One hundred, primarily incarcerated, adult male sex offenders, were interviewed to determine the extent of their own experience of childhood sexual abuse and their incidence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Also investigated were the roles played by various aspects of sexual abuse in the development of PTSD and other psychological disorders. Fifty seven percent of the sample reported having been sexually victimized. Findings regarding age when the abuse began, use of force and severity of body violation were consistent with previous studies. As was found in prior research, the majority of their abusers were known to them and were women. Abuse by men and having been anally penetrated were correlated with the development of PTSD. Also implicated in the development of PTSD and related symptomology was the use of force during the abuse, severity of bodily violation, and, inconsistently, duration of the abuse. Regression analysis revealed use of force, not telling about the abuse as a child, a closer relationship to one's perpetrator, and increased severity of body violation to be, in combination, most consistently predictive of PTSD development. In the sexually abused sample, 33% received a retrospective diagnosis of PTSD, while five percent were currently diagnosed. This contrasts with rates found in the non-sexually abused sample of 7% past diagnosis of PTSD and 2% current diagnosis of PTSD. / Ph. D.

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)