ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a brief summary of the characteristics of females who sexually offend, followed by a review of theory available to explain sexual offending perpetrated by females. It discusses several of the key characteristics and potential treatment needs of women who sexually offend alongside recommendations for treatment. In terms of demographic characteristics, it appears that females who sexually offend tend to be younger than their male counterparts, hold fewer qualifications, and come from lower socioeconomic status categories. Many of the early studies into females who sexually offend focused on offender demographics and victim characteristics, and this early data led researchers to develop a number of female-specific offence subtypes or typologies. Taking a new approach from earlier typological work Gannon and colleagues developed the Descriptive Model of the Offence Process for Females Who Sexually Offend. Several studies have examined whether females who sexually offend hold similar offence supportive cognitions to male offenders.
