Gender Distribution of Sex Offenders

Gender Distribution of Sex Offenders

Sexual offending has been construed in both the popular and professional domain as an exclusively male activity. While there is little doubt that males commit the vast majority of sexual offenses reported to police and their victims are predominantly female, the notion of male abusers and female victims has become a paradigmatic within the field of child sexual abuse. This has tended to obscure the recognition of male victims and female perpetrators of sexual abuse (Denov, 2001).

In the last fifty years, there has been a strong shift in the attitudes and beliefs that deal with sexual abuse and sexual offenses. This is particularly true when it comes to female sexual offenders and the rates at which they abuse others. Even those that were willing to believe that females could also be sexual offenders also felt that sexual offences in general were very low, and that most children were not abused. One writer in the 1950s and another in the 1970s suggested that the rate of incest between fathers and daughters was approximately 1 in 1 million (Denov, 2003). Now that it has been studied more thoroughly, it has been seen that the rates are actually much higher than were first thought and, most alarmingly, the rates of child sexual abuse are also rising (Denov, 2003).

This appears to be the case for female sexual offenders as well as male sexual offenders, but some of this could come from the fact that female sexual offenders are just now beginning to be recognized in larger numbers. In other words, the abuse may have been just as prevalent in the past, but the rates at which it was reported and believed were much lower. Due to this, it was assumed that females did not commit sexual crimes. When most people, even today, think of sexual offenders, they assume that the perpetrator is male and the victim is female. In reality, this is not always the case.

II. PREVALENCE

Petrovich and Templar (1984) found that 59% of 83 prisoners convicted of rape had been molested by a female in their childhood. The mean age of the boys was 11.5 years at the time of the molestation and 82% of the cases involved intercourse. Fritz, Stoll, and Wagner (1981) administered a questionnaire to 412 female and 540 male college students and found that 7% of the women and 4.8% of the men reported having been molested as a child. Moreover, 10% of the women and 60% of the men reported having been molested by a female. In their research involving college men in the United States, Fromuth and Burkhart (1987) discovered that 15% of men in one sample and 13% of men in the second sample reported childhood sexual contact. What was unusual, however, was that the majority of perpetrators were female. The authors report that 78% of respondents in one sample and 72% in the other reported having experienced sexual abuse by a female.

These numbers are very important, because they indicate that the rates of molestation and other sexual crimes perpetrated by females might actually be much higher than was previously suspected, and that these types of crimes are something that should be studied more closely so that the causes of this can be determined (Denov, 2003). By finding the causes of sexual aggression in these female perpetrators, steps can be taken to attempt to reduce the number of female sexual offenders and therefore protect more innocent children from becoming victims. Whether the reasons behind sexual offenses caused by females are the same as males is something that must also be considered. If females are assumed to have the same reasons, they will be treated and rehabilitated the same way. If, however, their reasons are actually quite different, these treatments and rehabilitative activities actually may not work in the way that they were intended or in the way that they might with male offenders.

III. JUDICIAL AND MENTAL HEALTH DECISION MAKING

The way in which the judicial system and mental health professionals think about their work and how they make professional decisions is said to be influenced by the formal occupational culture (Chan, 1996; Holdaway, 1999; Light, 1980). Some of this culture clearly shows that, while the prevalence of sexual offenses committed by female perpetrators appears to be on the rise, much of the population in the judicial system, as well as those that deal with mental health, appear to believe that women are basically not capable of any type of sexual aggression (Anderson & Struckman-Johnson, 1998).

Individuals that are female, or 'feminine,' are considered to be nurturing, caring, protecting, non-aggressive, and non-sexual (Denov, 2003). Because of this, the idea that they might harm someone, especially in a way related to sexuality, is almost impossible for some individuals to comprehend, even if their knowledge and training tells them a different story. The sexual scripts that most people live by are not only heterosexual, but gender-based as well. Asking people to suspend this type of 'normal' thinking to say that a women is completely capable of a sexual offense is something that even those that are educated about the issue struggle with frequently (Denov, 2003). This could be part of the reason why so many women that are suspected of sexual offenses or even charged with them escape with little to no punishment by the judicial system and often do not spend as much time in counseling for their 'problem' as their male counterparts.

Even though this appears to be changing somewhat, there are still strong, stereotypical responses that society must overcome to see these women as being just as dangerous and destructive as men when it comes to this issue. In studies that have been done also indicate this, as those that write their feelings regarding female perpetrators and male victims tend to feel that this is less significant as 'child abuse' as opposed to those that write about male perpetrators and their female victims (Denov, 2003).

A. FORMAL CULTURE

1. TRAINING INITIATIVES

Training initiatives play an important role within formal occupational cultures. Research has found that what is observed - particularly in the context of formal training - mold perceptions and contributes to an individual's overall socialization (Bucher and Stelling, 1977). Studies have found that many professionals adhere to what they have read or been taught even when it is contradicted by their own work experience and knowledge (LaBarbara, Martin, & Dozier, 1980). The exclusive focus on male perpetration within training initiatives reflects the reliance on the traditional sexual script of male sexual aggression while neglecting to provide its trainees with the possibility that women can commit sexual offenses.

Because of this type of training, those that need the knowledge, understanding, and belief that women can and do commit sexual offenses often are not taught this to the degree that they will believe it thoroughly. When this happens, they do not take it seriously, and this can lead to painful consequences for the victim and the victim's family. These individuals have already been traumatized and then they must endure disbelief and inaction on the part of those that are sworn and trained to protect them.

