CRIME AND DEVIANCE TOPIC 5: GENDER, CRIME AND JUSTICE Flashcards
what are 4 patterns of crime (evidence)
-80% of convicts are male
-women tend to committ property crime but men committ sex + violent crime
-males are more likely to re-offend than women
-9% women have a criminal record @40 in comparison to 32% of men (1/3)
what are 2 reasons why statistics underestimate the amount of female crime?
-its types of crime they commit e.g. theft is easy to get away with; less serious or are unwilling to report it e.g. prostitution
-more leniently punished e.g. woman only gets a warning and police do this as an act of chivalry
what is the chivalry thesis according to POLLAK?
-male law enforcement staff treat female offenders with courtesy and let them off
how do self-report studies support the chivalry thesis?
- women are committing crimes more than official statistics show
what are 3 ways in which official statistics support the chivalry thesis?
-females more likely to be awarded a ‘bail’ (way out)
-females more likely to be given lower tier offence punishment e.g. a fine/community service
-men given harsher punishment for same crime a woman has committed
what are 3 statistics that go against the chivalry thesis?
-no significant differences in punishments between men and women
-women who commit serious offences aren’t given leniency
-observation of shoplifters saw more males committing the offence yet conviction rates are similar for both men and women
how does the under-reporting of crimes provide evidence against the chivalry thesis?
-male crimes against women:
under-reported= victims are concerned abt how they’ll be treated by police
-crimes of the powerful: male dominated+ largely ignored by law enforcement
-if women are treated more fairly; their offences are less serious than men
according to HEIDENSOHN, what are 2 ways in which courts may treat women more harshly?
-double standards= punishing girls but not boys for premature sexual activity
-women who don’t conform to the standard of monogamous heterosexuality and motherhood are punished more harshly
according to CARLEN, why are women more likely to be jailed?
- not for the seriousness of the offence but more according to the courts assessment of them as wives/mothers/daughters
according to WALKLATE, what do women have to prove in rape trials?
-it’s not the defendant on trial but the victim and according to women have to prove their respectability to have evidence accepted
according to ADLER, why might some women not be believed in court?
- women who are deemed to lack responsibility e.g. single parents find it difficult to have their testimony believed by the court
how does gender role socialisation explain gender differences in crime [FUNCTIONALIST SEX ROLE THEORY]
- e.g. a lone parent family w/ a male parent is more likely to pass down the instrumental functions than a female-led family who will value nurturing (expressive functions)
according to PARSONS, how do gender roles in the nuclear family help to explain gender differences in crime?
-causes crime as boys are less likely to have an adult male role model; boys would reject the feminine behaviour from female role models
according to COHEN, what is the effect of the lack of a male role model on boys?
- more likely to join street gangs and commit acts of delinquency as a source of status and identity
what is WALKLATE’S criticism of the sex role theory?
- dependent on biological assumptions of gender, assumes women will take on the expressive role for their children
-makes no sense given the no. of women who commit crime
-> feminists suggest alternatives such as liberation thesis and control theory
according to HEIDENSOHN, what is striking about women’s behaviour? (PATRIARCHAL CONTROL)
- how conformist they are
explain how control at home reduces women’s opportunities to offend?
- in situations of being controlled more means reducing their opportunities to offend
according to DOBASH AND DOBASH, how are men able to control women in the home?
-men have dissatisfaction with their wives performance of domestic duties= domestic abuse
-exercise control through financial power e.g. denying sufficient funds
what is bedroom culture and how does it affect opportunities for deviance?
- it’s where daughter’s find themselves confined to the home, would rather socialise at home rather than in public
(CONTROLLING WOMEN IN PUBLIC PLACES) what is the threat of violence?
-women experience threat/ fear of male violence- sexual violence
-Islington crime survey: 54% of women avoid going out after dark for fear of being victims of crime
(CONTROLLING WOMEN IN PUBLIC PLACES) what is media reporting?
- reports of rape contributes towards women’s fear
- distorted media= frightens women into staying indoors
(CONTROLLING WOMEN IN PUBLIC PLACES) what are definitions of respectability?
