Eighty-one percent of the women had suffered childhood sexual abuse and 50 percent physical abuse at the hands of designated caregivers; they all described psychopathology that was potentially or actually dangerous, and they seemed to harbor particularly hostile feelings toward female health care professionals. The women had been referred for treatment for various reasons, including a history of arson, a charge of fraud or false allegation, a history of violence, and assessment of dangerousness to others. As adults, 56 percent had been physically or sexually abused and 38 percent reported raped or sexually assaulted. Ninety-four percent of the sample had psychiatric diagnoses prior to referral to the department, the most common being personality disorder. Eighty-one percent of the women had criminal histories; 62 percent had been convicted on at least one charge of personal assault. They had also perpetrated many incidents of violence, not all reported to the police. All the patients had committed at least one act of deliberate self-harm, and 87 percent were multiple repeaters. 6 figures and 72 references