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The International Encyclopedia of Human Sexuality, First Edition. Edited by Patricia Whelehan and Anne Bolin.
© 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Published 2015 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
1
Frotteurism
REBEKAH RANGER AND
PAUL FEDOROFF
Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre, Canada and the
University of Ottawa, Canada
Frotteurism is a paraphilia (atypical sexual
behavior) defined by persistent sexual arousal or
fantasies due to touching or rubbing one’s groin
against an unsuspecting and nonconsenting
person. Frotteurism is often combined with
toucherism (touching an unsuspecting or non-
consenting person in a sexual manner). To be
diagnosed with frotteurism, the person must
either have acted on these urges or be markedly
distressed by them. The American Psychiatric
Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of
Mental Disorders (DSM-5) (2013) includes the
terminology “frotteuristic disorder” and the
requirement that the person be distressed or
impaired by these interests.
One of the first clinical discussions of frotteur-
ism was by French psychiatrist Valentin Magnan
(1890) who coined “frotteur” from the French
word frotter, meaning to rub or touch. Later, the
term was popularized by the German physician
Richard von Krafft-Ebing (1840–1902) who used
the same French terminology. Krafft-Ebing
described the behavior as a variation of exhibition-
ism. Frotteurism first appeared in the DSM-III
(1985) in which it was listed as an “atypical para-
philia.” In the DSM-IV-TR (2000), it is the only
paraphilia in which a primary age range of
15–25 years is described, likely due to the (largely
unfounded) conceptualization of this disorder as
being due to a childlike or immature approach to
sexuality. The DSM-5 eliminated the age ranges,
but comments that “advancing age may be
associated with decreasing frotteuristic sexual
preferences and behavior” (2013:693).
Frotteurism is usually committed in public
places and crowded areas such as subway cars,
elevators, or dance halls. The interest in these
venues for the person with frotteurism is not that
it is public but rather that these venues provide
the opportunity to act on frotteuristic interests
anonymously. The victim is usually a stranger,
and in most cases the frotteur approaches
the victim from behind in order to avoid identi-
fication and arrest, but also because it helps to
preserve the offender’s belief that the victim is
unsuspecting (Lussier and Piche 2008).
People with frotteurism share three common
characteristics. The first is that they have a large
number of victims, due to the ease with which
they can act out their interests. The second is that
they are not often arrested because victims may
be unsure their complaints will be acknowledged
and they may be unsure who the offender is. The
third is that, until recently, they were unlikely to
serve long prison sentences when convicted for
the behavior (Krueger and Kaplan 2008).
In non-clinical surveys, 30 percent of adult
men have admitted to engaging in acts of frot-
teurism, whereas in forensic clinical samples,
only 10–14 percent of adult males meet DSM-5
criteria for the disorder, even though 22 percent
report occasionally engaging in frotteuristic
activities (Lussier and Piche 2008). Frotteurism is
often listed as comorbid with other paraphilias,
especially voyeurism and exhibitionism. Some
theorists suggest these comorbid paraphilias can
be understood as courtship disorders, a distur-
bance in the phases of events in partner-based
interactions (Freund 1990). Other theoretical
explanations for frotteurism include the idea that
frotteurs are simply “reinforced by immediate
sexual gratification with very little cost or invest-
ment” (Lussier and Piche 2008). People with
frotteurism have also been described as “timid
or non-assertive rapists,” who, under different
circumstances, would commit penetrative sexual
assault (Horley 2001).
Treatments for individuals diagnosed with
frotteurism vary. They include individual psycho-
therapy, group therapy focusing on self-esteem
and social skills, selective serotonergic reuptake
inhibitors (SSRIs) to reduce anxiety and impul-
sivity, and voluntary anti-androgen medication
intended to reduce sexual drive.
2
SEE ALSO: Exhibitionism; Kraft-Ebbing,
Richard von; Paraphilias; Sex Offender Treatment;
Sex Offenders; Sex Therapy; Sexual Dysfunction
REFERENCES
American Psychiatric Association. 1985. Diagnostic
and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-
III). 3rd ed. Washington, DC: APA.
American Psychiatric Association. 2000. Diagnostic
and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-
IV-TR). 4th ed., text rev. Washington, DC: APA.
American Psychiatric Association. 2013. Diagnostic
and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5).
5th ed. Washington, DC: APA.
Freund, K. 1990. “Courtship Disorder.” In W. L. Marshall,
D. R. Laws, and H. E. Barbaree, eds., Handbook of
Sexual Assault: Issues, Theories, and Treatment of the
Offender 331–342. New York: Plenum Press.
Horley, J. 2001. “Frotteurism: A Term in Search of an
Underlying Disorder?” The Journal of Sexual
Aggression, 7(1): 51–55.
Krafft-Ebing, R. 1965. Psychopathia Sexualis. New
York: Arcade Publishing.
Krueger, R., and M. Kaplan. 2008. “Frotteurism:
Assessment and Treatment.” In D. R. Laws and W. T.
O’Donohue, eds., Sexual Deviance, Theory, Assessment
and Treatment, 2nd ed., 150–163. New York: Guilford
Press.
Lussier, P., and L. Piche. 2008. “Frotteurism:
Psychopathology and Theory.” In D. R. Laws and
W. T. O’Donohue, eds., Sexual Deviance, Theory,
Assessment and Treatment 131–149. New York:
Guilford Press.
Magnan, V. 1890. Des exhibitionists. Les Archives de
l’Anthropologie Criminelle et des Sciences Pénales,
5: 456–471.
FURTHER READINGS
Fedoroff, J. P. 2000. “The Paraphilias.” In M. Gelder, ed.,
New Oxford Textbook of Psychiatry 833–842. Oxford:
Oxford University Press.
Fedoroff, J. P. 2003. “The Paraphilic World.” In S. B.
Levine, C. B. Risen, and S. E. Althof, eds., Handbook
of Clinical Sexuality for Mental Health Professionals
333–356. New York: Brunner-Routledge.