The Sexual Recidivism Rates of Women Are Still Low: An Updated Meta-Analysis.

IF 1.3 4区医学 Q3 CRIMINOLOGY & PENOLOGY

Criminal Behaviour and Mental Health Pub Date : 2025-10-13 DOI:10.1002/cbm.70014

R Karl Hanson, Franca Cortoni, Jeffrey Sandler

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background: Compared to men, women are less likely to sexual offend. Previous reviews found low rates of sexual recidivism among women. The last published meta-analysis was based on studies from before 2010.

Aims: Conduct an updated meta-analysis of the sexual recidivism rates of women returned to the community. We expected the rates to be low and to decline the longer they remained sexual offence free in the community.

Methods: Fourteen studies met selection criteria. Their publication/presentation dates ranged from 1998 to 2023. Results were presented as raw proportions as well as meta-analytic averages.

Results: Of the 4208 women, 3.1% (131) were known to have sexually reoffended. The rate was 2.4% during the first 5 years (64/2642, k = 8) and 1.1% between years 5 and 10 (6/535, k = 2). There was large and significant variability across studies (prediction intervals: < 0.001%-11%). The rates of violent recidivism (7.8%) and general (any) recidivism (30.1%) were substantially higher than the rate of sexual recidivism.

Conclusions: This review confirms previous findings that the sexual recidivism rate of women is very low. Their risk is so low that it is unlikely to be reduced by sexual crime specific treatment or public protection measures (e.g., registration and notification). Instead, gender-responsive interventions should focus on the women's risk for general criminal recidivism and strive to promote successful reintegration.

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女性的性累犯率仍然很低：一项最新的荟萃分析。

背景：与男性相比，女性不太可能有性犯罪。先前的研究发现，女性的性再犯率很低。最近发表的荟萃分析是基于2010年之前的研究。目的：对重返社区妇女的性累犯率进行最新的荟萃分析。我们预计，他们在社区中无性侵犯的时间越长，犯罪率就会越低，而且会下降。方法：14项研究符合选择标准。他们的出版/展示日期从1998年到2023年不等。结果以原始比例和元分析平均值的形式呈现。结果：在4208名女性中，3.1%（131）已知有过性犯罪行为。前5年为2.4% (64/2642,k = 8)，第5 - 10年为1.1% （6/535,k = 2）。研究间存在较大且显著的可变性（预测区间：< 0.001%-11%）。暴力累犯率（7.8%）和一般（任何）累犯率（30.1%）大大高于性累犯率。结论：本综述证实了以往的研究结果，即女性的性累犯率非常低。他们的风险很低，不太可能通过性犯罪专门治疗或公共保护措施（例如登记和通知）来降低风险。相反，促进性别平等的干预措施应侧重于妇女一般犯罪累犯的风险，并努力促进她们成功地重新融入社会。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Criminal Behaviour and Mental Health Multiple-

CiteScore

1.60

自引率

0.00%

发文量

期刊介绍： Criminal Behaviour & Mental Health – CBMH – aims to publish original material on any aspect of the relationship between mental state and criminal behaviour. Thus, we are interested in mental mechanisms associated with offending, regardless of whether the individual concerned has a mental disorder or not. We are interested in factors that influence such relationships, and particularly welcome studies about pathways into and out of crime. These will include studies of normal and abnormal development, of mental disorder and how that may lead to offending for a subgroup of sufferers, together with information about factors which mediate such a relationship.