Book Review: Perspectives on Female Sex Offending: A Culture of Denial

Published date01 May 2005
AuthorDonna M. Vandiver
Date01 May 2005
DOI10.1177/0734016805275703
Subject MatterArticles
justice, for all its citizens, it must acknowledge that race is not value neutral and continues to
lead to injustices and discrimination.
Bruce Wilson
Governors State University
Perspectives on Female Sex Offending: A Culture of Denial, by Myriam S. Denov. Hamp-
shire, UK: Ashgate Publishing, 2004, 225 pp.
DOI: 10.1177/0734016805275703
In Myriam S. Denov’s Perspectives on Female Sex Offending: A Culture of Denial, she
assesses an overlooked area of sexual abuse research—female sex offenders. The author
examines a sample of 12 Canadian law enforcement officers who handled sexual assault
cases in which the perpetrator was female, 10 Canadian psychiatrists, and 15 Canadian vic-
tims of female sexual abuse. Although the sample size is small, it provides a wealth of infor-
mation about sexual abuse by females and why so little is known about this topic.
A chapter is presented on the prevalence of sexual abusecommitted by females. It is noted
that female sexual abuse is often underreported in official statistics, case reports, and self-
reports due to societal perceptions of who can abuse and who can be abused. It is generally
assumed that males typically abuse females. In addition, victims often underreport any type
of sexual abuse; being abused by a female will often lead to even less reporting. Chapter 2
examines the dynamics of denial that surround female sex offending. This includes two pro-
cesses: the transformation process and the dialectical process. The transformation process is
applied to explain how such denial emerges. Female sex offending, by nature, is a type of
deviance that is inconsistent with fundamental beliefs of our society. The dialectical process
is relied on to explain how such cultural values are maintained and perpetuated. Chapter 3
provides an overview of the methods employed. As an exploratorystudy with a small sample
and the ability to gather substantial detail from each subject, qualitative methods were
chosen.
Chapter 4 includes information gathered from the interviews of the 12 law enforcement
officers. These officers received no training with regard to females as perpetrators of sexual
abuse; it was assumed that sexual assault involveda male assaulting a female. The approach
of the officers, therefore, was often shaped by the institutional mindset that denies females
could be sex offenders. In the Crime Analysis Report, which is a form used by law enforce-
ment officers, the presence or lack of female items (i.e., bra, panties, etc.) is listed in the
description of the victim, but not of the offender; thus, it is assumed that the offender is male
and the victim is female. The officers are forced to rely on traditional constructs and sexual
scripts in reporting incidents of sexual abuse.
Chapter 5 provides an explanation of the 10 psychiatrists’ perspectives on female sex
offending. None of the psychiatrists reported receiving education or training on female sex
offending. Several psychiatrists denied the possibility of women being “erotically attracted
to children” and stated that women are not sexually aggressive. One female psychiatrist said
she became interested in females who sexually offended because the senior psychiatrists
Book Reviews 113

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