Women guilty of ‘1 in 20’ child sex abuse cases

ONE in 20 cases of sexual abuse against children are perpetrated by women, according to child abuse support group CARI.

The organisation said the issue is Ireland’s “last taboo” and society’s denial of sexual abuse by women increases the distress for the victim.

It will hold a conference tomorrow to discuss child protection issues and the criminal justice system in dealing with female sex offenders.

CARI said because the role of female carers and mothers is generally perceived as a positive one, girls and boys may feel they bear even greater guilt and shame in relation to abuse.

The group’s national clinical director Majella Ryan said: “As a society we look at women as nurturers and carers. It is much more acceptable to cast men in the role of sexual aggressors and sexual offenders. We don’t look at women as likely to sexually offend.

“It is rarely talked about and this makes it very difficult for the victim to disclose. In cases of sexual abuse the victim always feels shame and guilt and this is increased when the offender is female.

“When the abuse is perpetrated by the mother, there is huge difficulties for the child on so many levels.”

She said the issue of child sex abuse was not discussed in Ireland 10 years ago, and it is a similar situation now with the reluctance to discuss abuse by females.

“As a society we tend not to look at women in this light.

“Over the years when I watch soaps or movies and they are highlighting a female teacher with a male pupil, for example, they tend to describe it as an affair. But it if was a male teacher and a female student, it is described as abuse. The way we are portraying it as a society, it is hard to classify it as abuse,” she said.

Tomorrow’s conference, which will be held in the Carlton Hotel on the Old Airport Road in Dublin, will bring together experts from Ireland and Britain to discuss new research in the area.

Ms Ryan said: “Research is very limited but we do know that females who offend have a strong history of abuse themselves, which is not so much the case with male abusers.

“There can be mental health issues. Sometimes the abuser may be a mother, a family friend or somebody working with children, but they are likely to know and be trusted by the family.

“Though figures are quite low in terms of women who offend, we occasionally come across cases.

“The estimated figure is about 3% to 5%; it is hard to know because there is not enough research in the area. I think the number might be slightly higher but people just feel too much fear to come forward.”