chivalry thesis

Question 1

what does the Chivalry thesis argue?

Answer 1

most criminal justice agents such as police officers, magistrates and judges are men and men are socialized to act in a ‘chivalrous’ way towards women.

Question 2

what does Pollack argue?

Answer 2

men have a protective attitude towards women so their crimes are less likely to end up in official statistics. this gives an invalid picture that exaggerates the extent of gender differences in rates of offending

Question 3

Evidence for chivalry thesis

- self report studies

Answer 3

self report studies - refer to when individuals are asked about what crimes they have committed and they suggest that female offenders are treated more leniently

Question 4

Evidence for Chivalry Thesis

- official statistics

Answer 4

official statistics - court statistics seem to support chivalry thesis:

• females more likely to be released on bail than remanded in custody
• females more likely to receive a fine or a community sentence and less likely to be sent to prison
• only one in nine females receive a prison sentence for shoplifting but one in five males

Question 5

Criticism of Chivalry Thesis

• Farrington and Morris
• Box

Answer 5

F&M - study of sentencing of 408 offences of theft in a magistrate court found women were not sentenced more leniently for comparable offences

B - review of British and American self-report studies also concludes that women who commit serious offences are not treated more favorably than men

Question 6

Criticism of Chivalry Thesis

- Buckle and Farrington

Answer 6

observational study of shoplifting in department stores witnessed twice as many males shoplifting as females despite the fact that the number of males and female offenders in official statistics are more or less equal. This suggests that women shoplifters are more likely to be prosecuted than male offenders

Question 7

Criticism of Chivalry Thesis

• under reporting of male crimes against women
• remorse

Answer 7

chivalry thesis also ignores the fact that many male crimes do not get reported. Yearnshire - women typically suffer 35 assaults before reporting domestic violence.
women offenders more likely to show remorse and therefore more likely to receive a caution instead of going to court