Miriam Wijkman | Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (original) (raw)

Papers by Miriam Wijkman

Research paper thumbnail of Criminal Career Features of Female Sexual Offenders

A Criminal Career Approach, 2015

Research paper thumbnail of The intergenerational transmission of delinquency: crime, social disadvantage and judicial interventions over 5 generations

Research paper thumbnail of Seks op afstand

Tijdschrift Voor Criminologie, 2011

Research paper thumbnail of Vrouwelijke zedendelinquenten: specialistische, generalistische en eenmalige daders

Research paper thumbnail of Zoiets doet een vrouw niet': Kenmerken en subtypen van vrouwelijke zedendelinquenten

Tijdschrift voor Criminologie, 2008

... Bijleveld en Hendriks (2006) onderzochten zedendelinquentie bij ouders, waaronder moeders, va... more ... Bijleveld en Hendriks (2006) onderzochten zedendelinquentie bij ouders, waaronder moeders, van jeugdige ... Vrouwelijke zedendelinquenten komen doorgaans (> 60 procent) uit gebroken en disfunctio-nele ... nergens bij te horen (Mathews ea, 1991; McCarthy, 1986; Travin ea ...

Research paper thumbnail of Women Don't Do Such Things! Characteristics of Female Sex Offenders and Offender Types

Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment, 2010

The authors studied offender, offense, and victim characteristics in a cohort of 111 adult female... more The authors studied offender, offense, and victim characteristics in a cohort of 111 adult female sex offenders comprising all female sex offenders known to the criminal justice authorities in the Netherlands between 1994 and 2005. In 77% of the cases, the female sex offenders had abused children; almost two thirds of the women had cooffended with a male co-offender. Their backgrounds are on average problematic with sexual abuse being prominent (31%); mental disorders were also prominent (59%). Using multiple correspondence analysis, the authors distinguished four prototypical offender types. They identified the young assaulter and the rapist who are relatively young solo offenders. Two prototypes, the psychologically disturbed co-offender and the passive mother, comprise older women. They mostly abused their own children together with their male/intimate partner. These prototypes partly overlap with previous typologies. The authors discuss implications for theory and treatment.

Research paper thumbnail of Juvenile female sex offenders: Offender and offence characteristics

European Journal of Criminology, 2014

ABSTRACT Almost all research on juvenile sex offending pertains to adolescent males. This study c... more ABSTRACT Almost all research on juvenile sex offending pertains to adolescent males. This study comprises all female juveniles convicted for sexual offenses in the Netherlands between 1993 and 2008 (N =66). From analysis of their court files and their criminal records, these female offenders are described in terms of demographics, family background, (psychiatric) disorders, victim characteristics and co-offending patterns. Heterogeneity in offending patterns and offending motives are studied, by using a reconstruction of the sexual offenses. Almost 60% of the juvenile female sex offenders (JFSOs) committed the abuse with someone else. Summarizing the offender motives as they emerged from offender and victim statements, five offender subtypes are identified. The findings are discussed in terms of implications for research and treatment.

Research paper thumbnail of Female sex offenders: Specialists, generalists and once-only offenders

Journal of Sexual Aggression, 2011

Little is known about the criminal careers of female sex offenders. A meta-analysis by Cortoni, H... more Little is known about the criminal careers of female sex offenders. A meta-analysis by Cortoni, Hanson and Coache revealed that about 1.5% of female sex offenders re-offend sexually. Even less is known about the extent to which female sex offenders’ criminal careers contain sex offences as well as other offences, i.e. the extent of specialisation in sex offending. This study examines the criminal careers of all female sex offenders prosecuted by the criminal justice authorities in the Netherlands in the period 1994–2005. A latent class analysis shows that three subgroups of women can be distinguished: once-only offenders (who commit just one sex offence and no other offence), generalists (who combine sex offending with relatively many serious other, often violent, offences) and specialists (who commit relatively many sex offences next to some minor offences). Women in these three criminal career types differ in characteristics such as victimisation history, alcohol abuse and the sex of the victims.

Research paper thumbnail of Intergenerational continuity in convictions: A five-generation study

Criminal Behaviour and Mental Health, 2009

Background Intergenerational continuity in offending has been assessed in several studies. Howeve... more Background Intergenerational continuity in offending has been assessed in several studies. However, this has rarely been studied using more than two prospective generations. Also, within-gender and cross-gender effects have rarely been addressed. The evidence for mechanisms that may explain transmission is mixed.Method Using conviction data on five generations (n = 6322) that span the years 1882–2007, transmission from parent to child was studied, disaggregating for males and females. Parental conviction before the birth of the child was studied separately from parental conviction after the birth of the child. Transmission was studied using odds ratios.Results Parental convictions increase the risk of offspring convictions, although the risk increase is, at around two on average, not extremely high. Delinquency by the mother was also associated with offspring criminality, although because of low prevalence the odds ratios were more variable. Parental delinquency before birth does not lead to increased risk. For serious delinquency, these findings were stronger.Conclusions The study suggests that nurture rather than hereditary or labelling mechanisms may play a role in intergenerational continuity. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Research paper thumbnail of Criminal Career Features of Female Sexual Offenders

