Recent theory and research on female offending have added greatly to the understanding of how the lives of delinquent girls and women continue to be powerfully influenced by gender-related conditions of life. Profound sensitivity to these conditions is the foundation for preventive and remedial programs aimed at female offenders. In this chapter, an overview of patterns of female offending and the gender gap is presented and challenge that nowhere is the gender ratio more skewed than in the great disparity of males as offenders and females as victims of sexual and domestic abuse. A gendered model for explaining female crime is introduced and then used to illustrate more specifically the nature and context of female offending. Tables, figures and references