if
male-derived models of sex offender treatment
will be effective in treating female sex offend-
ers (J. K. Matthews et al. 1991; Vick, McRoy,
and Matthews, 2002), no studies have been
conducted to see if female sex offenders who
complete the sex offender treatment programs
currently in place are less likely to reoffend
than those who do not receive treatment.
SUGGESTIONS TOWARD PREVENTING
FEMALE-PERPETRATED SEXUAL ABUSE
Until recently, most sexual abuse prevention
programs only focused on trying to reach possi-
ble victims of sexual abuse or sexual assault.
These programs did not make efforts to try to
reach out to at-risk adults and adolescents
and have them seek help before they abuse
(Blanchard & Tabachnick, 2002; Daro, 1994; Renk,
Liljequist, Steinberg, Bosco, & Phares, 2002). This
has begun to change over the past decade. Some
programs have begun targeting college-age men
to lower their risk for rape by decreasing rape
myth attitudes (Johansson-Love & Geer, 2003;
ODonohue, Yeater, & Fanetti, 2003). Other
programs have focused on reaching people at
risk to sexually abuse children and their families
by educating people about warning signs and
offering treatment options before sexual abuse
occurs (Blanchard & Tabachnick, 2002; McMahon,
2000). A problem with these programs relative to
reducing female-perpetrated sexual abuse is that
these programs are generally based on research
conducted with male sex offenders (see, e.g.,
Chasen-Taber & Tabachnick, 1999) and further
often only target males.
A limitation of many secondary sexual abuse
prevention efforts is that they were designed
using gendered sexual scripts that assumed that
potential abusers are always male (Denov,
2003). They do not take into consideration that
females also abuse. As a result, the effectiveness
of many such programs in reaching at-risk
females is significantly less than it could be. The
following suggestions on potential ways to
reduce the chances that females will commit
sexual offenses, based on an analysis of the
research that has been conducted with this pop-
ulation, highlight that many of the strategies
currently in use with male populations might
also hold promise in reaching at-risk females if
they were redesigned to also target this audi-
ence. It is important, however, to realize that
these suggestions are purely speculative and
their potential effectiveness needs to be empiri-
cally tested.
Offer Greater Support to Female
Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse
Perhaps the most common characteristic of
female sex offenders is that a significantly high
proportion was sexually abused as children
(Bumby & Bumby, 1997; Fromuth & Conn, 1997;
Hunter et al., 1993; Kaplan & Green, 1995;
R. Mathews et al., 1997; Miccio-Fonseca, 2000).
Female sexual abuse victims who later became
perpetrators typically first experienced abuse at
a very early age (Hunter et al., 1993; R. Mathews
et al., 1997) and were frequently abused by
multiple perpetrators (Hunter et al., 1993; R.
Mathews et al., 1997). The abuse these females
suffered was usually more severe than the abuse
suffered by females who do not become sex
offenders (Kaplan & Green, 1995; R. Mathews
et al., 1997). Some studies further found that
female sex offenders were more likely than
female nonsex offenders to have been sexually
abused as children by other females (Hunter
et al., 1993; R. Mathews et al., 1997).
This high prevalence of a history of child
sexual abuse among female sex offenders does

not mean that female perpetrators should not be
held accountable for their actions. Nor does it
mean that being sexually abused as a child
causes females to offend when they become
older. Instead, what it seems to indicate is that
severe, repeated childhood sexual abuse can
place some females at greater risk to abuse
children.
The findings from a study conducted by
Vick et al. (2002) provide some support for the
hypothesis that offering greater support to
female victims of childhood sexual abuse may
decrease their chances of becoming sex offend-
ers. In an attempt to gain a greater understand-
ing of treatment approaches used with juvenile
female sex offenders, detailed interviews were
conducted with 13 clinicians who reported
treating at least 30 young female sex offenders
each year. All of the respondents reported that
they believed there was a definite relationship
between a history of physical and sexual abuse
and sexual offending. There was also a general
consensus that juvenile females who have
been victimized, yet have a strong social sup-
port network and a stable family, are less likely
to victimize others (p. 16).
Turner and Turner (1994) further suggested
that the dynamics of unresolved childhood
abuse result in a propensity on the part of an
adolescent or adult female to abuse herself
and/or others (p. 7). They stated that all eight
of the girls in their study had experienced emo-
tional, physical, or sexual abuse. They further
stated that all appeared to have perpetrated in
order to resolve their own histories as abuse
victims (p. 8). A weakness of these findings is
that they are based on clinical observations and
not on empirical testing; however, they are still
worth noting.
