Female Sexual Abuse and Criminal Justice Intervention: A Comparison of Child Protective Service and Criminal Justice Samples

• NCJ Number: 222036
• Journal: Child Abuse & Neglect Volume: 32 Issue: 1 Dated: January 2008 Pages: 111-119
• Author(s): Shannon M. Bader; Mario J. Scalora; Thomas K. Casady; Shannon Black
• Date Published: January 2008
• Length: 9 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study compared a sample of female perpetrators reported to Child Protective Services (CPS) to a sample of women from the criminal justice system, to find a more accurate description of female sexual offending.

Abstract

This study used large statewide databases to identify and compare research on female sexual offenders by comparing a criminal justice sample and a sample of women reported to Child Protective Services (CPS). The study found significant differences in the victim’s age, the victim’s gender, and the perpetrator-victim relationship between cases managed in the CPS and the criminal justice system. The results highlight the need for further research into child welfare and law enforcement collaboration. There is extensive literature on male sexual offenders, yet fewer studies have focused on female sexual offenders and most have used small prison or clinical samples. Researches argue that most cases of female perpetrated sexual abuse are not discovered by the criminal justice system but instead are reported to CPS or go unreported instead of drawn from criminal justice sources. The CPS sample consisted of 179 women, and the criminal justice system sample consisted of 57 women in a Midwestern State. The study showed significant differences between the criminal justice and CPS samples. The CPS sample had older female perpetrators, younger victims, more female victims, and more intrafamilial victims. The criminal justice sample included information about the specific nature of the abuse, if physical force was used, and if the perpetrator provided drugs or alcohol for the victim at the time of the assault. Although the use of data collected from the child abuse registry, law enforcement records, and the State sexual offender registry allowed an examination of a large number of cases, limitations were found. The findings show that the various agencies may define sexual abuse differently based on their goals. Table, references