M.D.S. Wijkman

Women Don’t Do Such Things! Characteristics of Female Sex Offenders and Offender Types

The authors studied offender, offense, and victim characteristics in a cohort of 111 adult female sex offenders comprising all female sex offenders known to the criminal justice authorities in the Netherlands between 1994 and 2005. In 77% of the cases, the female sex offenders had abused children; almost two thirds of the women had co-offended with a male co-offender. Their backgrounds are on average problematic with sexual abuse being prominent (31%); mental disorders were also prominent (59%). Using multiple correspondence analysis, the authors distinguished four prototypical offender types. They identified the young assaulter and the rapist who are relatively young solo offenders. Two prototypes, the psychologically disturbed co-offender and the passive mother, comprise older women. They mostly abused their own children together with their male/intimate partner. These prototypes partly overlap with previous typologies. The authors discuss implications for theory and treatment.

Intergenerational continuity in convictions: A five-generation study

BACKGROUND Intergenerational continuity in offending has been assessed in several studies. However, this has rarely been studied using more than two prospective generations. Also, within-gender and cross-gender effects have rarely been addressed. The evidence for mechanisms that may explain transmission is mixed. METHOD Using conviction data on five generations (n = 6322) that span the years 1882-2007, transmission from parent to child was studied, disaggregating for males and females. Parental conviction before the birth of the child was studied separately from parental conviction after the birth of the child. Transmission was studied using odds ratios. RESULTS Parental convictions increase the risk of offspring convictions, although the risk increase is, at around two on average, not extremely high. Delinquency by the mother was also associated with offspring criminality, although because of low prevalence the odds ratios were more variable. Parental delinquency before birth does not lead to increased risk. For serious delinquency, these findings were stronger. CONCLUSIONS The study suggests that nurture rather than hereditary or labelling mechanisms may play a role in intergenerational continuity.

Female sex offenders: Specialists, generalists and once-only offenders

Abstract Little is known about the criminal careers of female sex offenders. A meta-analysis by Cortoni, Hanson and Coache revealed that about 1.5% of female sex offenders re-offend sexually. Even less is known about the extent to which female sex offenders’ criminal careers contain sex offences as well as other offences, i.e. the extent of specialisation in sex offending. This study examines the criminal careers of all female sex offenders prosecuted by the criminal justice authorities in the Netherlands in the period 1994–2005. A latent class analysis shows that three subgroups of women can be distinguished: once-only offenders (who commit just one sex offence and no other offence), generalists (who combine sex offending with relatively many serious other, often violent, offences) and specialists (who commit relatively many sex offences next to some minor offences). Women in these three criminal career types differ in characteristics such as victimisation history, alcohol abuse and the sex of the victims.

Juvenile female sex offenders: Offender and offence characteristics

Almost all research on juvenile sex offending pertains to adolescent males. This study comprises all female juveniles convicted for sexual offences in the Netherlands between 1993 and 2008 (N = 66). From analysis of their court files and their criminal records, these female offenders are described in terms of demographics, family background, (psychiatric) disorders, victim characteristics and co-offending patterns. Heterogeneity in offending patterns and offending motives are studied, by using a reconstruction of the sexual offences. Almost 60 percent of the juvenile female sex offenders committed the abuse with someone else. Summarizing the offender motives as they emerged from offender and victim statements, five offender subtypes are identified. The findings are discussed in terms of implications for research and treatment.

Group Sexual Offending by Juvenile Females

This study examined all group sexual offending cases in the Netherlands between 1995 and 2009 (n = 26) in which at least one juvenile female offender (n = 35) had been adjudicated. Information from court files showed that the majority of juvenile female group sexual offenders have (inter)personal problems and (sexual) abuse experiences. The aims of the offender groups in committing the offense could be categorized in three themes: harassing the victim, sexual gratification, and taking revenge. The reasons why juvenile female offenders participated in a group could be categorized into group dynamics versus instrumental reasons. The findings are contrasted with findings on juvenile male group sexual offenders. Implications of the findings for research and treatment are discussed.