It is likely that therapists who work with
female victims of sexual abuse and support
groups that offer help to adult and adolescent
female survivors of sexual abuse can help
reduce the number of females who sexually
abuse by beginning to acknowledge the possi-
bility that a female might be at risk to sexually
abuse a child if she was sexually abused as a
child and is having difficulty dealing with the
abuse (Stop It Now!, n.d.). The therapist or sup-
port group can then offer the victim support and
Oliver / FEMALE-PERPETRATED SEXUAL ABUSE 27
work with her to reduce the chance that she
might commit a sexual offense. This approach
would be especially useful in helping females
who have been repeatedly sexually abused
prior to age 6 years, who have been sexually
abused by multiple perpetrators, and who have
been sexually abused by female offenders, as
these types of sexual abuse histories are
common among female sexual offenders. This
type of approach needs to be done delicately,
and feedback must be given in a nonjudgmental
manner. However, if a 20-year-old female sur-
vivor of repeated childhood sexual abuse at the
hands of her father and two older brothers
makes an appointment with a therapist and dis-
closes that she is extremely lonely, is quite
depressed, has recently engaged in self-destruc-
tive behavior, and has no friends outside of an
11-year-old girl who lives in her apartment
building, the therapist would be negligent if he
or she did not explore the possibility that this
young women may eventually abuse the child if
intervention is not given.
Address Cognitive Distortions and
Enhance Empathy in Females
Another common theme in studies of female
sex offenders is that they have a tendency to
minimize the amount of harm their actions
cause. In Fromuth and Conns (1997) study, only
13.6% of the female offenders identified their
sexual interaction as an adolescent with a signif-
icantly younger child as being abusive. In addi-
tion, although none of the offenders viewed
their behavior as having a positive effect on the
child, only 33% stated that the contact had a
negative effect on the child. J. K. Matthews et al.
(1991) similarly reported that the offender from
the teacher/lover category in their study had a
difficult time believing that her behavior was
criminal, since she has no malice for the children
she had abused (p. 209). Kaplan and Green
(1995) similarly reported that the majority of the
offenders in their sample minimized the conse-
quences for the child victim (p. 295).
These findings indicate that another possible
way to reduce the risk of certain females sexu-
ally abusing either adolescents or children is to
develop programming that helps counter the
28 TRAUMA, VIOLENCE, & ABUSE / January 2007
distorted thoughts some females have that
sexual contact with minors is not truly abusive
or harmful. These programs could specifically
focus on explaining to young women that
adolescents and children are not capable of con-
senting to sexual relations with adults. These
programs could further explain the potential
harm such contact could cause and could also
explain the legal ramifications that could result.
Because of existing societal norms which
endorse or even glorify older woman/young
boy relationships and fantasies (Hetherton,
1999, p. 166), part of these programs could use
an educational component to help counter
beliefs some at-risk females have that adolescent
males would be willing sexual partners who
would benefit from the experience. One possible
way to approach this matter would be to incor-
porate victim impact statements written by ado-
lescent males who had been molested by older
females to help show that female-perpetrated
sexual abuse involving adolescent male victims
can result in long-term negative consequences
in much the same way that male-perpetrated
sexual abuse involving adolescent female vic-
tims can (Hetherton, 1999).
There is also an additional approach related to
empathy that may be able to help reduce the
number of sexual offenses committed each year
by female juveniles. Specifically, in light of the
finding by R. Mathews et al. (1997) that some
female juvenile sexual offenders are motivated
primarily by sexual curiosity, it would appear
that adults may be able to help reduce the
number of young children who get sexually
abused by adolescent girls each year by incorpo-
rating a component into sex education programs
that explains to adolescent females that sexual
contact between adolescents and young children
is abuse, not play; that it is a crime and hurts
children; and that children can never consent to
sexual relations. Given that many adolescent
female sex offenders commit their offenses in the
context of babysitting (Bumby & Bumby, 1997;
Fehrenbach & Monastersky, 1988; Kubik et al.,
2002), it would also be a good idea to include this
message as part of babysitting training classes
girls participate in. In light of the finding from
Fromuth and Conn (1997) that revealed that
around 3% of college-age females admitted to
having sexually abused a child when they were
between ages of 10 and 14 years, this preven-
tion approach has the potential to significantly
decrease the number of female-perpetrated ado-
lescent sex offenses committed each year.