When law officers and others fail to investigate allegations that a female has been the perpetrator in a sexual offense they reinforce the stereotypes that exist today, and they also reinforce the training that they have been given when it comes to socialization and the way that society view the differences between the genders. Even those that have seen in their own experiences these types of female sexual offenders often discount the evidence that they have witnessed or been party to, preferring to believe what they have been 'trained' to believe through socialization - that females do not commit sexual crimes against males or against other females and are incapable of sexual aggression.

2. ORGANIZATIONAL POLICIES a. CRIME REPORTS

Crime analysis reports record specific information about the victim and the suspect. One of the elements is the clothing of the victim at the time of the offense. Included in the victim checklist are articles such as "shirt, skirt, bra, underwear, dress, hose..." all very much pointing to the presence of a female victim. In contrast, under the heading of 'physical description of the offender at time of offense' the checklist is absent of any typically female paraphernalia. No bra, hose, dress, or skirt is listed; only typically male/masculine articles such as "pants, shorts, shirt, and socks" are listed. The crime report thus appears to preclude the possibility of a male victim and/or a female perpetrator.

This is something that should be changed, as well as the stigma of a male reporting this type of crime or a female reporting this type of crime where another female is the perpetrator. Child sexual abuse comes up against a significant barrier when it comes to the underreporting of these types of crimes (Fromuth & Conn, 1997). In order for the perpetrator to be investigated when it comes to child sexual abuse, the child must make the telling of the event more 'public' than many would be comfortable with, since there is often emotional pain, embarrassment, grief, and shame involved in the telling of this tale. There is also the idea that the child will not be believed, and the idea that a child (or even an adult) might tell this humiliating and painful story only to be laughed at, ignored, or turned away, is too much for many of these victims to bear (Denov, 2003).

b. DSM-IV AND SEX OFFENDING

Paraphilias appear to be presented as a primarily male problem. An addendum to the section of Paraphilias reads: "Except for Sexual Masochism...Paraphilias are almost never diagnosed in females" (APA, 1994: 524). While the DSM criteria for many different issues and problems have changed throughout the years, it still appears to be very stereotypical when it comes to the idea of sexual abuse and sexual offense, which seems to relate to the training and socialization that many people have about this particular issue and the way that it makes them feel.

Even though the DSM-IV term 'almost never' indicates that it is not impossible for paraphilias to be diagnosed in females, it also sounds as though such events are so extremely rare that they really should not be assumed, expected, or looked for. This is, again, part of the training and socialization of society, since the belief that females do not commit sexual offenses is still so strong in those that have no first-hand experience with this issue. Only those that have been abused or have a family member that has been abused (and believe them) would see anything wrong with the DSM-IV statement and the negative and dismissive connotations that it provides when it comes to considering whether females might be sexual aggressors or commit sexual offenses.

B. INFORMAL CULTURES

While the formal culture provides an important source of occupational knowledge, informal talk and banter has long been considered a crucial component for understanding organizational cultures (Crank, 1998). The occupational culture is said to live through jokes and storytelling (Holdaway, 1997). In their routine activities, employees use informal verbal exchanges as critical sources of information about customs, procedures, and departmental lore and to create a way of seeing and being. In the constant telling of tales, values are cited and shared which instruct on how to see the world and act within it (Chan, 1996).

This is another way that individuals are trained and socialized, and it is sometimes considered to be more important, because much of formal culture and education is not always taken seriously or believed. What someone that is trusted has said through gossip or storytelling, however, often carries much more weight, especially to the younger individuals (Denov, 2003). Because of this, the informal culture that deals with information regarding sexual offenses committed by females is much more relaxed than what might be said in public.

For example, Nelson (1994) writes of a woman who complained that her 5-year-old son was molested by a female that was assigned to babysit him. She was frustrated and angry at the inaction of the police in charging the woman with a crime. When Nelson (1994) asked the male officer for comment later the officer responded "I wish that someone that looked like her (the babysitter) had sexually abused me when I was a kid... The kid's mother is overreacting because someone popped her kid's cherry. Hell, it's every guy's dream" (Nelson, 1994: 74). As can be seen from that, the male officer in question obviously did not see the 'crime' as a problem at all, and appeared to believe that every male would wish for 'sexual abuse' as a child from an attractive woman. This is termed by some researchers as the "fantasy model" and continues the idea of socialization, and the idea that women do not commit sexual offenses, presumably because the male victim of the sexual offense would not be expected to object to any type of sexual activity.

C. CULTURE OF DENIAL

Despite available evidence pointing to sexual aggression by females, professionals frequently portray female sex offenders as harmless, benign women incapable of sexual aggression. There appears to be three common techniques use to render the female sex offender harmless (Allen, 1987). First, although professionals recognize that a sexual offense has taken place, the female offender's acts are absolved by affirming that there was no malicious intent to her actions. Second, despite her sexually aggressive acts, she is portrayed as posing no threat or danger to the community. Finally, the circumstances surrounding the sexual offense are reconstructed and the victim, rather than the female perpetrator, is held responsible for the incident.

By employing these techniques, the female sex offender is transformed into the innocuous offender. Her sexually aggressive acts are manipulated, sometimes neutralized, and ultimately denied. This allows the professional culture of denial with regard to female sex offending to be upheld, and is something that continues today, despite the knowledge and understanding through various research studies that female sexual offenses are on the rise, and that many individuals who are willing to discuss this type of issue will admit to being molested at some point by a female perpetrator.

Another issue that is important to look at where denial is concerned is that there are many victims that are out there and are traumatized very severely by what has happened to them, but that feel unable to speak up and discuss what they have been through, even at rape support groups and other groups that are designed for victims. Those that are female and have been abused by females have an especially hard time with this problem because they often do not feel comfortable admitting to others that they have been raped by another female (Denov, 2003). This is part of the reason that many of the sexual offences committed by female perpetrators go unreported.