This courageous and powerful book is a first step in addressing the secrecy, distress, anger, and fear surrounding female sexual abuse of children. Refuting the rationales for our lack of attention to the problem and contradicting some commonly held beliefs about sexual abuse, it combines accounts from survivors with input from professionals working with both survivors and abusers. Part I presents contributions from professionals who discuss aspects of female sexual abuse ranging from impact and treatment issues for victims of childhood sexual abuse by female perpetrators to the paradox of women who sexually abuse children. The second part is devoted to survivors--it presents stories from both men and women, then provides self-help guidelines for both. The book concludes with a valuable section on resources which includes a review of the existing literature on female child molestation as well as a listing of pertinent books and help organizations. FEMALE SEXUAL ABUSE OF CHILDREN also addresses the controversial issue of current statistics that show that female sexual abuse is very rare and the question of whether it is being underreported due to fear from survivors that they will not be believed or supported. Regardless of the true magnitude of this problem, secrecy or denial about any aspect of child abuse must be avoided. Whatever future studies may show about this problem, it will not diminish this book's importance in taking the step of exploring this issue.

Until recently the topic of female sex offenders remained under-researched. This book provides a comprehensive overview of female sex offenders who commit sexual offences against children and adolescents. It also examines the behaviour of these women and the after effects on both the offender and victim .

This work is based on in-depth research with more than fifty women who have sexually abused children and therapy that has been carried out with several such women. It describes many aspects of their lives: childhood; own abuse histories; and adult relationships with partners and peers.

Child sexual abuse is a global problem that negatively affects many women and girls. As such, it has long been of concern to feminists, and more recently mental health activists. This book draws on this revolutionary legacy, feminism and post-structuralism to critically examine current perceptions of women, girls and child abuse in psychology, psychiatry and the mass media, and to re-evaluate mainstream and feminist approaches to this subject. The book aims to contribute to the ongoing development of a knowledge-base for working with abused women and girls, and demonstrates the need to question the use of formulaic methods in working with abused women and girls. It calls for an explicit concern with politics, principles and ethics in the related areas of theory, research and practice. Using research into women who have been sexually abused in childhood, and who are detained in maximum security mental health care, Sam Warner explores and identifies key principles for practice. A social recovery model of intervention is developed, and case study examples are used to demonstrate its applicability in a range of practice areas. These include abuse psychotherapy; expert witness reports in child protection; with mothers of abused girls; and with women and girls in secure care contexts. This thorough investigation of this emotive issue provides a clear theoretical and practical framework for understanding and coping with child sexual abuse. This book will be of interest to anyone who works with children and adults who have been abused. This includes clinical psychologists, therapists and other professionals that work in mental health, psychotherapy and social services; and legal settings within both community and secure care contexts. It should also be essential reading for students and academics in this area.

Too prevalent to ignore : violence against women, its prevalence, and health consequences / García-Moreno, C., Stockl, H. -- Gender-based violence in the Middle-East : a review / Madi Skaff, J. -- Violence against women in Latin America / Gaviria A., S.L. -- Violence against women in south Asia / Niaz, U. -- Violence against women in Europe : magnitude and the mental health consequences described by different data sources / Helweg-Larsen, K. -- Intimate partner violence as a risk factor for mental health in South Africa / Jewkes, R. -- Intimate partner violence and mental health / Oram, S., Howard, L.M. -- Sexual assault and women's mental health / Martin, S.L., Parcesepe, A.M. -- Child sexual abuse of girls / MacMillan, H.L., Wathen, C.N. -- Sexual violence and armed conflict : a systematic review of psychosocial support interventions / Stavrou, V. -- Abuse and trafficking among female migrants and refugees / Kastrup, M. -- Abuse in doctor-patient relationships / Tschan, W. -- Workplace harassment based on sex : a risk factor for women's mental health / Cortina, L.M., Leskinen, E.A. -- Violence against women and suicidality : does violence cause suicidal behaviour? / Devries, K.M., Seguin, M. -- Violence against women suffering from severe psychiatric illness / Rondon, M.B. -- Violence against women and mental health : conclusions / García-Moreno, C., Riecher-Rössler, A.

This book organizes existing knowledge on female sexual abusers, explores their backgrounds, methods of abuse and the impact on victims. It begins with a fictional account of the development of a girl into an offender, based on actual experiences described by female sex offenders to researchers and therapists. Subsequent chapters discuss the incidence of female sexual offending and social reluctance to recognize it, and the treatment options for offenders.

This unprecedented look at female sexual predators explains why and how they prey on our children and youths and what adults—and children and youths themselves—should understand to prevent victimization. In Female Sexual Predators: Understanding and Identifying Them to Protect Our Children and Youths, social worker and therapist Karen A. Duncan helps adults be proactive so children will not fall prey to this violation. Vignettes pulled from news headlines and interviews with female sexual predators Duncan has encountered in her own practice are used to help readers understand these crimes and the women who commit them, as well as the impact these crimes can have on victims. The women profiled were in positions of authority at churches, schools, sports institutions, and the home. Victims explain how these women exploited their positions of trust, planned their crimes, groomed their victims, deceived adults into not detecting their behavior, and how they did not stop even when they recognized the danger and the harm to themselves and their victims. Duncan addresses the issue of maternal sexual abuse answering questions about mothers who willingly sexual abuse their own children and at times commit child sexual abuse with other adults, as well as women who sexually abuse girls. Four types of female sex offenders are presented within the emerging research on this topic, along with questions regarding assessment, treatment, and management of female sex offenders in the community. It also addresses the controversial issues of female pedophilia and female sexual deviance within the context of what we know about human sexuality.