This study aimed to extend limited extant knowledge of female-perpetrated sexual offenses, including child sexual abuse material (CSAM) offenses, that enter the criminal justice system. Sexual offenses actioned by the police in one jurisdiction of Australia between 1 January 2012 and 30 June 2021 ( N = 37,864) were analyzed to explore the prevalence of sexual offenses and types of sexual offenses perpetrated; the relationship between perpetrator gender, age, and offense type; and the relationship between perpetrator gender, age, offense type, and likelihood of law enforcement action ( N = 34,835). Consistent with previous research, (predominantly adult) males were responsible for most sexual offenses before police. Females were responsible for 12.2% of all offenses over this period, with juvenile females (10–17 years) implicated in a significant proportion (10.2%) of all offenses. In fact, juvenile females were responsible for the majority of assaultive CSAM offenses, whereas juvenile males mostly perpetrated offline child sexual abuse offenses. Regarding adults, there was a minimal, statistically significant difference between gender and offense type. Odds of perpetrating an online assaultive CSAM offense were 20 times higher for juvenile females compared to both adult males and adult females, and 7.69 times higher for juvenile females compared to juvenile males. Finally, for the same offense type, gender and age differentially impacted law enforcement action. For all offense types, enforcement and gravity (e.g., arrest and referral to court) of further action, were significantly lower among all females and juvenile males compared to adult males. Juvenile females were least likely to have any serious action taken. These findings provide a seminal platform from which to expand much-needed research on female-perpetrated offending to inform policy and practice.

中文翻译：

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女性参与线下和线上性犯罪及其与刑事司法系统的互动：性别和年龄比较


本研究旨在扩展对进入刑事司法系统的女性性犯罪的有限现存知识，包括儿童性虐待材料 （CSAM） 犯罪。分析了 2012 年 1 月 1 日至 2021 年 6 月 30 日期间澳大利亚一个司法管辖区的警方提起的性犯罪 （N = 37,864），以探讨性犯罪的普遍性和所犯的性犯罪类型;肇事者性别、年龄和犯罪类型之间的关系;以及肇事者性别、年龄、犯罪类型和执法行动可能性之间的关系 （ N = 34,835）。与之前的研究一致，（主要是成年）男性对警察之前的大多数性犯罪负责。在此期间，女性占所有犯罪的 12.2%，其中未成年女性（10-17 岁）涉及所有犯罪的很大一部分 （10.2%）。事实上，未成年女性应对大多数攻击性 CSAM 犯罪负责，而未成年男性大多犯下了线下儿童性虐待犯罪。关于成年人，性别和犯罪类型之间存在极小的统计学显着差异。与成年男性和成年女性相比，未成年女性实施在线攻击性 CSAM 犯罪的几率高 20 倍，与未成年男性相比，未成年女性高 7.69 倍。最后，对于相同的犯罪类型，性别和年龄对执法行动的影响不同。对于所有犯罪类型，与成年男性相比，所有女性和未成年男性的执行和进一步行动的严重性（例如，逮捕和移交法院）都显著降低。未成年雌性最不可能采取任何严肃的行动。 这些发现提供了一个开创性的平台，从中可以扩展对女性犯罪的急需研究，为政策和实践提供信息。