Contributory factors to child on child sexual abuse : perceptions of diverted female youth sex offenders

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to focus on the contributory factors to child on child sexual abuse with specific emphasis on the perceptions of diverted female youth sex offenders regarding the factors that contributed to their offending. A comprehensive literature review indicated that there is a dearth of research focusing on female youth sex offenders and even less is known about the perceptions of female youth sex offenders regarding the factors that contributed to their offending. The empirical findings of a recent study conducted by Da Costa (2014) confirmed that female youth sex offenders are of the opinion that certain problems within their families possibly contributed to their offending behaviour. Some of these characteristics include factors such as divorce, poor parenting skills, domestic violence, substance abuse and lack of basic care and safety, just to mention a few. In order to curb female youth sex offending, one would need to address these factors in a multidisciplinary and holistic manner.