Dr Steven Gillespie was recently invited to present on the topic of female sexual offenders at the 33rd meeting of the INTERPOL Specialists Group on Crimes against Children.
He commented that “Although females are typically perceived to be nurturers and protectors of children, it is important to understand that some females commit crimes against children. Developing a better understanding of these women and the crimes that they commit has implications for sex offender management and the prevention of child sexual abuse.”
Steven also highlighted the findings from work that he has published in the journal Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment with colleagues from the School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, and the Lucy Faithfull Foundation, UK. In this work Steven and colleagues showed that there are important differences in females who perpetrate sexual offences against children as a solo-offender, compared with women who commit sexual offences with a co-offender. Understanding these differences may help those involved in law enforcement and sex offender management to work more effectively with female sexual offenders to reduce child sexual abuse.
The INTERPOL Specialists Group on Crimes against Children is an international, multidisciplinary group dedicated to the prevention of child abuse and exploitation. The meeting was attended by around 200 participants from 60 countries and focused on Internet-facilitated crimes against children, sex offender management, and serious and violent crimes against children. It was held at the General Secretariat in Lyon, France, on 19 November.
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