SPECIAL POPULATIONS

• Jurisdiction: Australia

Females......................................................................................................... [63.600]

Clergy and professionals .............................................................................. [63.620]

Adolescents ................................................................................................... [63.660]

The elderly .................................................................................................... [63.700]

Child sex offenders with an intellectual impairment ..................................... [63.720]

Internet-mediated offences ........................................................................... [63.740]

[63.600] Females

There is little consistent data at this time. In a study of 546 female university students, Fromuth and Conn, (1997) reported that 4% acknowledged at least one sexual experience with a younger person (at least five years younger). Of these incidents, 92% involved physical contact.

As for convicted offenders, approximately 1% of the adult sex offenders and an estimated 10% of adolescent sex offenders are female (Seto, 2008). For a number of reasons (including gender role stereotypes, a reluctance to disclose abuse to authorities and other socio-cultural factors), the incidence of sexual assault carried out by females is likely to be underestimated (Saradjian, 2010). As the number of female sex offenders who have been tried and convicted is small, concluding research with this population is challenging. Some studies have shown that like their male counterparts, female child sex offenders are more likely to be poorly educated and come from lower socio-economic areas (Crassati, 2004). Also, while some note that like their male counterparts, female sex offenders are more likely to target female victims over males (Lewis and Stanley, 2000), other research has demonstrated males as the more likely victims (Denov, 2003). It was previously thought that women convicted of sex offences were most often accomplices of male partners; however, research reveals a growing number of female sex offenders working alone (Vandiver, 2006; Correctional Services of Canada, 2008).

In a large meta-analysis, Vandiver, (2006) describes the average female sex offender acting alone as a white female in her 20s or 30s, who is likely to have a history of physical and/or sexual abuse with an alcohol/substance use problem. Those acting as an accomplice to a male sex offender are described as more likely to be in a sexual relationship with the male abuser and living with them at the time of offence. The relationship between co-offenders is likely to be abusive. Women acting as accomplices, compared to female sex offenders acting alone, are more likely to have multiple young victims, are more likely to victimise both females and males (as opposed to males alone) and have often been charged with a non-sexual offence at the time of the sexual offending.

The paucity of information examining sex offences perpetrated by females makes it difficult to develop well-formulated theories regarding female sexual offences against children and how they differ from their male counterparts (Correctional Services of Canada, 2008). One theory, developed by Matthews et al (1989) based on clinical observations, divides adult female sex offenders into three categories based on their motivations for offending. Vandiver and Kercher, (2004) employed a statistical approach towards creating a typology using 450 female sex offenders. Their analyses revealed six subtypes of offenders, some of which were consistent with the typology proposed by Mathews et al. The three categories proposed by Mathews et al are outlined below.

• Male coerced

These women, briefly described above as a co-offender, tended to be passive females who often had histories of abuse and relationship difficulties themselves. These female sex offenders were more likely to be in an intimate relationship with their co-accused male and would, sometimes out of fear of abandonment, feel pressured into offending.

• Predisposed

Mathews et al described this category of sex offenders as women with histories of abuse. They have psychological difficulties and deviant sexual fantasies and carry out abuse against their own children or children within their families.

• Teacher/lover

These women, who often do not consider their acts as criminal, perceive themselves as in a romantic relationship with their victim. These women, at the time of their offence, were often struggling with peer relationships.

Research investigating adolescent female sex offenders is even more limited.

The US Centre for Sex Offender Management (2007) summarised the research available and outlined some common characteristics among juvenile female offenders including a high prevalence of sexual victimisation, having instability and dysfunction within the family home and as having co-occurring mental health difficulties. Adolescent female offenders are more likely to target young children within the family home or with whom they are familiar, target victims of either gender and often act alone, more often within the context of care-providing activities such as babysitting.

With regards to assessment, there are no empirically validated assessment tools for use on females. The US Centre for Sex Offender Management recommend exploring psycho-social and criminogenic needs, as these are often associated with general recidivism and are common treatment areas for adult offenders. Treatment aims to obtain the following, in addition to the traditional sex offender treatments outlined in the previous section: establishing and maintaining intimate relationships, promoting self-sufficiency, developing a positive self concept, enhancing assertiveness and social competency, developing more adaptive ways to manage emotions, reduce self-destructive behaviours, ensuring a healthy sexual development, expression and boundaries and addressing any other relevant mental health issues. Due to small numbers, research estimating recidivism amongst female sex offenders is difficult. Cortoni and Hanson, (2005) estimated general recidivism rates (including violent, sexual and nonsexual offences), based on their review of the literature, to be 20% over five years in adult female sexual offenders. The rate of sexual recidivism among adult female sex offenders was estimated to be approximately 1% by Bader et al (2010).

[63.620] Clergy and professionals

Possibly no other professional body receives as much attention as the clergy when it comes to the sexual abuse of children. There is no doubt that public opinion has demanded a proactive approach to preventing further sexual offences carried out by the clergy (Glancy and Saini, 2009). Generally, most of the research conducted has been of those of the Roman Catholic denomination.

Research attempting to determine prevalence rates of sexual abuse within the clergy have indicated that, based on estimates of 53,000 Roman Catholic Brothers and Priests in the United States, between 0.2% and 4% have committed sexual abuse against children (McGlone, 2003). In a review, Glancy and Saini, (2009) have found three general factors, which have been outlined below, that perhaps contribute to the incidence of sexual abuse carried out towards children by the clergy.

• Intrapersonal factors

Langevin et al (2000) compared clerics who committed sexual offences against children with sex-offender controls that were matched by offence type, age, education and marital status and a control sample of 2,125 sex offenders matched by offence type only. They concluded that the clergy, in comparison to the other sex offending groups were older, more educated and predominantly single. They also reported that the clergy suffered from sexual disorders as well, particularly homosexual paedophilia. Separate from the other groups of sexual offenders, the clergy were also observed to have other medical problems, including diabetes and thyroid concerns. When examining personality characteristics measured by the psychometric measures common among the clergy engaged in treatment programs, Camargo, (1997) found higher levels of dependency and schizoid features in paedophile priests in comparison to a control group of non-offending priests.

• Interpersonal factors

Fones et al (1999) explored the experiences of members of the clergy who had committed child sex offences and highlighted a number of intrapersonal struggles, including a desire to be known to others beyond their role, having few friends their own age, loneliness, having relationships with adolescents and having a lack of boundaries within their relationships. Markham and Mikail, (2004) found that the majority of their clergy child sex offenders also reported a high degree of loneliness, a lack of rewarding close adult relationships and an over-identification with the clerical role.

• Systematic factors

Systemic factors included a lack of transparency and proactivity in the church response to allegations, a lack of training in the area of sexuality, a lack of clear ethical codes, a lack of supervision and a vow of celibacy (in some denominations) (Glancy and Saini, 2009)). Doyle, (2003) argued that "clericalism" may also contribute to sexual offending, defining this idea as a policy of maintaining or increasing the power of the church by creating a power imbalance between individual clerics and their parishioners.

Doyle, (2003) highlights a number of characteristics common in sexual abuse carried out by clergy: victims tend to typically come from families closely involved in the church; the abuse was more likely to take place multiple times over an extended period of time; when the abuse is disclosed, allegations were initially met with disbelief by parents and other members of the community; disclosures were not often made until the victim reached adulthood and many of the victims also were observed to suffer...