Frotteurism

Marissa Ondracek
= **Frotteurism ** = = = = = Noun: A person who engages in the sexual act of frottage or someone who masturbates by rubbing against another person in public

Etymology: French, from frotter, to rub.

**Description ** The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of the American Psychiatric Association (DSM-III R, 1987), defines frotteurism as the continuing sexual arousal and fantasies brought about by rubbing against or touching a fully clothed, non-consenting person. The incidents typically occur in crowded, conspicuous places like subways, trains, elevators, escalators, buses, and busy crowds because the frotteur can escape easily from detection. Since frotteurism involves non-consenting partners, it is against the law. Though any parts of the victim’s body may be touched by the frotteur, most often the offender will rub his hands or genitals on women’s breasts, legs, or buttocks.The person being rubbed is a victim. Frotteurism is a paraphilia, a disorder that is characterized by recurrent intense sexual urges a nd sexually arousing fantasies generally involving objects, non-consenting persons, or children.



**Profile **

For the majority of cases, frotteurs are male and the victims are female. It generally affects males from the ages of 15 to 25, and after the age of 25, the acts decline. It is not uncommon that the individual suffers from other paraphilias or mental disorders as well. Usually it can be linked to paraphilias like voyeurism and exhibitionism, seemingly because these paraphilias involve a private sexual experience occurring in a public setting (Hucker, 2001). Studies have also found that older men with shy and reserved personalities or who withdraw socially are typical frotteurs (PsychNet-UK, 1998).

**Manifestation/causes ** The exact nature of this disorder is not known, but it is thought to be primarily caused by discovery of sexual pleasure through the act accidentally. If frotteurism is diagnosed, it is important to seek treatment because there may be other psychological factors at play. There is no scientific consensus concerning the cause of frotteurism. Most experts attribute the behavior to an initially random or accidental touching of another's genitals that the person finds sexually exciting. Successive repetitions of the act tend to reinforce and perpetuate the behavior.

**Symptoms ** Recurrent, intense sexually arousing fantasies, sexual urges, or behaviors involving touching and rubbing against a non-consenting person, over a period of at least 6 months. The symptoms of frotteurism have been found to be very similar to those of mental retardation, substance intoxication, manic episode, and schizophrenia. Therefore, patients believed to have frotteurism are typically asked questions such as the following in order to form a complete and accurate diagnosis:

For how many years have the symptoms been present? <span style="font-family: 'Microsoft PhagsPa','sans-serif'; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; text-indent: -0.25in;">Has the patient had sexually arousing fantasies involving touching and rubbing against a non-consenting person? Yes or No <span style="font-family: 'Microsoft PhagsPa','sans-serif'; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; text-indent: -0.25in;">Has the patient had sexually arousing urges involving touching and rubbing against a non-consenting person? Yes or No <span style="font-family: 'Microsoft PhagsPa','sans-serif'; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; text-indent: -0.25in;">Has the patient engaged in sexually arousing behaviors involving touching and rubbing against a non-consenting person? Yes or No <span style="font-family: 'Microsoft PhagsPa','sans-serif'; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; text-indent: -0.25in;">Has the patient had sexually arousing fantasies, urges, or behaviors involving touching and rubbing against a non-consenting person? Yes or No <span style="font-family: 'Microsoft PhagsPa','sans-serif'; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">(Williams, 2009) <span style="font-family: 'Microsoft PhagsPa','sans-serif'; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"> **<span style="font-family: 'Microsoft PhagsPa','sans-serif';">Treatment **

<span style="font-family: 'Microsoft PhagsPa','sans-serif'; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">The prevalence of frotteurism is difficult to determine in the general public, because the individuals disappear quickly into the surrounding crowd. However, we know it is a widespread problem found across the world, especially in high-density population areas. For example, India and Japan the issue became so widespread that special train cars and buses have been converted to women-only spaces. This way, the threat of male-on-female frotteurism can be most easily combated (Caldwell, 2010). <span style="font-family: 'Microsoft PhagsPa','sans-serif'; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">It is unlikely that an individual seeks treatment for themselves if the condition is causing them distress especially within their family. Many are forced to seek help by their spouses, family, or by the law. Because the motivation for change is not usually genuine, a good doctor-patient relationship may be difficult to develop. However, motivation is a very important factor for success, and thus a multi-disciplinary approach with clear explanation about therapies is needed. In general, frotteurs come to the attention of mental health professionals through the criminal justice system as a result of their behavior. Many find themselves in trouble with authorities, and others end up having problems with other mental disorders. A sex crime in the United States will generally add the convicted person to a sex crimes registry list, making their crime public. In addition, they are charged a small penalty, usually a fine. When a person goes from fantasizing about non-consensual sexual gratification to trying to act it out, there is a large chance of serious negative consequences. <span style="font-family: 'Microsoft PhagsPa','sans-serif'; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Behavioral therapy is a large part of any treatment program for frotteurism. Therapists often utilize insight-oriented psychotherapy aimed at working through the underlying cause of the behavior. Other treatments include group therapy and medications such as Prozac and drugs used to decrease sexual desire (Fallon, L.F.). Controlled data on this topic is lacking, so it's difficult to say which of these approaches works best. However, initial data indicates that an integrated approach is most effective. It is advised as the most basic way of dealing with the disorder that the most effective approach is the integrated approach in which the individual is taught more effective means of self-regulation (Fallon, L.F.). One example of this would be how to deal with unpleasant emotions. They also receive help in developing meaningful interpersonal relationships. <span style="font-family: 'Microsoft PhagsPa','sans-serif'; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">There are trained therapists specializing in frotteurism and other paraphilias who utilize the internet to provide people with the help or information they are looking for. In addition, there are self-help forums offering support from people who are going through similar problems.

**<span style="font-family: 'Microsoft PhagsPa','sans-serif';">References **

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 80%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 40pt; text-indent: -40pt;">Caldwell, D. S. (2010, June 19). The Problem of Frotteurism. //EzineArticles//. Retrieved April 11, 2011, from ﻿ [] <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 80%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 40pt; text-indent: -40pt;">Disorder Information-Paraphilias. (1998, February 2). //PscyhNet-UK//. Retrieved April 10, 2011, from [|www.psychnet-uk.com/dsm_iv/frotteurism] <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 80%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 40pt; text-indent: -40pt;">Fallon, L. F. (n.d.). Frotteurism. //Encyclopedia of Mental Disorders//. Retrieved April 11, 2011, from [] <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 80%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 40pt; text-indent: -40pt;">Frotteurism. (n.d.). //Online Therapy, Counseling & Coaching//. Retrieved April 10, 2011, from ﻿ [] <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 80%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 40pt; text-indent: -40pt;">Hucker, S. (2001, March 4). Assessment and Management of Violence Risk. //FRC Psych//. Retrieved April 10, 2011, from ﻿ [|www.violencerisk.com/paraphilia/exhibition] <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 80%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 40pt; text-indent: -40pt;">Williams, K. (2009, April 1). Frotteurism - Online Diagnosis. //Library of the National Medical Society. Journals, Medical Books, and Online Medical Diagnosis//. Retrieved April 11, 2011, from http://www.medical-library.org/journals/mddx/frotteurism/1_touching.htm