Objectif : L’étude s’intéresse aux pensées des femmes qui agressent sexuellement en compagnie d’un partenaire (en co-délinquance) et dont les actes sexuels sont perpétrés à l’égard d’enfants. Ce mémoire a pour objectif de comprendre de quelle manière les femmes de notre échantillon parlent de leurs délits afin de faire ressortir les thématiques abordées par celles-ci et de permettre de mieux comprendre comment ces pensées contribuent aux passages à l’acte, phénomènes qui sont encore trop peu étudiés et méconnus. Méthode : C’est par l’entremise de l’analyse secondaire des données de l’échantillon initial de Desfachelles (2014) que l’objectif a été atteint. Les entrevues de 16 femmes judiciarisées et incarcérées en France pour des délits d’ordre sexuel à l’égard de leurs enfants et en compagnie d’un partenaire (co-délinquant) ont été analysées. Dans l’analyse, les cognitions des participantes ont été extraites en privilégiant l’analyse thématique du discours. Résultats : Les analyses ont permis de trouver trois principaux thèmes. Le premier thème porte sur le blâme externe. Cinq sous-thèmes ont émergé dans cette catégorie, soit le blâme externe sur la victime, le partenaire intime, les états de consommation, les vulnérabilités personnelles présentées par ces femmes et sur la présence d’un climat de peur, d’emprise et de violence. Toutes les participantes de l’étude ont justifié leur participation aux délits par au moins un type de blâme externe. Le deuxième thème est le pouvoir du conjoint dans la relation amoureuse. Les analyses des résultats ont permis d’établir que ces femmes ne sont pas nécessairement contraintes à participer aux délits, mais qu’elles font le choix de remettre le pouvoir à leur partenaire. Le troisième thème retrouvé dans le discours des participantes est « Moi avant la victime » Primauté du bien-être personnel. Ce thème se scinde en deux sous-thèmes. Certaines participantes ont expliqué leur participation aux délits pour plaire au partenaire et pour obtenir des bénéfices personnels. D’autres ont révélé que leur bien-être personnel prime sur celui des victimes pour expliquer leur participation aux délits. Mots-clés : co-délinquance; délinquance sexuelle; cognitions; femmes. / Objective: This study examines the thought processes of women who have sexually assaulted their young children in company of a men. The aim of this thesis is to explore the way in which the women in our sample talk about their offenses in order to highlight core themes in their discourse. This will contribute to a better understanding of these women’s thoughts and cognitive processing of their offenses, along with how those thoughts may have contributed to their sexual offenses against children. Method: It was through the secondary analysis of data from the initial sample of Desfachelles (2014) that the objective was achieved. Interviews of 16 women convicted and incarcerated in France for sexual offenses against their children committed in company of a romantic partner were analysed using a thematic analysis approach. Results: The analyses revealed three main themes. The first theme, External Blame, was comprised of five sub-themes, namely external blame on the victim, the intimate partner, a state of intoxication, their personal vulnerabilities, and fear, control, and violence. All of the participants in the present study justified their involvement in crime with at least one type of blame. The second theme to emerge was the power of the spouse in the romantic relationship. The analyses showed that these women were not necessarily forced to participate in the crimes, but that they made the choice to hand over power to their partner. The third theme revealed was "Me before the victim: The primacy of personal well-being.” This theme divides into two sub-themes. Some participants explained their involvement in crime to please the partner and to obtain personal benefits. Others revealed that their personal well-being took precedence over that of the victims in explaining their participation in the crimes. Keywords: female sexual offending; co-offending; cognitions; women.

Mental health services in South Africa and the field of psychology are not keeping up with the changed landscape of child sexual abuse that includes women who perpetrate these violations. New laws have not made a massive impact on out of control behaviours, while the paucity of mental health services for women who sexually violate children is a significant failing in mental health service provision. Exploratory, descriptive research approached the topic from the perspective of the psychology of healing rather than the psychology of wrongdoing. Individual semi-structured interviews were conducted with 38 professionals in relevant fields, purposefully selected in four provinces in South Africa that revealed a lack of knowledge, resources, and funding, as well as gaps in curricula. Some practitioners were willing to work with women who sexually violate children, while others were either unwilling or reluctant to do so for various reasons. Women who sexually violate children are typically not mentally ill but could have mental disorders and lives dominated by dysfunction and trauma. Data were analysed utilising Attride- Stirling’s (2001) thematic networks, while Gannon, Rose, and Ward’s (2008) descriptive model of female sexual offending (DMFSO) provided the theoretical framework. Recommendations include establishing online services to aid perpetrator disclosure and therapeutic interventions, providing individual psychotherapeutic interventions to uncover more than recent trauma, directing donor funding to sex offender programmes, networking among service providers including government agencies, and training those within the mental health services environment and the criminal justice system. Furthermore, mental health and relevant medical practitioners need to ensure comfort with their sexuality and to resolve their psychological blind spots before offering psychotherapeutic interventions to women who sexually violate children. / Psychology / Ph. D. (Psychology)