Female Sex Offenders Are Female Sex Offenders

Female Sex Offenders

Are female sex offenders more evil than male sex offenders?

Biological differences in men and women have been thought to contribute to predispositions for various criminal activities. For example, hormonal differences exist between genders and cause significant alterations in behaviors. Men generally have more testosterone which has been correlated with aggressive and competitive behavior in some studies. However, women have higher levels of estrogen and different biological compositions. Studies have also shown that women are more likely to commit crimes during their premenstrual cycle (PMS). During PMS women high levels of hormones that make them more aggressive and irritable which is a state associated with low levels of estrogen coupled with higher levels of progesterone.

This analysis will consider the question of whether or not there are gender differences in the occurrences of sexual offenses. The common stereotype of sexual crimes is of males who use their size and strength to prey upon weaker female victims. However, there is some evidence that suggest these stereotypes are incorrect and there are more female sexual offenses than previously thought. It will address the question of whether or not there is any evidence to suggest that female sexual offenders are any more or less evil than their male counterparts. It will provide a background on biological differences, look at the influence of gender roles in the criminal justice system, as well as use other perspectives to address this question.

Biological Gender Differences

There have been various studies that have looked at the roles of hormones and criminal activity in different genders. One study showed that females who were incarcerated for violent offenses consisted of a high proportion of women who committed the violent acts during their premenstrual period (Wright, et al., 2008). During the periods of PMS, women have elevated levels of hormones that make them more aggressive and irritable which can influence behavior through the biological processes that produce low levels of estrogen coupled with higher levels of progesterone.

The biological perspective has also led researchers to look for correlation in the amount of testosterone in men and the level of criminality in which was found. Some studies have shown that high levels of testosterone have been linked to criminal behavior. Yet, this relationship has only produced a moderate correlation and the results are debatable. Furthermore, the correlation isn't sufficient to suggest that high testosterone levels can be a good predictor of criminal behaviors.

Testosterone is a hormone that is present in both sexes but in greater amounts in males. In develops early in males and then the levels grow rapidly during adolescence. Testosterone is commonly associated with competitive and aggressive behaviors as well as individuals that are more likely to engage in risk taking behaviors.

There are also other factors related to the level of testosterone in individuals such as lower sensitivity to pain, an enhanced seeking of sensory stimulation, and a right-hemisphere shift in dominance in the brain which is linked to higher levels of spatial aptitude but lower levels of reasoning and empathy (Wright, et al., 2008). Thus some believe that the male biology, naturally possessing higher levels of testosterone, is more likely to explain criminal behaviors and impulses along gender lines. Using arguments based on biologically gender differences can theoretically explain some of the trends in which men are disproportionately engage in more criminal behaviors than women.

However, the gender-based hormonal differences are not the only explanations that correlate biology with criminal behaviors. For example, a low level of a hormone called cortisol has also been correlated in some individuals and chronic offending. Cortisol plays an important role in an individual's anxiety levels. Although anxiety in high levels can be detrimental, when the levels are abnormally low then this can also create issues. For example, anxiety could be one of the factors that could inhibit various behaviors that are related to committing. The individual would not readily consider the consequences of their actions in such situations.

The actual biological differences that are inherent in the genders can also be trumped by cultural and social forces in the perceptions of these differences. The female sex offenders have a different psychological profile that has been identified in relation to their male counter parts. Female sexual abusers' cognition is inherently different to that presented by male sexual abusers, despite surface-level semantic similarities" and to engage their victims so they can carry out an assault, FSOs typically coerce their victims rather than use violence or threats of violence (Forbes & Harris, 2014). Furthermore, there have been six different types of FSOs that have been proposed (Forbes & Harris, 2014):

1. Heterosexual nurtures - FSOs frequently met and related to their victims in the capacity of a caretaker or mentor and assaulted only male victims (female teacher)

2. Noncriminal homosexual offenders - group had the lowest average number of arrests following their target offense. In addition, the average age of their victims (13) was the second highest of the types identified by the study.

3. Female Sexual Predators -- similar to the male sexual predator; the victims of female sexual predators were more likely to be male than female.

4. Young Adult Child Exploiters - their victims were the youngest and they displayed no apparent preference for male or female victims.

5. Homosexual criminals -- women who perform sexual assaults on other women and have the highest level of arrest of the different groups.

