Female paedophiles more prevalent than conviction rates suggest, leading forensic psychologist says
7.30
By David Lewis
Updated 28 Apr 2015, 10:33pmTue 28 Apr 2015, 10:33pm
The number of women sexually abusing children is much higher than conviction rates would suggest, according to a leading forensic psychologist.
Joe Sullivan has spent 26 years counselling child sex offenders in the United Kingdom and is visiting Australia to attend an international police conference at Bond University on the Gold Coast.
While experts agree the majority of paedophiles are men, Dr Sullivan says women are responsible for more offences than previously thought.
"What I can say for certain is that it's way more prevalent than people fully appreciate or understand," he told the ABC.
"There's some research to suggest it could be as high as 25 per cent.
"However, when you look at the representation within the criminal justice system it could be as low as 3 to 4 per cent of overall convictions."
