Why Do Adults Sexually Abuse Children? A Systematic Scoping Review of How Male Perpetrators Qualitatively Account for Their Actions

Much research has attempted to understand why adults perpetrate child sexual abuse (CSA), but few studies have adopted the exploratory-inductive approach that allows perpetrators to freely account for their actions. This scoping review aimed to identify how male CSA perpetrators account for their actions in exploratory-inductive research (i.e. research that allows perpetrators to freely account for their actions) to consider whether perpetrators’ accounts collectively indicate something useful about CSA prevention measures. A comprehensive search of relevant databases, a hand search of key journals, and a “snowballing” exercise was undertaken for relevant studies published in English between 1 January 1980 and October 31, 2024. Studies were included if they reported qualitative data collected directly from CSA perpetrators and included a focus on CSA perpetrators’ accounts of their offending. 39 studies were found via this search strategy. The concept of “accounts” was applied as an analytic framework. The study reveals previously undocumented ways in which male CSA perpetrators account for their behavior. In particular, we found a far more pronounced emphasis on patriarchal thinking in CSA perpetrator accounts than prior studies. In policy terms, this underscores the importance of efforts to combat misogyny, male sexual entitlement and patriarchal privilege; and the need to strengthen consent education.