A systematic review and meta-analysis of the characteristics of multiple perpetrator sexual offences

Bamford, Jennifer; Chou, Shihning; Browne, Kevin D.

Abstract

This systematic review examined the demographic and offence variables in group sexual offending. Eight bibliographic databases and three thesis portals were searched. The reference lists of five papers and one textbook were hand searched. Nine experts were contacted for ongoing or unpublished studies. The total number of hits was 1853, of which 55 were duplicates, 1769 were irrelevant, 14 did not meet the inclusion criteria and one paper was unobtainable. The remaining 15 papers were quality assessed before the data were extracted and synthesized. There were 2,873 cases of Multiple Perpetrator Sexual (MPS) offences in total. The majority of MPS offending in the included studies involved perpetrators in their early twenties (90% of studies), of Black/African Caribbean ethnicity (30.1%), and operated as part of a „duo‟ (49.8%). Thirty-five percent of MPS offences were committed by perpetrators with a previous conviction, with 11% of the cases showing a previous conviction for sexual offending. Offenders were most likely to approach victims outdoors with the offence itself occurring indoors. The most frequent offence behaviors included vaginal rape, multiple penetration and fellatio. A model of MPS offending is suggested based on the findings of this review. Future research should aim to explore and refine theories of MPS offending in order to understand the etiology of this unique offending group.

Citation

Bamford, J., Chou, S., & Browne, K. D. (2016). A systematic review and meta-analysis of the characteristics of multiple perpetrator sexual offences. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 28, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.avb.2016.04.001

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Apr 12, 2016
• Online Publication Date: Apr 20, 2016
• Publication Date: Jun 1, 2016
• Deposit Date: Apr 25, 2016
• Publicly Available Date: Apr 25, 2016
• Journal: Aggression and Violent Behavior
• Print ISSN: 1359-1789
• Electronic ISSN: 1359-1789
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 28
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.avb.2016.04.001
• Keywords: multiple perpetrator; sexual offenders; group sexual offending; gang rape
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/786710
• Publisher URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1359178916300386