CHARACTERISTICS OF FEMALE SEX OFFENDERS: A COMPARISON OF SOLO OFFENDERS AND CO-OFFENDERS

Abstract

Women's involvement in sex offending has been poorly tracked in research. A systematic review of research that has compared female sex offending in solitary versus female group offending has been conducted. Ten studies were found that met the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The results show that women engage in co-offending behaviour at a higher rate than they do alone. Also, women's sexual offending activity more often involves other offenders, who are usually men and, in most cases, their intimate partners. Women who act alone tend to target male victims with whom they are not related, while those who act as co-offenders mainly target their children or minors in their care.