National criminal justice statistics show that female sex offenders count for less than 10% of overall cases that come to the attention of authorities. Only 1% of arrests for forceable rape are of women and 6% for other sex offenses (Giguere & Bumby, 2007). Female Sex Offenders, 2007). However, while arrestes of adult women for sex offenses have increased since 2000, the number of adolescent girls who have appeared in juvenile courts for similar offenses has increased significantly. Of the 140,000 men incarcerated in the U.S. for sex crimes, only 1,500 are estimated to women imprisoned for these offenses (Giguere & Bumby, 2007).
Since 1990 the number of convicted female defendants charged with sex offenses has grown more than two times the rate of increase for male defendants (Greenfeld & Snell, 2000).
These numbers may actually be low because of the predetermined definition of a sex offender as male, thus causing fewer incidences reported to law enforcement. The reported numbers may also be low because female sex offenders are more difficult than men to identify as they do fit the stereotypes of male sex criminals (Hislop, 2013).
The increase in female-perpetrated abuses over recent years may be due to increased interest in research on the topic, higher level of media coverage and increased use of social media. While the same number of incidences may have remained around the same, national awareness may have resulted in a higher rate of reports and incarcerations.
- Giguere, R. & Bumby, K. (2007). Female sex offenders. Center for Sex Offender Management. Retrieved from http://www.csom.org/pubs/female_sex_offenders_brief.pdf
- Grenfeld, L. & Snell, T. (2000). Women offenders. Bureau of Justice Statistics Special Report. Retrieved from http://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/wo.pdf
- Hislop, J. (2013). Female sex offenders are often overlooked. New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2013/02/20/too-many-restrictions-on-sex- offenders-or-too-few/female-sex-offenders-are-often-overlooked
