Female-Perpetrated Child Sexual Abuse: Prevalence Rates in Germany

Research on female-perpetrated child sexual abuse, especially maternal sexual abuse, is scarce. Prevalences are assumed to be lower compared to male-perpetrated abuse; however, representative studies including female perpetrators are rare. Experiences of male- and female-perpetrated child sexual abu...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of child sexual abuse 2020-04, Vol.29 (3), p.263-277
Main Authors: Gerke, Jelena, Rassenhofer, Miriam, Witt, Andreas, Sachser, Cedric, Fegert, Jörg M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Abused children
Abused women
Child Abuse
Child abuse & neglect
Child sexual abuse
Children
Comparative studies
female perpetrator
Females
gender
Gender differences
Gender studies
Males
Mothers
Pedophilia
Perpetrators
prevalences
Questionnaires
representative study
Sex crimes
Sexual Abuse
Support networks
Victimization
Victimology
Victims
Victims of crime
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Summary:Research on female-perpetrated child sexual abuse, especially maternal sexual abuse, is scarce. Prevalences are assumed to be lower compared to male-perpetrated abuse; however, representative studies including female perpetrators are rare. Experiences of male- and female-perpetrated child sexual abuse were examined in a representative German sample. Questions included experiences of hands-on and penetrative sexual abuse. The perpetrator-victim relationship was assessed to calculate prevalences of maternal sexual abuse. A total of 2516 participants (54.53% female, 14-91 years) were questioned and prevalences, as well as group differences between victims of male perpetrators compared to female perpetrators, were calculated. Overall, 10.5% of all participants reported experiences of child sexual abuse. Female perpetrators were involved in 9.9% of the cases, i.e. 1.0% of all participants. Victims of female perpetrators were significantly more often male. A quarter of the adult female perpetrators were the mother figure of the child. The findings suggest that the share of female perpetrators in cases of child sexual abuse is rather small; concurrently, female perpetration is insufficiently recognized. Especially male victims seem to be at risk for sexual abuse by female perpetrators. Contacts for children especially within the professional support system need to be aware of the existence of female perpetrators.
ISSN:1053-8712
1547-0679
DOI:10.1080/10538712.2019.1685616