NCJ Number
214279
Journal
Aggression and Violent Behavior Volume: 11 Issue: 3 Dated: May-June 2006 Pages: 298-312
Date Published
May 2006
Length
15 pages
Annotation
This article reviews and critiques selected feminist theories on child sexual abuse.
Abstract
The main conclusions are that feminist perspectives have been effective at establishing and justifying social policies designed to reduce the risk of child sexual abuse, yet they have failed to offer guidance in the treatment of individual offenders. Most research on child sexual abuse is dominated by psychological theories that have neglected to examine the possible cultural dimensions of child sexual abuse. Feminist theories, on the other hand, have helped to fill this gap in the literature by focusing on the cultural context within which sexually abusive behavior occurs. Following brief discussions of the levels of theory and the role of culture, the authors examine three particular classes of feminist perspectives that attempt to explain child sexual abuse: radical feminist theories, post-modern feminist theories, and sociological feminist theories. While these theories offer a unique view of how culture can either instigate or inhibit the sexual abuse of children, they remain lacking in terms of clinical contributions to sex offender treatment. Feminist theories are also critiqued on their tendency to grant cultural explanations while dismissing the value of psychological research regarding the onset and maintenance of child sexual abuse. The psychological research literature is also critiqued for largely ignoring feminist perspectives and neglecting to address the fact that most sexual offenders are male. In closing, the authors call for a truly integrated theory of sexual offending that would account for cultural and psychological factors as well as biological processes. References