The frequent court cases and media reports may give Irish society a false sense of security over the issue of child sexual abuse, according to the Western Theological Institute.
"Scapegoating", gender bias and the fact that most perpetrators are male tends to make it more difficult for those who have been abused by women to report it, Dr Attracta Shields, clinical psychologist and director of the Galway-based institute says.
Therefore, the data on characteristics and frequency is limited to a handful of studies, and makes it difficult to build up a typical profile, she says.
Dr Shields, who outlines her views in a recently published book by the Western Theological Institute on the church and child sexual abuse, says the reason why females carry out abuse is unknown. However, many of those who have done so appear to have low self-esteem and are dependent on men for their sense of identity.
She says "it appears that many females who sexually abuse also abuse alcohol and/or drugs. Some of the women who abuse were themselves abused as children. Some females abuse independently, while others abuse in cohort with another person, usually a male."
Given that the underlying forces relate to power and control, there is some evidence to suggest that it may be the woman's means of reacting to a powerless situation, she contests.
However, an over-emphasis on the power theory may only address one part of the equation, she says. "Women who were themselves sexually abused may have cognitive impairment, which results in distorted thought processes and identification with their abuser.
"The expectations of women to be nurturers and carers can create internal conflict when their impulses are not congruent with the external norms," she says. "In an effort to resolve this conflict, they may engage in violent sexual activity."
Child sexual abuse may indicate arrested psychosexual development and emotional immaturity, and women thus seek relationships with children with whom they can identify, she says. Drug or alcohol abuse may serve as a "disinhibitor".
While Dr Shields says the subject raises a plethora of questions for which there are as yet no answers, she believes the issue must be faced up to rather than denied. She calls for a Government commitment to more resources for comprehensive research, in an effort to eliminate the phenomenon from society.
Dr Shields is one of several contributors to the institute's study, which poses some hard questions. Sexual offenders are a "painful reminder" to all of us of our own potential to abuse and hurt others, and by distancing ourselves from such offenders, "we can distance ourselves from that part of us which we do not even wish to acknowledge", according to another contribution.
Dr Eamonn Conway, associate director of the institute, says sexual offenders serve as scapegoats for our general discomfort with our sexuality. Therefore, calls for the registration and/or tagging of such offenders are not simply motivated by a concern for the sensibilities of victims or the protection of children.
Convicted offenders provide a "diabolic benchmark" against which "we can assure ourselves of our own sexual propriety", he says.
Dr Conway refers to the psychological evidence which indicates that few clerical sexual offenders are technically sexual deviants. Their abuse of children relates to "power and control, and their inability to resolve such issues in a mature way".
The permanent exclusion from active ministry of priests and religious convicted of such offences permits us to believe that "all clerical problems have been resolved" and we can return to "business as usual", he says. However, questions need to be asked about the continuing care and support of priests, and whether organisational structures permit or encourage priests and religious to relate and behave in a mature manner.
The study deals with treatment of offenders, and Dr Shields believes that prison is not the place for rehabilitation. Non-custodial sentences with the emphasis on continuing therapy would be much more effective, she says.
Dr Eugene Duffy, also a contributor, points out that the cost of providing adequate treatment would not be greater than the current prison bill.
The study is the outcome of a series of workshops and is one dimension to the work of the institute, which was founded in 1997 by the Catholic bishops of the west. It runs accredited and non-accredited courses for clergy and laity, and works with NUI Galway and the Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology.
The Church and Child Sexual Abuse by Dr Eamonn Conway, Dr Eugene Duffy and Dr Attracta Shields is published by Columba Press at £6.99, paperback.
