A psychoanalytic understanding of female violence

This article analyses how society struggles to accept the reality of female violence towards children, including their neglect, physical and sexual abuse, and murder by female perpetrators. Some of the difficulties encountered for the clinician, prison, and mental health service staff are examined and a case study used to illustrate the fine balance a clinician must maintain if the perpetrator is to come to terms with their crime and be a reduced risk to future children.