Recidivism and Risk Predictors for (Sexual) Re-Offending of Female Sexual Offenders

• In Event: Female Sexual Offending: Risk Variables and Victim Characteristics, Co-Offending and (Sexual) Recidivism

Abstract

Studies examining (sexual) reoffending of female sexual offending are scarce and the few studies which are conducted show that reoffending is considerably lower in women than in men. These low reoffending rates makes it difficult to identify risk factors for reoffending. The aim of this current paper is to provide an assessment of female sexual offenders’ risk for sexual, violent and general reoffending. There is not enough empirical evidence yet for using a gender-neutral or a gender-specific approach for female sexual offenders. Therefore the risk factors found for female sexual offenders, female violent offenders, female general offenders (LSI-R) and findings from a meta-analysis on male sexual offenders (Hanson & Morton-Bourgon, 2005) are assessed for the current research group.
We examined data on all (N=305) convicted adult hands-on female sex offenders who became known to the criminal justice authorities in the Netherlands between 1993 and 2011. We analyzed the criminal records of these women, as well as their court files. Sexual reoffending was low at 2%, while general reoffending was higher at 28%. Results indicate that assessment tools for female violent offenders, are also suitable for female sexual offenders. The paper ends with implications for further assessment and treatment.

Authors

• Vivienne de Vogel, De Forensische Zorgspecialisten

• Miriam Wijkman, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam