Deconstructing Female Perpetrated Sex Crimes: Comparing Female Sex Offending Groups

• In Event: Female Sex Offenders: Characteristics, Typologies, and Pathways

Abstract

Research on sex offending has heavily focused on male sex offenders leaving female sex offenders and their offending patterns largely unexplored. This is, in part, due to the small samples sizes of female sex offenders making generalizations about female sex offending limited in scope. In addition, there are few studies that analyze female sex offending dynamics; for example, comparing solo female sex offenders to female sex offenders that commit sex crimes with co-offenders. In order to contribute to this growing body of literature and address prior research limitations, we continue to deconstruct female sex offending by comparing three female sex offending dynamics: female sex offenders that sexually offend alone, groups of all-female sex offenders that sexually offend together, and mixed gender groups comprised of women and men that sexually offend together. We use National Incident Based Reporting System (NIBRS) data collected from 1992 to 2011 to compare approximately 27,000 solo female sex offenders, 2,400 all-female group sex offenders, and 14,000 mixed gender group sex offenders. Findings indicate some broad similarities, but there are several important differences between the types of female sexual offending dynamics. Implications for future research are discussed.

Authors

• Kristen Budd, Miami University

• David M. Bierie, United States Marshals Service

• Katria Williams, United States Marshals Service