"Female sexual sadists usually commit their assaults with a co-offender and they have a relationship with the victim. Additional female characteristics include:

• The offender is appearing to experience vicarious sexual arousal to manipulating the victim and co-offender
• The offender is often in a caregiver role
• Offender are exhibiting greater arousal to the psychological components of the sadistic acts
• The exertion of control by the offender includes goal oriented nurturance to create emotional dependence in the victim

These preliminary findings suggest that as compared to male sadists, female sexual sadism is possibly a more complex, multi-factorial construct that encompasses a wide range of behaviors, cognitive processes and emotional responses ...

Female sexual offenders appear to possess unique qualities that have not yet been completely identified and/or are not fully understood such as deficits in the ability to form and maintain appropriate intimate relationships (i.e. victimizing individuals within a pseudo family structure). Moreover, female sexual offending seems to involve a contextual dimension such that the offending behaviors are often in relationship with others who share a socio-emotional bond or connection ..."