**2. Origins of research in the area**

Perhaps the first formal and scientific mention of female sexual deviancy was in *Psychopatia Sexualis* by Richard von Krafft-Ebing in 1886. Standing as a reference in law and psychiatry by classifying case studies regarding sexually related psychopathology, this work popularized terms such as sadism and masochism. It introduced satyriasis, which is the idea that females sought sexual contact with males of all ages, including children [7]. This case-based work started the conversation about female child sexual offending. When focused on the topic of pedophilia, von Krafft-Ebing only mentioned one case involving a female who sent her children away out of fear she would molest them [7].

It is important to note that this discussion began in the Victorian Era, which was known for socially imposed perspectives on gender and sexuality. As the research progressed, some suggested that female perversions were related to mental disease or defect. Women could be "sexual criminals" who could sexually abuse and exploit children [8, 9]. Due to the emerging popularity and support of psychoanalytic approaches, it was not until the introduction of Freud's work that understanding the patterns and motivations of female sexual offending began to change [10].

## **3. Prominent theoretical influence**

The most prominent theoretical influences in female sex offender research are *Behaviorist* and *Psychodynamic*, and both are prominent throughout modern literature. Together, these theoretical perspectives prove helpful when investigating this phenomenon.

The Freudian concept of the Oedipal complex might have served as a source of confusion and a reason for the lack of investigation in female sexual offending cases for many years [10]. With that said, psychodynamics' positive contribution is much more evident in the more recent literature. The application of psychodynamic theory in exploring female sexual offenders focuses on the offender herself and the personal deficits that may drive the sexual offending behavior [11]. This approach emphasizes how the subconscious mind stimulates behavior and how deficits are a product of a failure to resolve earlier life problems [11].

Exploring female sexual offending behaviors through the behaviorist lens that tends to describe a person's behavior as a byproduct of life events or antecedents focuses on the behavior itself rather than the deficits of the individual [11]. In opposition to the conventional psychodynamic view, some suggest a separation of behavior and the mind [12]. Put simply, behaviorist approaches focus on how an individual has been conditioned to behave in a particular manner due to trauma and other life events. As opposed to an internalized developmental deficit, the individual's behavior can be conceptualized as a byproduct of their conditioning [11].
