A comparison of the general public's, forensic professionals' and students' attitudes towards female sex offenders

Baldeesh Kaur Gakhal; Sarah J Brown

doi:10.1080/13552600.2010.540678

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A comparison of the general public's, forensic professionals' and students' attitudes towards female sex offenders

Journal article

Peer reviewed

A comparison of the general public's, forensic professionals' and students' attitudes towards female sex offenders

Baldeesh Kaur Gakhal and Sarah J Brown

Journal of Sexual Aggression, Vol.17(1), pp.105-116

2011

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13552600.2010.540678

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Abstract

attitudes of professionals working with sex offenders

attitudes to crime

attitudes to female sex offenders

attitudes to sex offenders

attitudes to Sex Offenders Scale

female sex offenders

Research investigating attitudes toward sex offenders has failed to specify the gender of the "sex offenders". Given that most participants are unlikely to think of women as sex offenders, it is likely that reported attitudes relate to male sex offenders. This study investigated the attitudes towards female sex offenders of 92 members of staff employed by a UK chain store (public sample), 20 probation officers employed by a Regional Sex Offender Unit (forensic professional sample) and 64 undergraduate psychology students (student sample).Participants completed the Attitudes Toward Female Sex Offenders Scale adapted from the Attitudes Toward Sex Offenders Scale. Forensic professionals held significantly more positive attitudes than both the students and public. Comparisons between the responses in this study with those of previous studies revealed that the forensic professionals in this study held significantly more positive attitudes towards female sex offenders than professionals in previous studies did towards "sex offenders".

Details

Title: A comparison of the general public's, forensic professionals' and students' attitudes towards female sex offenders
Authors: Baldeesh Kaur Gakhal (Author) - Wathwood Hospital, United Kingdom
Sarah J Brown (Author) - Coventry University, United Kingdom
Publication details: Journal of Sexual Aggression, Vol.17(1), pp.105-116
Publisher: Routledge
Date published: 2011
DOI: 10.1080/13552600.2010.540678
ISSN: 1355-2600
Organisation Unit: University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland; Sexual Violence Research and Prevention Unit; School of Law and Criminology - Legacy
Language: English
Record Identifier: 99451270102621
Output Type: Journal article

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