Official figures show the number of women prosecuted for sexual offences has nearly doubled in the past two years, reaching the highest level in a decade. Last year, 354 women were taken to court accused of sexual offences, the equivalent of almost one a day on average.
The total is up 88% on the 188 prosecuted two years earlier and up 63% on the 217 taken to court a decade ago. Cases included women accused of sexually abusing children, grooming youngsters online, exploiting positions of trust and helping men to carry out rapes.
High-Profile Cases Highlight the Issue
Experts say sexual abuse by women has long been hidden and under-reported, with victims often struggling to be believed when their abuser is female. This taboo was tackled head-on by Coronation Street this year in a grooming storyline that saw sports coach and teacher Megan Walsh, played by Beth Nixon, seduce teenage pupil Will Driscoll and fall pregnant with his baby before being jailed for five years in July.
The ITV soap worked with Barnardo's on the plot, which ran for eight months and drew heavily on real cases. It even reflected the reluctance of male victims to see themselves as abused, with the boy insisting throughout that he and his teacher were in love.
A string of high-profile real-life cases have also highlighted the issue, including teacher Rebecca Joynes, 31, who was jailed for six-and-a-half years in 2024 for abusing two schoolboys, one of whom fathered her baby. In September, another teacher, Bronwen James, 30, admitted nine sexual offences against two girls and was convicted of sexual activity with a 16-year-old student.
Convictions Reach Record High
During her five-day trial, prosecutors said James had entered into a "flirty" relationship with the pupil and they had communicated via Snapchat before they had sex at her house "three or four" times. She is currently in prison on remand awaiting sentence. Last month, prep school teacher Deborah Franklin, 65, was jailed for seven years at St Albans Crown Court for blindfolding a pupil and tying him to her bed for sex in the early 1990s.
Ministry of Justice (MoJ) figures showed 178 women were convicted of sexual offences in the year to March, the highest annual total in the 10 years of published data. Sexual activity with a child was the biggest single category, with 64 women in the dock over the offence last year.
Six women were prosecuted for sexual grooming, while eight faced charges of abusing a position of trust, the offence that covers teachers and carers who target those in their charge. Rape charges were brought against another 14 women last year. In law, the offence can only be committed by a man, so women who face a rape charge are accused of helping or encouraging an attacker rather than carrying out the assault.
MoJ data showed just 59 women were convicted of sex offences in 2021, a figure that has trebled since. Kevin Moore, a retired Det Chief Supt and former head of Sussex CID, said: "My view is that women have always been involved in the commission of sexual offences. What has changed I believe is the way that society and the law treats such matters.
"In days gone by, undoubtedly there will have been young boys and in particular school pupils who have been the victims of sexual offenders at the hands of female adults and teachers. However, many boys will have potentially felt embarrassed to report what happened to them and some may even have believed that it was normal behaviour."
A Government spokesperson said: "The impact of these crimes can be devastating, and we know they are underreported. We are rolling out specialist rape and sexual offence teams, and providing record investment in victim services to help victims get the support they rightly deserve."
