Gender Differences in Perpetration of Child Sex Crimes: Implications for Practice and Policy

Background and Purpose: The research on women’s perpetration of sex crimes is underdeveloped relative to that of men, and this knowledge gap is especially pronounced for perpetrators of child sexual abuse (CSA). Given long-term impact of CSA on victims, effective prevention and treatment are essential for reducing risk of perpetration. However, it is unclear whether women and men who perpetrate against children share programmatic needs, or whether gender-specific interventions are necessary. This study provides insight by asking: What individual, offense, and victim level characteristics differ between male and female perpetrators of CSA?

Methods: This study uses a subsample of 26 women and 25 men currently incarcerated for a sex crime against a child under the age of 12, from a larger mixed-methods study (survey and administrative data) of confined sex offenders.  Bivariate analyses and a logistic regression were used to determine what individual (i.e., demographic, child/adult victimization), victim (i.e. gender), or offense (i.e. co-offender) characteristics were correlated with being a male or female perpetrator. The Crowne-Marlowe Social Desirability Scale was included as a control variable. To contextualize our quantitative results, we examined open-ended survey responses offering additional details about the offense. Responses were coded for primary themes using inductive analysis and compared by gender.

Results: At the bivariate level, the presence of a co-offender (χ2(1)=15.997, p<.001), gender of the victim (χ2=(1)=4.699, p<.05), and adult intimate partner victimization (t(31.366)=5.14, p<.001) differed by perpetrator gender with women more likely to have a co-offender, victimized as an adult and chose a male victim. Also, females (M=20.8, SD=3.40) scored significantly higher on social desirability than males (M=18.7, SD=3.49) (t(48)=2.139, p<.05). While the logistic regression was significant (χ2(8, N=51)=27.007, p<.01) and classified 80% of the sample, none of the variables in the model were significant (none were correlated). The qualitative results suggest differences in the way women and men characterize the CSA for which they are incarcerated. Primary themes of men’s responses involved admission of guilt and perpetration for sexual arousal. Primary themes of women’s responses involved denial of guilt and perpetration under extreme duress (including lethal threats), often by an abusive intimate partner. A greater proportion of women than men referenced their own sexual victimization as children, and no women referenced sexual arousal.

Conclusions and Implications:  Although a small sample, this study verifies distinct experiences by gender among those who commit CSA, suggesting that therapeutic programs designed for men may have limited applicability to women. In particular, given the proportion of women who reported being falsely convicted and/or offending under extreme duress, interventions designed to reduce sexual attraction toward children may be particularly unsuitable for women, as arousal was not reported to be a significant component of their offending behavior. Interventions for women should address previous trauma and intimate partner violence (i.e. coercion).  Thus, our results provide support for gender-specific programming, and suggest that in order to protect children from sexual abuse, such interventions are needed.