Female Pedophiles

This article is one I wanted to talk about because of some of the information they discuss that is not often seen in the media:

If nothing else, the case raises awareness of a topic that society as a whole - from police officers to social workers, teachers and the general public - has historically failed to acknowledge fully. Women can and do sexually abuse children. What's more, according to recent research, the failure to recognise this can hinder child abuse investigations and the detection of female abusers. Research for the NSPCC from 2005 says there is "compelling" evidence of a wide variety of sexual offences known to have been committed by women, either alone or with a man - from voyeurism to inappropriate touching, rape, penetration and ritualistic, sadistic sexual abuse.

While the existence of paedophile websites has been acknowledged and investigated for years, it is not so widely known that there are several sites catering for female paedophiles. One of these sites has carried comments such as "I really look at little girls and want to see them naked", and "I am a 21-year-old and for as long as I can think I have been attracted to young girls around 5-12 years old ... I buy movies because there are little girls in them. Books about little girls in sexual situations ... I am not attracted to women, only young girls." This particular website is one of the most prolific. Agencies have tried to close it down, only for it to re-emerge under a new name.

This part is the part that should catch peoples attention. "Several sites catering for female paedophiles" speaks volumes. In another recent article these websites were mentioned as well.

A senior paedophile investigator says lack of acknowledgement that women can and do sexually abuse children could delay detection of sexual assaults. "It's almost certainly the case that people tend to make assumptions it is the male doing the abuse. There have been a few cases where teams have had medical evidence that sexual assaults are taking place, but the officers have looked at the man again and again and found nothing - and then later thought; 'Ah, perhaps we should have a look at mum here.'"

"We have to get away from believing in the typical image of a paedophile - a middle-aged, balding man wearing a dirty raincoat," says Zoe Hilton, policy adviser for child protection with the NSPCC. "It's important that we don't become fixated with this image. It blurs the real extent of sexual abuse and can make it difficult for children to speak out. Child abuse is very prevalent in society, and it comes from a range of sources, including those people whom society views as maternal and nurturing: women". - Read the entire article here