Female Sex Offenders in Ireland: Examining the Response of the Criminal Justice System

• Author: Susan Leahy
• Published date: 01 November 2020
• DOI: 10.1177/1043986220936116
• Date: 01 November 2020
• Subject Matter: Articles

https://doi.org/10.1177/1043986220936116

Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice

2020, Vol. 36(4) 539 –558

© The Author(s) 2020

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DOI: 10.1177/1043986220936116

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Article

Female Sex Offenders in

Ireland: Examining the

Response of the Criminal

Justice System

Susan Leahy1

Abstract

This article focuses on the Irish criminal justice system’s response to female sex

offending. As in other jurisdictions, very little attention has been paid to female

sexual offending in Ireland. However, sexual offenses involving female offenders are

occurring and are increasingly being detected and prosecuted. The article provides an

overview of female sex offending in Ireland, offering a discussion of available prevalence

statistics and an analysis of Irish cases where women have been convicted of sexual

offenses. It is argued that, in light of the fact that women are clearly being convicted

of sexual offenses in Ireland, it is timely to question whether current laws and policies

on sexual offenses and offenders are equipped to deal with female offenders and what

types of reforms are likely to be necessary to effectively respond to this category of

sexual offending. The potential for reform is considered with reference to three key

stages of the criminal justice process: (a) reporting and detection; (b) prosecution

and punishment; and (c) treatment and rehabilitation.

Keywords

Ireland, women, sex offenders, law, punishment

Introduction

This article focuses on the Irish criminal justice system’s response to female sex

offending. As in other jurisdictions, very little attention has been paid to female sexual

offending in Ireland. However, as will be shown in this article, sexual offenses involv-

ing female offenders are occurring and are increasingly being detected and prosecuted.

1University of Limerick, Ireland

Corresponding Author:

Susan Leahy, University of Limerick, Limerick V94 T9PX, Ireland.

Email: Susan.Leahy@ul.ie

936116CCJXXX10.1177/1043986220936116Journal of Contemporary Criminal JusticeLeahy

research-article2020

540 Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice 36(4)

Given that the focus on sexual offending to date has almost entirely centered on male

offenders, this article examines the Irish response to female sex offending and ques-

tions whether Irish laws and policies on sexual offenses and offenders are equipped to

deal with female offenders. Further the article considers what reforms are likely to be

necessary to ensure best practice in responding to this cohort of offenders. In this way,

the article provides a different perspective on female sex offending, much of the cur-

rent literature focusing primarily on prevalence, typologies and treatment as opposed

to legal and criminal justice system responses.

The article begins with an overview of female sex offending in Ireland, offering a

discussion of available statistics on prevalence and an analysis of Irish cases where

women have been convicted of sexual offenses. Trends in such offending and the chal-

lenges posed for the criminal justice system will then be outlined. The article con-

cludes with proposals for reform which will strengthen the response of the criminal

justice system in this area. This discussion focuses on three key stages of the criminal

justice process, namely reporting and detection; prosecution and punishment; and

treatment and rehabilitation.

Female Sex Offending in Ireland: Prevalence and

Criminal Justice System Response

Although the focus of this article is on criminal justice system responses, some discus-

sion of the limited available data on the prevalence of female-perpetrated sexual abuse

is important to provide context and demonstrate that the number of convictions of

women for sexual abuse does not accurately portray the prevalence of this category of

abuse in Ireland.

Sexual Offending by Women in Ireland: Prevalence Statistics

Statistics on the prevalence of sexual offending by women in Ireland are very limited

and relate only to offenses against children. There are no prevalence studies on adults

who have experienced female-perpetrated sexual abuse. However, available evidence

clearly indicates that women are committing sexual offenses in Ireland. Bourke et al.

(2014) investigated the prevalence rates for female-perpetrated child sexual abuse in

Ireland by analyzing the data from the Sexual Abuse and Violence in Ireland (SAVI)

survey (McGee et al., 2002), a national survey which sought to measure Irish people’s

experiences of sexual abuse. The survey involved telephone interviews with 3,120

adults living in Ireland. The SAVI data demonstrates that almost 6% of those who

experienced child sexual abuse were abused by women (n = 47). This represents 1.5%

of the total population (Bourke et al., 2014, p. 773). 85% of the female-perpetrated

abuse victims were male (Bourke et al., 2014, p. 774). 60% of victims never told any-

one about the abuse and none of them reported to the police (Bourke et al., 2014, p.

775). A very low proportion of female-perpetrated abuse was committed by a stranger

(4%) (Bourke et al., 2014, p. 775). 53% of perpetrators were nonrelatives who were

known to the victim and the majority of female perpetrators were not an authority