6. Aggressive homosexual criminals -- this category of women will use violence to commit sexual assaults.

One of the most publicized cases of FSO was associated with the case of Mary Kay Letourneau (35) who received national attention when she was convicted of second degree child rape for having sex with her sixth grade student, Vili Fualaau, when he was 12 years old (Knoll, 2010). Letourneau gave birth to two children by the student and eventually married him after he was released from prison. This brought the role of FSO to national attention and launched many studies to determine how prevalent the trend was. The process of targeting a child is known as grooming and this is a term used to describe the process by which sex offenders carefully initiate and maintain sexually abusive relationships with children (Knoll, 2010).

Feminist Perspective

All feminist theorists share a common focus on gender inequality; however feminism can be described as a set of perspectives rather than a single viewpoint (Strider, N.d.). This perspective has been applied to gender biasness in the criminal justice system. The feminist perspective considers many different factors that constitute gender inequality that has been systematically established in systems such as the criminal justice system. Many of the early theories of criminal behavior completely ignored the role of gender all together. Much of the system has become largely male dominated for a variety of different reasons.

Feminist criminology resulted from an applying the general feminist perspective to the criminal just system. This perspective now represent as a large body of research in the literature and it now inhabits a social and political landscape radically altered and increasingly characterized by the politics of backlash (Chesney-Lind, 2006). The perspective considers two primary factors, gender and crime; however the political backlash has come in the form of racism and sexism.

Even though it is generally accepted that males commit crimes at a higher rate than women, there are some specific examples in which this is not the case. One example would be shoplifting, in which some estimates are as high as 80% of all shoplifters being women, and although men sometimes engage in shoplifting, women are far more likely to steal more items than men, steal items from several stores, and steal items of lesser value (O'Connor, N.d.). Women also have been identified to have different methods and motives for crimes that are unique to their gender.

Figure 1 - Female Serial Killers Methods and Motives (O'Connor, N.d.)

The current criminal justice system also issues punishments to women on the same assumption that women pose the same threat to public safety as their male counterparts even though most criminal justice professionals believe that women represent substantially less risk to public safety (Covington & Bloom, 2003). Although men are still prosecuted for crimes at comparatively higher rates, the rate of women incarcerated has increased at a rate nearly double that of men since 1980.

Most of the women who are currently incarcerated have been imprisoned for non-violent crimes. In addition, most of the crimes that are violent perpetrated by women against a spouse, ex-spouse, or partner that have been the source of physical or sexual abuse against the women. However, despite the presence of female violent crimes, these represent only a small fraction of the overall violent crimes from both genders. The occurrences of female perpetrated sexual offenses are just becoming a publicized and studied phenomenon.

Figure 2 - Women Offenders (Greenfeld & Snell, 2000)

Although public awareness of female perpetrators of sex crimes has increased in recent years, primarily due to numerous highly publicized cases, "there is no evidence-based guidance or other consensus about the most effective approaches to working with them" and among the reasons for limited information regarding female sex offenders is that until recently, there has been an underrecognition of "female-perpetrated sex offenses" (Pflugradt & Allen, 2010). The limited information that is available about FSO undoubtedly skews the data that is available to study the trend and in all actuality it would most likely increase the percent of sexual assaults conducted by women to well over the two percent range of total occurrences.

Previously it was just assumed that rarely, if ever, committed acts of sexual offenses. As more and more motivations for FSO are being identified, researchers are beginning to look at the social contexts of these acts as well. One factor that investigated the differences between female sexual offenders who committed the sexual offence with an accomplice (co-offender) and without an accomplice (solo offender); some studies have suggested that female co-offenders were more likely to have female victims compared to male victims while female solo offenders were more likely to have male victims (Muskens, et al., 2011).

Other traits that have been attributed to female sexual offenders were more likely to offend with a co-offender, be younger, have younger child victims and be less likely to engage in sexual acts that involve penetration (Pflugradt & Allen, 2012). One study considered the gender roles and their relationship to sexual sadism. The definition of the essential features of sexual sadism has some agreement in the literature including behaviors and fantasies relating to inflicting pain, suffering and humiliation, although the motivations for this remain elusive. Women's sexual arousal patterns may be significantly different from males and there is some evidence to suggest that deviant sexual arousal might be a contributing factor in female sexually assaultive behaviors (Pflugradt & Allen, 2012). This theory is also relative to the co-offender statistics because many assaults by females will require the assistance of another to restrain the individual.