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Born Against
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I spend a lot of time in Germany and Croatia, and I can say from my own personal experience that the fears of sexual predation in the U.S. are orders of magnitude greater than in those countries.
Also, on the gender comparison, few people realize that females can also be sex offenders, at rates lower than men but much higher than generally appreciated, and the psychological damage to the victim is no less severe.
For example, in a recent study of juvenile sex offenders, 22% reported that they were sexually abused by females, usually caregivers.
Overall, my feeling is that both the level of fear, and the level of anti-male bias are not rational or justified in the U.S.
But as a father myself, I can certainly understand irrational fear . . . .
Some refs:
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Ryan, G., T. J. Miyoshi, et al. (1996). "Trends in a national sample of sexually abusive youths." Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 35(1): 17-25.
Objective: To describe sociodemographic factors pertinent to sexually abusive youths, to define common characteristics of the offending behaviors and victims, and to identify issues relevant to treatment recommendations. Method: The Uniform Data Collection system (UDCS), developed by the National Adolescent Perpetrator Network, provided data from 90 contributors in 30 states on more than 1,600 juveniles referred to them for specialized evaluation and/or treatment following a sexual offense. The UDCS comprises four separate structured questionnaires that collect both factual information and clinical impressions. Results: Physical and sexual abuse, neglect, and loss of a parental figure were common in these youths' histories. Twenty-two percent of the youths, who had been victims of sexual abuse, reported that the perpetrator of their own sexual abuse was female. The youths committed a wide range of sexual offenses, with twice as many of the referring offenses involving female victims than male victims. Conclusion: The discovery of sexually abusive youths across both urban and rural areas supports the need for comprehensive service delivery and a continuum of treatment services to be available in all communities.
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Rudin, M. M., C. Zalewski, et al. (1995). "Characteristics of Child Sexual Abuse Victims According to Perpetrator Gender." Child Abuse & Neglect 19(8): 963-973.
Characteristics of child sexual abuse victims were determined through a comparison of 87 victims of lone female perpetrators to 93 victims of lone male perpetrators according to age, gender, and relationship of perpetrator to the victim. Lone female perpetrators abused children 3.3 years younger (M = 6.0 years) than lone male perpetrators (M = 9.3 years). Both lone female and lone male perpetrators abused more girls (62%, 76%, respectively) than boys. Female perpetrators were more likely to be caretakers than male perpetrators, whereas male perpetrators were more likely to be strangers than female perpetrators. Lastly, lone female perpetrators, lone male perpetrators, and male/female coperpetrators did not differ regarding severity of abuse. Thus, contrary to popular assumption, abuse by female perpetrators was not less severe than abuse by male perpetrators.
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Grayston, A. D. and R. V. De Luca (1999). "Female perpetrators of child sexual abuse: A review of the clinical and empirical literature." Aggression and Violent Behavior 4(1): 93-106.
Although women have long been viewed as offenders in cases of physical child abuse, it is only recently that clinicians and researchers have begun to seriously consider the problem of female-perpetrated sexual abuse of children. The purpose of the present paper is to review existing clinical and empirical literature on female sex offenders, in order to develop a summary profile of female perpetrators that may be of value to professionals involved in the assessment and treatment process.
Emerging data regarding the offenses of abusive women also suggest that female sex offenders are likely to molest younger children (e.g., Faller 1987; Finkelhor & Williams 1988; Margolin 1991 and Rudin et al. 1995), particularly children for whom they occupy a central or caregiving role. In a comprehensive study of abuse in day-care settings, for example, Finkelhor and Williams (1988) discovered that approximately half of all female offenders were directors or owners of day-care centers, while the remainder were directly entrusted with the nurturing, care, and supervision of the victimized boys and girls (i.e., they were teachers or child-care workers). In a similar vein, Kercher and McShane (1984) observed that the majority of female perpetrators in their sample were related to their victims in some way, with mothers and stepmothers comprising more than half of all female offenders. Although it is true that some women perpetrate incidents of extrafamilial sexual abuse involving unknown strangers, it would appear at this time that the majority of identified offenders tend to abuse children with whom they have an enduring or familiar relationship (e.g., Allen 1991; Faller 1987; Faller 1995; Fehrenbach & Monastersky 1988; Kaufman et al. 1995; Rudin et al. 1995 and Wolfe 1985). Indeed, many clinical and empirical reports suggest that women commonly offend against their own sons and daughters (e.g., Allen 1991 and Kercher & McShane 1984), although a significant percentage of abusive women may also molest other relatives or unrelated children outside their immediate and extended families (e.g., Green & Kaplan 1994; Johnson & Shrier 1987 and Margolin 1991).
To date, it appears that the majority of children abused by female offenders are preschool and school-age children (e.g., Faller 1987; Finkelhor & Williams 1988; Margolin 1991 and Rudin et al. 1995), although there are several clinical reports and case studies in the literature citing incidents in which women have molested infants (e.g., Chasnoff, Burns, Schnoll, Burns, Chisum, & Kyle-Spore, 1986), as well as younger and older teens (e.g., Johnson & Shrier, 1987).
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Green, A. H. and M. S. Kaplan (1994). "Psychiatric Impairment and Childhood Victimization Experiences in Female Child Molesters." Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 33(7): 954-961.
Objective: To assess psychiatric impairment and childhood victimization experiences in female child molesters. Method: Eleven incarcerated female child molesters were compared to 11 women imprisoned for nonsexual offenses as to their psychiatric diagnoses based on interviews with the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III-R, Outpatient Version (SCID-OP), the SCID II for Personality Disorders, and the Harvard-Upjohn Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Interview. A family and sexual history with a description of childhood victimization experiences was also obtained by using the Wyatt Sexual History Questionnaire. Results: The majority of the subjects in each group exhibited major depression, alcohol/substance abuse, and PTSD, but the sexual offenders demonstrated more psychiatric impairment on the Global Assessment of Functioning Scale on the SCID-OP. The sexual offenders demonstrated a higher incidence of childhood physical and sexual abuse within the family than the comparison group, and these victimization experiences were more severe and more frequently associated with PTSD. The sexual offenders and the comparison women described negative relationships with parents and caretakers, and with spouses or boyfriends. However, the sexual offenders perceived their parents as more abusive, while the comparison women regarded their parents as more neglecting. Conclusions: Incarcerated female child molesters exhibited greater psychiatric impairment and more intrafamilial physical and sexual abuse than a comparison group of women imprisoned for nonsexual offenses.
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