This article focuses on the Irish criminal justice system’s response to female sex offending. As in other jurisdictions, very little attention has been paid to female sexual offending in Ireland. However, sexual offenses involving female offenders are occurring and are increasingly being detected and prosecuted. The article provides an overview of female sex offending in Ireland, offering a discussion of available prevalence statistics and an analysis of Irish cases where women have been convicted of sexual offenses. It is argued that, in light of the fact that women are clearly being convicted of sexual offenses in Ireland, it is timely to question whether current laws and policies on sexual offenses and offenders are equipped to deal with female offenders and what types of reforms are likely to be necessary to effectively respond to this category of sexual offending. The potential for reform is considered with reference to three key stages of the criminal justice process: (a) reporting and detection; (b) prosecution and punishment; and (c) treatment and rehabilitation.

中文翻译：

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爱尔兰的女性性犯罪者：检查刑事司法系统的反应

本文重点介绍爱尔兰刑事司法系统对女性性犯罪的反应。与其他司法管辖区一样，爱尔兰很少关注女性性犯罪。然而，涉及女性罪犯的性犯罪正在发生，并且越来越多地被发现和起诉。本文概述了爱尔兰的女性性犯罪，讨论了现有的流行统计数据，并分析了女性被判犯有性犯罪的爱尔兰案例。有人争辩说，鉴于在爱尔兰，妇女显然被判犯有性犯罪，现在是时候质疑关于性犯罪和性犯罪者的现行法律和政策是否具备处理女性犯罪者的能力，以及可能需要进行哪些类型的改革才能有效应对此类性犯罪。参照刑事司法程序的三个关键阶段考虑了改革的可能性：(a) 报告和侦查；(b) 起诉和处罚；(c) 治疗和康复。