Female Sex Offenders in Ireland: Examining the Response of the Criminal Justice System

2020 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
pp. 539-558
Author(s):  
Susan Leahy
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Sex Offenders ◽  
Sexual Offending ◽  
Female Offenders ◽  
Sex Offending ◽  
Sexual Offenses ◽  
Female Sex ◽  
Justice Process ◽  
Criminal Justice Process ◽  
Laws And Policies

This article focuses on the Irish criminal justice system’s response to female sex offending. As in other jurisdictions, very little attention has been paid to female sexual offending in Ireland. However, sexual offenses involving female offenders are occurring and are increasingly being detected and prosecuted. The article provides an overview of female sex offending in Ireland, offering a discussion of available prevalence statistics and an analysis of Irish cases where women have been convicted of sexual offenses. It is argued that, in light of the fact that women are clearly being convicted of sexual offenses in Ireland, it is timely to question whether current laws and policies on sexual offenses and offenders are equipped to deal with female offenders and what types of reforms are likely to be necessary to effectively respond to this category of sexual offending. The potential for reform is considered with reference to three key stages of the criminal justice process: (a) reporting and detection; (b) prosecution and punishment; and (c) treatment and rehabilitation.

Sex Offender Registration: Implications and Difficulties for Ireland

2000 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 75-102 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne-Marie McAlinden
Keyword(s):  
Sex Offenders ◽  
Sexual Offenders ◽  
Sex Offender ◽  
Sexual Offending ◽  
Social Constructionist ◽  
Sex Offender Registration ◽  
Socially Constructed ◽  
Justice Process ◽  
Criminal Justice Process ◽  
The Media

This paper explores the implications and difficulties of a system of sex offender registration for the two jurisdictions of Ireland. From the orthodox perspective, registration appears justified. Sexual offending has increase and this is used by the media to generate a ‘moral panic’. However, in terms of Blumer's (1971) developmental perspective, sexual offenders in the community have been socially constructed in Ireland, as a problem requiring specific action. This perspective most adequately explains the formulation of legislation. Arguments expounded in favour of registration include the supposedly high recidivism among sex offenders, the inadequacy of supervision provisions and the resulting need to ‘track’ the offender for public protection. Yet a plethora of obstacles which were not considered at the time the legislation was being formulated, such as cost and inadequate policing resources, may impede its effectiveness in aiding law enforcement and reduce it to symbolic significance only. Given these difficulties, I argue that registration is not an appropriate response to the problem of released sexual offenders in Ireland. Rather, from the social constructionist perspective, I suggest that it is better to ‘treat’ the sex offender through less formal and stringent means in the community, away from the criminal justice process.

scholarly journals Challenges of Effective Communication in the Criminal Justice Process: Findings from Interviews with Victims of Sexual Offences in Australia

Laws ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 31
Author(s):  
Rhiannon Davies ◽  
Lorana Bartels
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Criminal Justice System ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Sexual Offending ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Effective Communication ◽  
Skills Training ◽  
Sexual Offences ◽  
Justice Process ◽  
Criminal Justice Process

This article focuses on gendered experiences of the criminal justice system, specifically the experiences of adult female victims of sexual offending and the communication difficulties they experience during the criminal justice process. Drawing on the findings from qualitative interviews about sentencing with six victims and 15 justice professionals in Australia, we compare the lived experiences of the victims with the perceptions of the justice professionals who work with them, revealing a significant gap between the information justice professionals believe they are providing and the information victims recall receiving. We then analyse the international literature to distil effective communication strategies, with the goal of improving victims’ experiences of the criminal justice system as a whole. Specifically, we recommend verbal communication skills training for justice professionals who work with victims of crime and the development of visual flowcharts to help victims better understand the criminal justice process. We also recommend that Australian victims’ rights regimes be reformed to place the responsibility for providing information about the criminal process on the relevant justice agencies, rather than requiring the victim to seek this information, and suggest piloting automated notification systems to help agencies fulfil their obligations to provide victims with such information.

An Opportunity View of Child Sexual Offending: Investigating Nonpersuasion and Circumstances of Offending Through Criminological Lens

Sexual Abuse ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 30 (7) ◽  
pp. 869-882 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benoit Leclerc ◽  
Jean Proulx
Keyword(s):  
Sex Offenders ◽  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Sexual Offenders ◽  
Sexual Offending ◽  
Sexual Contact ◽  
Sex Offending ◽  
Modus Operandi ◽  
Sexual Activities ◽  
Sexual Offenses ◽  
Reported Data

The empirical evidence indicating that sexual offenders against children manipulate their victims to participate in sexual activities dominates the literature on sex offenders and their modus operandi. However, recent evidence suggests that a high proportion of these offenders do not try to persuade their victims for sexual contact in the first place by using coercion or manipulation but simply assault them when an opportunity arises. Using self-reported data from a sample of incarcerated adult sexual offenders against children, we investigate whether sexual offenses against children committed by the use of nonpersuasion are characterized by little planning and by offense features that are indicative of opportunistic offending. We also examine the interaction between the type of offending strategy and the context of abuse. Findings reveal that offenders using nonpersuasion do not seek out potential victims, but rather seize an opportunity to offend. The type of offending strategy also interacts with the context of abuse for most preoffense and offense variables. These interactions are informative of the conditions favoring opportunistic sex offending against children.

