Perceptions of Sexual Abuse by Female Offenders
By Monica Applewhite, Ph.D.
When most people begin a conversation about sexual abuse perpetrated by a male offender they don’t start with, “Gee, where was that coach when I was a kid?” or “why couldn’t I have had a teacher like that?” or “Wow, he’s good-looking, they didn’t make ‘em like that when I was that age!” In fact, this kind of comment would be met with such a vehemently negative response that the speaker would probably be reluctant to talk at all for the next several hours! Why then, do we still hear precisely these comments when discussing incidents of sexual abuse by female offenders?
Expert in standards of care and the dynamics of abuse in educational and religious environments
When most people begin a conversation about sexual abuse perpetrated by a male offender they don’t start with, “Gee, where was that coach when I was a kid?” or “why couldn’t I have had a teacher like that?” or “Wow, he’s good-looking, they didn’t make ‘em like that when I was that age!” In fact, this kind of comment would be met with such a vehemently negative response that the speaker would probably be reluctant to talk at all for the next several hours! Why then, do we still hear precisely these comments when discussing incidents of sexual abuse by female offenders? Let’s consider what we know…
Minimization of Reports—Researchers have found that the misconceptions of sexual abuse by females permeate our criminal justice system, mental and medical health fields, and other professions that address sexual abuse. Law enforcement training tends to address male sexual offenders exclusively and this, along with pre-existing cultural biases, affects their response to reports of female-perpetrated abuse. Studies show that police officers tend initially to react with disbelief to allegations of sexual abuse by women, and they minimize the seriousness of the reports and view female suspect as less “dangerous” than male offenders. Along with other professionals, law enforcement officers are also more likely to label cases as “unfounded” when they involve women (Department of Justice, 2007).
Perception that Female Sexual Abuse Does Not Cause Harm—By far the most prevalent reason female sexual offending is not taken seriously is because both men and women tend to believe sexual abuse by women and girls is not harmful to victims. Media images of attractive women and “willing” adolescent boys have existed for many years in new reports, books, television, and movies. Now we have news outlets that focus an inordinate amount of attention on any case that fits the, often stereotypical, pattern of a teen boy and pretty, young teacher. The truth is that while some female offenders do target teen boys, a greater percentage target young children of both genders. More importantly, there is no study that shows that the harm caused to victims of any age is any less when the perpetrator is a female than when the perpetrator is a male.In fact, several studies suggest that that harm may be greater because the expectation of trust was higher and the secondary trauma of not being believed or taken seriously served to increase harm to victims. In one study that included male and female victims of both male and female perpetrators, 100 percent of these victims reported that the female-perpetrated abuse was more damaging. One victim reported, “There is a deeper sense of betrayal with a female perpetrator. It’s like there is no safe place… that’s a bitter betrayal” (Denov, 2004). Although this is a subjective view, it certainly negates the belief that abuse by women does not cause harm.
Misunderstanding the Experiences of Victims—In studies of male and female victims of female-perpetrated abuse, both genders demonstrate long-term negative effects associated with the abuse. These effects include substance abuse, self-injury, depression, rage, strained intimate and sexual relationships, depression, and poor self-concept. Adult men report effects of a similar magnitude to women, with some distinctions of experience. One man reported, “I felt like I was a victim, for a man to be a victim is an embarrassment… A real man is not a victim, a real man is always in charge, always resists, and is always in control. A man who is a victim is a failure. In that respect, I felt like I had to hide the fact that I was a victim” (Denov, 2004).
Conclusion—With adult women accounting for seven percent of adult arrests for sexual offenses and adolescent girls accounting for 27 percent of arrests for sexual offenses by adolescents, we are not discussing an insignificant problem. Couple these statistics with the fact that we know women and teen girls are less likely to be reported to the police and less likely to be arrested and charged, and we are clearly dealing with a problem that is worthy of our interest and our energy. Next time you hear someone say, “Where was that teacher when I was a kid?”—be sure to pass this information along.
For further reading:
Female Sex Offenders (March, 2007). Center for Sex Offender Management, A Project of the Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice.
Denov, M. S. (2004). The Long-Term Effects of Child Sexual Abuse by Female Perpetrators: A Qualitative Study of Male and Female Victims. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 19, 1137.
This article is not part of your continuing training. To access your required bulletins you must log in using the form in the upper left-hand corner of the screen. Then go to the TRAINING tab.
