A recent national study found that females offended in 44% of all cases of child sexual abuse reported to child protective services, and that mothers offended in 53% of all cases of parental incest. These findings contradict other data suggesting that the percentage of females and mothers who commit sexual abuse is much lower. The purpose of this article is to explore the historical conceptualization of nonoffending mothers of sexually abused children and the development of child abuse and neglect policies and statutes for the purpose of providing insight into the overidentification of mothers in cases of identified sexual abuse.
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