Qualitative Study on the Traumatic Experiences of Female Sex Offenders

ABSTRACT

This study into female sex offenders examines the links between their sexual acting out and traumatic life events. The methodology is based on an analysis of 35 court cases involving females convicted of sexual abuse alongside semistructured interviews recorded with 13 participants. NVivo® software was used to analyze the data thematically, whence four key themes emerged (a desire for power, sadism, extreme anger, and the quest for self-affirmation); these themes fall into a typology that highlights the different contexts and characteristics of the sexual abuse. The results also highlight a traumatic context during childhood and adolescence that is likely to have formed the basis for the development of the deviant sexual behavior and the fact that all the women acted in collusion. The discussion on the results suggests that assessing and analyzing the needs of these women should focus in particular on the relationship between the current sexual acting out and a personal biography filled with traumatic events.

KEYWORDS:

• Female
• sexual assault
• trauma

Notes

Criminal records, final indictments, psychological and psychiatric reports, and personality assessments.

Given the low number of women in the prison population, and the difficulties in gaining access to prisons, we decided not to limit ourselves to overly strict inclusion and exclusion criteria. The main charge might relate either to a single act or a repeat offense with one or more victims.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Sonia Harrati

Sonia Harrati is a lecturer in psychology and a clinical psychologist, Laboratoire Clinique Psychopathologique et Interculturelle, University of Toulouse Jean-Jaures, France. His research interests include violence and traumatism within adolescents and adulthoods.

Mathilde Coulanges

Mathilde Coulanges is a PhD student in the Laboratoire Clinique Psychopathologique et Interculturelle, University of Toulouse Jean-Jaures, France. His research interests include violence and traumatism within adulthoods.

Daniel Derivois

Daniel Derivois is a professor in psychology and clinical psychologist, Laboratoire Psychologie, Dynamiques relationnelles et Processus Identitaires, University of Bourgogne Franche-Comté. His research interests include violence and traumatism within children and adolescents, as well as cross-cultural perspective.

David Vavassori

David Vavassori is a lecturer in psychology and clinical psychologist, Laboratoire Clinique Psychopathologique et Interculturelle, University of Toulouse Jean-Jaures, France. His research interests include violence and traumatism within adolescents and adulthoods.