Child sexual offenders characteristics : a retrospective ten years study from Bahrain

Abstract EN

Background : Understanding child sexual abuse (CSA) victimization process and child sexual offenders’ (CSO) characteristics is essential for prevention and treatment programs.

Studies of CSO in the Arab region are limited.

Objective : To identify the characteristics of CSO involved in CSA.

Design : Retrospective study.

Setting : The Child Protection Unit (CPU), Salmaniya Medical Complex (SMC).

Method : Four hundred and eleven records of CSO were identified during 10 years, from 1st January 2000 to 31st December 2009.

Characteristics included were the perpetrator’s age group, gender, nationality, occupation, and relationship with the victims.

Data management and analysis was done by using SPSS version 17 for Windows.

Result: Four hundred and eleven perpetrators were recognized, 293 (71.3 %) were Bahrainis; 354 (86 %) were males and 57 (14 %) were females.

Two hundred and seventyeight (67.6 %) offenders were adults and 116 (28.2%) were juvenile.

Forty-eight (11.7 %) were babysitters/housemaids and that represented 84.2% of females perpetrators.

The age of babysitters' victims was under six in 40 (83 %) cases.

Three hundred and thirty-two (81 %) perpetrators were well known to the child.

A criminal record was identified in 83 (20.2 %) offenders.

Conclusion: Most of the CSO were Bahrainis, adults, males, and well known to the child.

The majority of female offenders were housemaids/babysitters.

There is a need for more systematic studies of offenders’ characteristics including the risk factors, treatment and rehabilitation outcome.