Reduce Deviant Sexual Fantasies in
Nonoffending Females
Although research about deviant sexual
arousal in females is in its infancy (Nathan &
Ward, 2001), there is some evidence that for
some females, deviant sexual arousal may
increase their risk of becoming a sex offender. In
Hunter et al.s (1993) study of 10 juvenile female
sexual offenders in a residential treatment
program, 60% of the offenders admitted to fan-
tasizing about deviant sexual behavior prior to
their first offense, and 20% admitted to mastur-
bating to fantasies of significantly younger
children. Similarly, in Fromuth and Conns
(1997) study of female college students, women
who admitted to having sexually abused a sig-
nificantly younger child were significantly more
likely than nonperpetrators to have expressed a
sexual interest in children. Finally, in Nathan and
Wards (2002) study of 12 convicted adult female
sex offenders in Australia, 41.7% reported that
they had been motivated, in part, by deviant
sexual arousal (p. 16). This led the authors to
conclude that the diagnosis of a sexual para-
philia, pedophilia, may be appropriate with
some female sex offenders (p. 19).
These findings indicate that having pedo-
philic sexual fantasies might be related to
increased offending risk for females. Based on
this, a possible prevention message could be
targeted directly toward a female audience
letting them know help is available if they are
experiencing recurrent or troubling sexual fan-
tasies involving children.
A possibility also exists for medical interven-
tion with some at-risk adult females who are
preoccupied with sex. There have been two case
studies published where female sex offenders
who engaged in frequent masturbation were
treated with medicines designed to reduce their
sexual drives. In one case study (Mellor, Farid &

Craig, 1988), a 40-year-old woman who had
sexually assaulted a man at the age of 31 years
and who masturbated 6 to 8 times daily, sought
help because she found herself with a job that
involved contact with young boys and she
feared she might sexually assault them. She was
treated with cyproterone acetate and ethinyl
estradiol and reported that within a few days
she stopped masturbating, the erotic dreams
ceased, and males did not evoke sexually
aggressive feelings (p. 1037). The other case
study (Chow & Choy, 2002), involved a 23-year-
old female sex offender who was on probation
for sexually abusing two 4-year-old girls. One of
the offenses occurred when the offender was age
18 years. The other offense occurred when the
offender was age 22 years. At her assessment, the
offender revealed that, in addition to the two
sexual offenses, she regularly masturbated to
fantasies of prepubescent girls. She was diag-
nosed as meeting the Diagnostic and Statistical
Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV; American
Psychiatric Association, 1994) criteria for
pedophilia and was offered a trial of setraline, a
selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), as a
way to help reduce her attraction to young girls
and to control her deviant sexual behavior. By
the end of 1 year on setraline treatment, the
offender reported a decrease in the frequency
and intensity of her sexual interests in female
children. Notable in this case study was that the
offender was still able to maintain a healthy and
enjoyable sex life with the men she dated.
Although more research is clearly needed on
the use of medical interventions as a possible
way to reduce the risk of sexual offending in
females, the findings from these two case stud-
ies suggest that medical interventions may be
able to be used to reduce the risk of some adult
females who are either hypersexual or who
suffer from an entrenched pedophiliac arousal
pattern.
Educate the Public
About Female Sex Offenders
In addition to efforts to target at-risk females
and lower their chances of offending, more
effort could be made to educate the public about
female sex offenders. One way to address this
would be including training components for all
Oliver / FEMALE-PERPETRATED SEXUAL ABUSE 29
law enforcement, social service, and child pro-
tection workers about the need to look beyond
the male in the house in child sexual abuse
investigations. This is particularly important
given the finding by Vandiver (2006) that 41.3%
of the adult females arrested in 2001 from 21
states and Washington, D.C., for sex offenses
had offended with a male co-offender. When an
offender is identified, the possibility of multiple
perpetrators needs to be examined. In line with
this, domestic violence specialists could be
trained to be alert that some women commit sex
crimes under the influence of dominating men.
Another target for increased awareness
would be the schools. Professional programs for
educators (and for volunteers in church and
other youth groups) could cover topics such as
why teacherstudent relationships are inappro-
priate, how these relationships develop, signs
that they may be occurring, and specific steps
educators can take to deal with feelings and sit-
uations that can evolve into a sexual relation-
ships with students. One component of these
programs could include having explicit stan-
dards and guidelines in place that would reduce
the chances of sexual abuse occurring. These
guidelines could govern rules concerning phys-
ical contact, time spent alone with students, and
gift giving. A similar approach could be used in
sex education and rape prevention programs
targeting high school and college students.