scholarly journals Rape Myths and the Use of Expert Psychological Evidence

2014 ◽  
Vol 45 (3) ◽  
pp. 471 ◽  
Author(s):  
Holly Hill
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Sexual Offending ◽  
Rape Myths ◽  
Acquaintance Rape ◽  
Guilty Verdict ◽  
Psychological Evidence ◽  
Justice Process ◽  
Criminal Justice Process ◽  
Juror Education ◽  
Common Misconceptions

There are many common misconceptions about sexual violence and the way that victims "should" behave during and after the offending. In trials for sexual offending these "rape myths" can impact on jurors' assessments of a complainant's credibility, rendering a guilty verdict less likely.This article discusses how the use of counter-intuitive expert opinion evidence as a method of juror education in trials for sexual offending can address these prejudices to improve the operation of the criminal justice process. The article also identifies the limitations of such evidence in particular cases of acquaintance rape, and foreshadows whether such evidence will continue to be offered in the future.

scholarly journals The Silence of Female Sexual Offending: A Public Health Issue

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
James F. Anderson ◽  
Kelley Reinsmith-Jones ◽  
Tazinski Lee ◽  
Willie M. Brooks
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Sex Offenders ◽  
Sexual Offending ◽  
Predatory Behavior ◽  
Health Issue ◽  
Public Health Issue ◽  
Sex Offending ◽  
Young Females ◽  
Children And Adolescence

The idea that females can engage in sexually predatory behavior against children and adolescence is difficult to convey to the lay pubic since most of society believes the notion defies conventional ways of viewing the gendered nature and roles that women traditionally perform. Despite this, scholars and researchers examining child sexual abuse are beginning to report on silent offenders (women and young females) and their victimizations that have been largely ignored by criminal justice personnel who are responsible for holding sex offenders accountable. We argue that female sex offending is more common than believed and is both a criminal justice and a public health issue. We also argue that until society recognizes that sex offending is not a gendered crime, more cases will escape the attention of both criminal justice and public health systems that are in positions to punish and treat where appropriate.

scholarly journals SOUTH AFRICA’S HEART OF DARKNESS: Sex crimes and child offenders : some trends

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean Redpath
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Sex Offenders ◽  
Significant Proportion ◽  
Sex Crimes ◽  
Sexual Offences ◽  
Sexual Crimes ◽  
Heart Of Darkness ◽  
Justice Process ◽  
Criminal Justice Process ◽  
Actual Incidence

It is a source of great concern that the number of sexual offences committed by children is apparently on the increase. Given that the Child Justice Bill provides for a separate criminal justice process for children, and stricter provisions for child sex offenders, this article explores some of the relevant trends in this regard. The management of child sex offenders appears inconsistent, and very often no appropriate intervention is made at all. Calculating the actual incidence of child sex offenders is difficult, but some data suggests that children might be responsible for a significant proportion of sexual crimes committed against other children.

scholarly journals Female Sexual Offending: A Neglected Criminal Justice Issue

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
James F. Anderson
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Abuse ◽  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Sexual Offending ◽  
Law Enforcement Officers ◽  
Sex Offending ◽  
Sexual Offenses ◽  
Adult Females ◽  
Lay Public

Scholars, researchers, and law enforcement officers examining child sexual abuse cases are beginning to report that adolescent and adult females are responsible for a growing number of sexual offenses. This new revelation may reveal that justice officials and many in the lay public do not view the gravity of female and male sexual offending equally. This investigation reveals that female sex offending is more common than traditionally thought and is a neglected criminal justice issue. It also shows that until society recognizes that sex offending is not a gendered crime, more cases will escape the attention of the criminal justice system.

The Agreement of Uncontroversial Evidence and the Presumption of Innocence: An Insoluble Dilemma?

2002 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-45 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Duff
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Criminal Trial ◽  
Presumption Of Innocence ◽  
Justice Process ◽  
Criminal Justice Process ◽  
The Creation ◽  
The Relationship

On 1 April 1996, a rather odd provision was introduced into the Scottish criminal justice process, namely a duty on both prosecution and defence to try to agree uncontroversial evidence in advance of criminal trial.1 As far as the writer is aware, such a provision is unique, although the philosophy underlying its introduction is not totally alien to inquisitorial systems of criminal justice.2 What is particularly peculiar about this duty is that there is no sanction for a failure, however unreasonable, to agree uncontroversial evidence.3 The lack of a sanction resulted from a concern that the creation of any penalty would impinge unjustifiably upon the rights of the accused. The intention in this article is to explore in detail the relationship between the duty to agree uncontroversial evidence and the position of the accused, and to suggest that the imposition of a sanction for a breach of this duty is not as problematic as was thought by those responsible for the legislation.

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