A Criminal Career Approach, 2015

Research paper thumbnail of The intergenerational transmission of delinquency: crime, social disadvantage and judicial interventions over 5 generations

Research paper thumbnail of Seks op afstand

Tijdschrift Voor Criminologie, 2011

Research paper thumbnail of Vrouwelijke zedendelinquenten: specialistische, generalistische en eenmalige daders

Research paper thumbnail of Zoiets doet een vrouw niet': Kenmerken en subtypen van vrouwelijke zedendelinquenten

Tijdschrift voor Criminologie, 2008

... Bijleveld en Hendriks (2006) onderzochten zedendelinquentie bij ouders, waaronder moeders, va... more ... Bijleveld en Hendriks (2006) onderzochten zedendelinquentie bij ouders, waaronder moeders, van jeugdige ... Vrouwelijke zedendelinquenten komen doorgaans (> 60 procent) uit gebroken en disfunctio-nele ... nergens bij te horen (Mathews ea, 1991; McCarthy, 1986; Travin ea ...

Research paper thumbnail of Women Don't Do Such Things! Characteristics of Female Sex Offenders and Offender Types

Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment, 2010

The authors studied offender, offense, and victim characteristics in a cohort of 111 adult female... more The authors studied offender, offense, and victim characteristics in a cohort of 111 adult female sex offenders comprising all female sex offenders known to the criminal justice authorities in the Netherlands between 1994 and 2005. In 77% of the cases, the female sex offenders had abused children; almost two thirds of the women had cooffended with a male co-offender. Their backgrounds are on average problematic with sexual abuse being prominent (31%); mental disorders were also prominent (59%). Using multiple correspondence analysis, the authors distinguished four prototypical offender types. They identified the young assaulter and the rapist who are relatively young solo offenders. Two prototypes, the psychologically disturbed co-offender and the passive mother, comprise older women. They mostly abused their own children together with their male/intimate partner. These prototypes partly overlap with previous typologies. The authors discuss implications for theory and treatment.

Research paper thumbnail of Juvenile female sex offenders: Offender and offence characteristics

European Journal of Criminology, 2014

ABSTRACT Almost all research on juvenile sex offending pertains to adolescent males. This study c... more ABSTRACT Almost all research on juvenile sex offending pertains to adolescent males. This study comprises all female juveniles convicted for sexual offenses in the Netherlands between 1993 and 2008 (N =66). From analysis of their court files and their criminal records, these female offenders are described in terms of demographics, family background, (psychiatric) disorders, victim characteristics and co-offending patterns. Heterogeneity in offending patterns and offending motives are studied, by using a reconstruction of the sexual offenses. Almost 60% of the juvenile female sex offenders (JFSOs) committed the abuse with someone else. Summarizing the offender motives as they emerged from offender and victim statements, five offender subtypes are identified. The findings are discussed in terms of implications for research and treatment.

Research paper thumbnail of Female sex offenders: Specialists, generalists and once-only offenders

Journal of Sexual Aggression, 2011

Little is known about the criminal careers of female sex offenders. A meta-analysis by Cortoni, H... more Little is known about the criminal careers of female sex offenders. A meta-analysis by Cortoni, Hanson and Coache revealed that about 1.5% of female sex offenders re-offend sexually. Even less is known about the extent to which female sex offenders’ criminal careers contain sex offences as well as other offences, i.e. the extent of specialisation in sex offending. This study examines the criminal careers of all female sex offenders prosecuted by the criminal justice authorities in the Netherlands in the period 1994–2005. A latent class analysis shows that three subgroups of women can be distinguished: once-only offenders (who commit just one sex offence and no other offence), generalists (who combine sex offending with relatively many serious other, often violent, offences) and specialists (who commit relatively many sex offences next to some minor offences). Women in these three criminal career types differ in characteristics such as victimisation history, alcohol abuse and the sex of the victims.

Research paper thumbnail of Intergenerational continuity in convictions: A five-generation study

Criminal Behaviour and Mental Health, 2009

Background Intergenerational continuity in offending has been assessed in several studies. Howeve... more Background Intergenerational continuity in offending has been assessed in several studies. However, this has rarely been studied using more than two prospective generations. Also, within-gender and cross-gender effects have rarely been addressed. The evidence for mechanisms that may explain transmission is mixed.Method Using conviction data on five generations (n = 6322) that span the years 1882–2007, transmission from parent to child was studied, disaggregating for males and females. Parental conviction before the birth of the child was studied separately from parental conviction after the birth of the child. Transmission was studied using odds ratios.Results Parental convictions increase the risk of offspring convictions, although the risk increase is, at around two on average, not extremely high. Delinquency by the mother was also associated with offspring criminality, although because of low prevalence the odds ratios were more variable. Parental delinquency before birth does not lead to increased risk. For serious delinquency, these findings were stronger.Conclusions The study suggests that nurture rather than hereditary or labelling mechanisms may play a role in intergenerational continuity. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.