Female Sexual Offenders

Who are the women who commit sexual assault?

“…These difficulties faced by female sexual offenders during childhood and adolescence will persist into adulthood. Indeed, as adults, they also present an unstable lifestyle characterized by financial insecurity (e.g., unemployment), substance abuse problems (drugs and alcohol), and the presence of domestic violence (e.g., social isolation, physical, psychological, and sexual victimization) (Gannon et al, 2008(Gannon et al, , 2010(Gannon et al, , 2014Cortoni, 2018;Cortoni, in press;Cortoni & Stefanov, 2020;Decou et al 2015;Desfachelles & Cortoni, 2017;Gillespie et al, 2015;Hale & Gannon, 2022).…”

“…A variety of difficulties characterizes psychological and psychopathological profiles of female sexual offenders, including personality disorders (Hale & Gannon, 2022;Miller et al, 2009), anxiety (e.g., depression), and mood (e.g., bipolar) disorders (Marshall & Miller, 2019), relationship and intimacy issues (Gannon et al, 2008(Gannon et al, , 2010(Gannon et al, , 2014Cortoni, 2018;Cortoni & Stefanov, 2020;Decou et al, 2015;Desfachelles & Cortoni, 2019), and cognitions supporting sexual aggression (Abulafia & Epstein, 2022;Cortoni, 2018;Cortoni & Stefanov, 2020;Gannon et al, 2008Gannon et al, , 2010Gannon et al, , 2014.…”

“…They are sometimes motivated by a desire to obtain sexual gratification or intimacy. At other times, they act under the influence of their intimate partner, whether through fear of losing him, sharing more intimacy with him, or fearing that he will assault, rape, or leave her (Cortoni, 2018;Cortoni & Stefanov, 2020;Desfachelles & Cortoni, 2017;Gannon et al, 2008Gannon et al, , 2010Gannon et al, , 2014. This heterogeneity in motivations highlights two types of female sex offenders: 1) those who act alone and 2) those who act with a partner.…”

“…Specifically, treatment with this population is based on effective and scientifically validated principles of Risk, Need, and Responsivity (RNR) (Andrews & Bonta, 2015). However, for women who have committed sexual offenses, the scientific literature highlights that no criminogenic needs specific to sexual offending have been empirically identified to date (Cortoni & Stefanov, 2020;Cortoni, in press;Cortoni, 2010). As such, the dynamic factors that treatment focuses on are those empirically associated with general offending among women, the three main domains in which female offenders typically have difficulties, which are (1) cognitions that support general crime including cognitions related to sexual offending; (2) problems with intimacy and interpersonal relationships; and (3) emotional regulation (Augarde & Rydon-Grange, 2022, Cortoni, 2010Cortoni, 2018;Cortoni, in press;Cortoni and Stefanov, 2020).…”

Características de la co-delincuencia sexual femenina vs. las delincuentes sexuales en solitario

“…Los estudios han concluido que las mujeres que participan en los grupos delictivos, exhiben unas motivaciones delictivas diferentes (DeCou et al, 2015), detallan una mayor cantidad de experiencias abusivas en la infancia (Colson et al, 2013); (Gannon et al, 2008), actúan con sus parejas sentimentales en la ejecución de los delitos (Muskens et al, 2011); (Wijkman et al, 2010), victimizan en mayor medida a sus familiares (Budd et al, 2017) y tienen una menor reincidencia que los hombres (Freeman & Sandler, 2008). Por ejemplo, Cortoni & Stefanov (2020) afirmaron que unas historias de vida con experiencias de negligencia y prácticas parentales problemáticas, suelen estar presentes entre las mujeres que delinquen sexualmente.…”