Women Who Sexually Abuse Children

Hannah Ford is a Research Psychologist for the Lucy Faithfull Foundation, a charity that works with both victims and perpetrators of child sexual abuse.

• Foreword ixAcknowledgements xiiIntroduction 1Part I: The Nature and Prevalence of Sexual Abuse by Women and Our Understanding of it1 The Prevalence of Sexual Abuse by Women 72 How is Sexual Abuse by Women Conceptualised and Understood? 173 The Nature of Child Sexual Abuse Committed by Women 25Part II: Contextualising Sexual Abuse by Women4 Potentially Relevant Factors in Sexual Abuse by Women 375 Male Coercion of Females into Sexually Abusive Behaviour 476 What Might MotivateWomen to Sexually Abuse Children? 57Part III: The Consequences of Sexual Abuse by Women7 Is Sexual Abuse by Women Harmful? 69Part IV: Furthering Our Understanding and Developing Work in this Field8 Aspects of Female Offending in Need of Further Research 939 Intervening with Female Abusers: Treatment Needs, Methods and Outcomes 111Part V: Widening Our Focus10 Mothers who are Partners of Male Offenders: are they Collusive and therefore Abusive? 12911 Female Adolescents and Children who Sexually Abuse 149Concluding Thoughts 167References 171Index 189

"The strength of this book is the skill with which Ford leads the reader through difficult and challenging material." (Youth and Policy, Autumn 2007/Winter 2008)