Highlighting that not all sexual abusers are male
and that not all sexual assaults are violent
stranger rapes holds promise as an effective pre-
vention technique. Furthermore, these programs
could increase awareness that there are cases
of sexual assault that involve a primary offender
trying to manipulate or coerce a second person
to become involved and suggest how to
respond if this occurs.
The general public also could be educated
about the warning signs at-risk females exhibit
and how to intervene when these signs are first
noticed. This is in line with findings that show
that it is possible to prevent some abuse by tar-
geting potential abusers and their friends and
family (Hossack, Playle, Spencer, & Carey, 2004;
Renk et al., 2002). According to the organization
Stop It Now!, warning signs that a person may
be at risk to sexually abuse a child include if the
person (a) Refuses to let a child set any of his or
30 TRAUMA, VIOLENCE, & ABUSE / January 2007
her own limits, (b) Insists on hugging, touch-
ing, kissing, tickling, wrestling with or holding a
child even when the child does not want this
affection, (c) Manages to get time alone or
insists on time alone with a child with no inter-
ruption, (d) Regularly offers to babysit many
different children for free or takes children
on overnight outings alone, (e) Buys children
expensive gifts or gives them money for no
apparent reason, (f) Encourages silence and
secrets in a child, or (g) Often has a special
child friend, maybe a different one from year to
year. Although these warning signs were
designed based on research conducted with
males (Chasen-Taber & Tabachnick, 1999), edu-
cating parents, teachers, school administrators,
youth workers, counselors, physicians, law
enforcement officials, church leaders, and others
who work in youth-centered agencies that
females who exhibit these signs may also be at
risk holds promise toward reducing female-
perpetrated sexual abuse. For this prevention
technique to be most effective, however, an addi-
tional component would need to be included
countering traditional sex-role scripts that depict
women as sexually innocuous individuals, inca-
pable of committing sexual offenses (Denov,
2003).
CONCLUSION
There is very little literature available about
female sex offenders based on empirical studies.
IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE, POLICY, AND RESEARCH
Research needs to be conducted with female sex
offenders who are not mentally ill and who have not
been reported to state or local authorities if clinicians
hope to fully understand a true typology for female sex
offenders.
Research needs to be conducted with at-risk females in
an effort to identify effective prevention efforts for
female juveniles and adults who may become involved
in potentially sexually abusive situations. In particular,
research can look at the pathways that lead some female
sex abuse victims to become offenders and interven-
tions can be derived taking these findings into account.
Those who have studied this population have
further based their findings on small samples
that are not necessarily representative of female
sex offenders in general. Nonetheless, a review
of the current findings regarding adult and ado-
lescent female sex offenders suggest that there
are several steps parents, teachers, therapists,
support groups, and other concerned individu-
als can take to reduce the number of female-per-
petrated sexual offenses that occur each year.
Within this article, four suggested interven-
tions were given related to reducing the rate of
female-perpetrated sexual offenses. The first
involved offering greater support to female sur-
vivors of childhood sexual abuse. The second
involved addressing cognitive distortions and
enhancing empathy in females. The third
involved reducing deviant sexual fantasies in
nonoffending females. The fourth involved edu-
cating the public about female sex offenders.
These suggested interventions all need to
be viewed with caution as they have not been
empirically tested. Nonetheless, they represent
a starting point. If society can overcome the
belief currently in place that female-perpe-
trated sexual offending is a rare event that
causes minimal harm and can begin taking a
proactive preventative approach toward com-
bating female-perpetrated sexual offending, it
can potentially go a long way in reducing the
number of innocent children and vulnerable
adults who are sexually victimized by females
each year.
Although prevention efforts with at-risk females have
not been empirically tested, there is some evidence that
what works at intervening with at-risk males may also
work at intervening with at-risk females, provided these
efforts are redesigned specifically to reach at-risk
females. Possible interventions at reducing the rate of
female-perpetrated sexual offenses include (a) offering
greater support to female survivors of childhood sexual
abuse, (b) addressing cognitive distortions and enhanc-
ing empathy in females, (c) reducing deviant sexual fan-
tasies in nonoffending females, and (d) educating the
public about female sex offenders.

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Brian E. Oliver earned his BLS from
the University of Iowa. He is currently
working toward a PhD in criminology
and criminal justice at the University
of Missouri St. Louis. His current
research interests include developing
secondary sexual abuse prevention
programs targeting at-risk individuals, and he has pre-
viously published work in this area dealing with at-risk
adolescents.