Female sexual offending: An impermissible crime

Empirical research on female sex offenders began to appear in the 1980s and attention and knowledge of this group are growing. However, female-perpetrated abuse still remains an under-recognised, under-researched and under-theorised problem. This article explores female child sex offending and reveals a void in the theory and policy arena. It highlights the need for further thinking about violence committed by women in the private domain. The implicit denial of women's potential for sexual aggression within criminology and community safety may ultimately contribute to the under-recognition of the problem in academic, policy and practice and official sources.