Female-perpetrated child sex abuse: definitional and categorisational analysis

A recent series of court cases in Australia in which teachers have been convicted of sexual crimes against children and adolescents has brought to attention the fact that females are capable of, and do commit, such crimes. However, the nature of the crimes does not reflect the range of sexually abusive behaviours females may perpetrate, nor the kinds of women who may engage in such behaviour. We consider definitional problems in identifying female-perpetrated sexual abuse, and note that apart from one attempt to describe the range of sexual abuse perpetrated by mothers, there is little to guide researchers or clinicians in relation to female perpetrated offences more generally. We then consider approaches to categorising female sex offenders, and conclude that, although there a several such approaches that overlap in some ways, a multidimensional approach that combines aspects of each taxonomy may be more useful.

Sentencing of male and female child sex offenders : Australian study

Research suggests that, in line with the chivalry hypothesis of female offending, a range of mitigatory factors such as mental health problems, substance abuse, and personal experiences of abuse are brought into play when women who offend against children are brought to trial. This is reflected in sentencing comments made by judges and in the sanctions imposed on the offenders, and as a result female offenders are treated differently to male offenders. The current study investigated this in an Australian context. Seven cases of female-perpetrated child sexual abuse were identified over a 6-year period through the Austlii database. Seven cases of male-perpetrated child sex abuse matched as far as possible to these were identified. Court transcripts were then located, and sentencing comments and sanctions imposed were analysed. All offenders were sentenced to imprisonment, but in general the women were more likely than the men to receive less jail time and lower non-parole periods because their personal backgrounds or situation at the time of the offending (i.e., difficulties with intimate relationship, male dependence issues, depression, loneliness and anger) were perceived as worthy of sympathy, and they were considered as likely to be rehabilitated. Further investigations are needed to support these findings.

Cognitive distortions in child sex offenders : an overview theory, research, and practice

A great deal of clinical and research attention has been paid to understanding and explaining child sex offenders’ social cognition. Cognitive distortions have been implicated as a core feature of child sex offenders’ offense supportive cognition. The primary aim of this paper is to critically evaluate the phenomenon of cognitive distortions as currently understood with respect to child sex offenders: it reviews the theoretical and research literature and highlights the implications for clinical practice.

Planning helps : the impact of release planning on subsequent re-entry experiences of child sex offenders

Recent research has demonstrated that poor release planning is associated with sex offender recidivism; however, whether release planning correlates with actual re-entry experiences has not been investigated systematically. Accordingly, in the present study release planning was rated for 16 child sex offenders, and semi-structured interviews about re-entry experiences were conducted at one, three and six months following their release from prison. As expected, significant positive correlations were found between release planning and re-entry experiences across the follow-up period, indicating that higher-quality release planning is associated with more positive re-entry experiences. Accordingly, it can be assumed that re-entry experiences differ between recidivists and non-recidivists, and hence positive re-entry experiences contribute to a reduction in sex offender recidivism. The implications for the management of offender release, policy makers and society as a whole are discussed.

Implicit theories and personality patterns in child-victim sex offenders

Research has suggested that child sex offenders hold thematically distinct cognitive distortions, which Ward and Keenan (1999) call Implicit Theories. The aim of this preliminary study was to investigate the relationship between offenders’ Implicit Theories and their personality related cognitions. The variables were measured using the Implicit Theory Questionnaire and Millon’s (1990) MCMI-III personality scales. Subjects were 28 male sex offenders against children serving a custodial sentence in New Zealand, who elected to participate in a treatment program. A majority of participants had personality scale scores that reached the clinical threshold. Results found that dependant, depressive and schizoidal personality patterns significantly correlated with Implicit Theories. Clinical and theoretical implications are discussed.

Police officers' note-taking of interviews with alleged child abuse victims

The field and experimental studies for this thesis revealed that: the quality of documentation of 'disclosure' (initial) interviews with child abuse witnesses was poor; under optimal note-taking conditions, verbatim records of interview were still not provided, and considerable variability was observed in the quality of notes and strategies employed to document content and structure. The portfolio presents four case studies to illustrate similarities and/or differences between offence behaviour in child sex offenders with impairment, and the offence behaviours that characterise Canter et al.'s intimate, criminal-opportunistic and aggressive type offenders.

