Bias against women Flashcards
what does Heidensohn argue?
the court treats females more harshly than males when they deviate from gender norms
Double Standards in Gender and Crime
courts punish girls but not boys for premature or promiscuous sexual activity.
Sharpe - analysis of 55 youth worker records, 7/11 girls were referred to for support because they were sexually active but none out of 44 boys.
what does Stewart argue?
found that magistrates perceptions of female defendants characters were based on stereotypical gender roles
what does Carlen argue?
when women are jailed, it is less for the ‘seriousness of their crimes and more according to the courts assessment of them as wives, mothers and daughters’.
girls whose parents believe them to be beyond control are more likely to receive custodial sentences than girls who live more ‘conventional’ lives. Carlen found that Scottish judges were more likely to jail women whose children were in care than a women they see as a good mother.
what do Feminists argue?
double standards exist because the justice system is patriarchal. It can be further highlighted in rape cases where there have been numerous cases of male judges making sexist, victim blaming remarks. For example:
‘Women who say no do not always mean no. it is not a question of how she says it, but how she shows and makes it clear. if she doesn’t want it she only has to keep her legs shut’
what does Walkate argue?
argues that in rape cases, it is not the defendant who is on trial it is the victim since she has to prove her respectability in order to have her evidence accepted
what does Adler argue?
women who are deemed to lack respectability, such as single parents punks and peace protesters, find it difficult to have their testimony believed by the court
