Rape Offender Profiling: The Characteristics of Rape Offenders in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Abstract

This article examines the issue of rape offender profiling by describing the characteristics of rape offenders and several typologies of rapists. It provides a brief overview of the research results on rape offenders in Bosnia and Herzegovina in order to understand some of their general characteristics. The data for this research were drawn from several courts in Bosnia and Herzegovina, where 77 rape records were evaluated. The overall findings suggest that the identified characteristics of rape offenders in Bosnia and Herzegovina are both similar and different than ones reported in other rape offender studies. It concludes, however, that most rapists in Bosnia and Herzegovina are men in their early adulthood, unmarried and unemployed and that the majority of them are normal in aspects other than their offenses. Although the sample is not necessarily representative, it is illustrative and indicative.