Parental use of restrictive feeding practices and child BMI z-score. A 3-year prospective cohort study

This study examines associations between parental feeding restriction at baseline and child body mass index (BMI) z-score at 3-year follow-up. Parents of 204 5–6-year-old and 188 10–12-year-old children completed the Child Feeding Questionnaire at baseline (2002/3). In 2002/3 and 2005/6, children's BMI z-score was calculated from measured height and weight. Analyses were stratified by age-group. The association of follow-up zBMI and baseline feeding restriction score was explored using (i) linear regression with adjustment for baseline zBMI and (ii) with further adjustments for baseline maternal BMI, maternal education level and child sex. Baseline restriction was associated with follow-up zBMI at 3 years in 5–6-year-old children and was largely unchanged when adjusting for child sex, maternal BMI and education. Restriction was not associated with follow-up zBMI in 10–12-year-old children. This longitudinal study adds important depth to our understanding of associations between restrictive feeding and change in zBMI, suggesting that restriction of energy-dense foods and drinks may be protective of unhealthy weight gain in younger children but may have no effect among older children. These findings support a reconsideration of the notion that restriction is likely to result in increased child weight.

A comparative analysis of Australian sex offender legislation for sex offender registries

Australia has followed the course taken by other English-speaking countries in recent years of enacting legislation that requires convicted sexual offenders to register personal details with law enforcement agencies. These laws have been enacted to protect the public from the perceived threat posed by sex offenders, but have been written with little apparent reference to the available research literature about the nature and extent of this threat. In addition, there is no empirical evidence supporting the effectiveness of legislatively based sex offender registries to either reduce sexual offending or to enable the police to investigate sex crimes and apprehend offenders. This article compares and contrasts the current laws governing sex offender registration enacted by the various states and territories in Australia, and offers a critical analysis of their provisions in light of the research literature on sexual offending.

International sex offender registration laws : research and evaluation issues based on a review of current scientific literature

In many jurisdictions, anyone convicted of a sexual offense is required to register with police, often for life. Nine different countries have now implemented sex offender registries in an attempt to protect the public from the perceived threat posed by sexual offenders. Yet such laws have been criticized as being overly inclusive, tying up limited law enforcement resources to track many offenders who pose little risk of sexual reoffending. This paper considers the available research evidence relevant to the effectiveness of such laws for the deterrence of sexual offending and the investigation of sex crimes. It is concluded that significant gaps persist in our knowledge of whether existing laws effectively reduce sexual offending or reoffending and that large-scale, well-designed studies of the impact of sex offender registration on rates of offending, the collateral consequences to offenders and their families, and the costs of such laws are needed.

Sex, culpability, and the defence of provocation

The partial defence of provocation is one of the most controversial doctrines within the criminal law. It has now been abolished in a number of international jurisdictions. Addressing the trajectory of debates about reform of the provocation defence across different jurisdictions, Sex, Culpability and the Defence of Provocation considers the construction and representation of subjectivity and sexual difference in legal narrations of intimate partner homicide. Undeniably, the most vexing exculpatory cultural narrative of our times is that of a woman 'asking for it'. This book explores how the process of judgment in a criminal trial involves not only the drawing of inferences from the facts of a particular case, but also operates to deliver a narrative. Law, it is argued, constructs a narrative of how the female body incites male violence. And, pursuing an approach that is informed by socio-legal studies, literary theory and feminist theories of the body, Sex, Culpability and the Defence of Provocation considers how this narrative is constructed via a range of discursive practices that position woman as a threat to masculine norms of propriety and autonomy. Once we have a clear understanding of the significance of narrative in legal decision-making, we can then formulate textual strategies of resistance to the violence of law's victim-blaming narratives by rewriting them.

A guide to clarifying evidence in Australian child forensic interviews

Purpose – Interviewing victims of child sex abuse requires considerable care in order to minimise error. Due to children’s heightened suggestibility any question asked of a child could potentially incite error that could undermine the witness’s credibility. A focus group was conducted in order to facilitate the development of guidance for interviewers around the circumstances in which it is necessary to ask children follow-up questions in an interview. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach – Seven Crown prosecutors representing every Australian state and territory (with the exception of one small state) were issued with 25 hypothetical narrative accounts of child abuse and asked to indicate what information, if any, required follow-up in the child’s narrative. Their responses and rationale for requiring following up in some cases and not others were discussed.

Findings – Thematic analysis revealed three recommendations to guide questioning: whether the case involved identification or recognition evidence; the presence of contextual features that may influence the witness’s memory, or that should trigger a particular line of questioning; and whether the information can or should be sought at a later stage by the trial prosecutor, rather than by the interviewer. Practical implications – The recommendations are discussed within the context of their implications for interviewing, that is, how each recommendation could be implemented in practice.

Originality/value – The present study extends prior literature by elucidating principles to guide decision making across interview topic areas. The need for such guidance is highlighted by research suggesting that topics such as offender identity, offence time and place, and witnesses are a source of overzealous questioning in interviews.

The evidence of harm to adults relating to exposure to extreme pornographic material: a rapid evidence assessment (REA)

This document reports on a rapid evidence assessment (REA) of the evidence of harm to adults relating to exposure to extreme pornographic materials.