- women in public have a fear of being regarded as not respectable e.g. by dressing a certain way= gain a negative reputation
(CONTROLLING WOMEN IN PUBLIC PLACES) how is it within school according to LEES?
- boys maintain control over girls via sexualised verbal abuse e.g. girls called ‘slags’ if they can’t conform to gender role expectations
what 2 factors contribute to how women’s behaviour is controlled and opportunity limited in the workplace?
- sexual harassment: it’s widespread and used to keep women in place
- the ‘glass ceiling’: prevention of women from rising to senior positions therefore can’t gain social power to commit crime
CARLEN- what is the class deal?
- women who work are offered material rewards and a decent standard of living
CARLEN- what is the gender deal?
- patriarchal ideology promises women material and emotional rewards from family life through conformity to gender roles
give 3 examples of ways in which women in CARLEN’S study had failed to achieve the class deal
- 32% always been in poverty
- they found job security seeking extremely difficult
- faced stigma for claiming benefits from the gov.
give 3 examples of ways these women hadn’t achieved the gender deal
- some have been sexually abused by their fathers
-experienced domestic violence - over 1/2 of women spent time in care
what was CARLEN’S conclusion about the women in her study?
- crime was the only way to live decently therefore had nothing to lose and everything to gain
-being criminalised made the class deal less available= making crime more desirable
what is a criticism of control theory and feminism?
- view women’s behaviour as influenced solely by external factors e.g patriarchal control/ class & gender roles= undermines importance of free will and choice in offending
-unrepresentative; only w/c women & serious offenders
(LIBERATION THESIS) according to ADLER what will be the impact on female crime rates of women being liberated from patriarchy?
- inc. opportunities to commit crime e.g. white collar crime and can be more frequent and serious as men’s
(LIBERATION THESIS) according to ADLER, what will be the changes to the types of crime committed by women?
- women can adapt male role in both legitimate activities e.g. job positions at work & crime e.g. commit violence
what are 2 points of evidence to support ADLER’S THESIS?
- between 1950s and 1990s female offences inc. from 1 in 7 to 1 in 6
- according to DESCOMBE: teenage girls adopted the desire to be in control stances like males
what are 2 criticisms of ADLER’S THESIS
- CHESNEY-LIND: women branching out into into typically male offences such as drugs
-most female criminals are w/c , the group least likely to be benefited by liberation movements
(FEMALES AND VIOLENT CRIME) what do the statistics appear to suggest? (HAND&TODD)
-HAND&TODD the no. of females arrested for violence rose by an average of 17% each year, women committing an inc. amount of male crimes (violence)
what is meant by ‘net widening’? (STEFFENSMEIER & SCHWARTZ)
-police inc. arrests due to justice system ‘widening the net’ = more female arrests for less serious crimes
according to CHESNEY-LIND why has there been a rise in females violent crime?
- women aren’t seen as the only victim in situations therefore men are being included, any women previously ignored are labelled as violent offenders
according to SHARPE & GELSTHORPE, what is the pattern of female’s violent crimes in the UK?
-net widening policies =produce a rise in the official stats of females violent crimes; there is a growing trend towards prosecuting females for low level altercations
according to YOUNG, what is ‘defining deviance up’ ?
-prosecuting females for low level physical altercations to catch trivial offences in the ‘net’
according to SHARPE, what is media influence on the criminal justice system?
-the negative media depictions= influences professionals e.g. judges/police= inc. female convictions of violent crime= self-fulfilling prophecy and deviance amplification spiral
according to BURMAN AND BATCHELOR, what is the role of the media in the criminalisation of females?
-the media depicts young women as drunk and disorderly and out of control
according to STEFFENSMEIER ET AL, what is the deviance amplification spiral of moral panic about girls?
-reports of girls misbehaviour sensitise police and courts, who take a tougher stance, resulting in more convictions, which produces further negative media coverage
what do homicide victim statistics show about differences between male and female?
-men are more likely than women to be victims of any type of crime
-e.g. in 2021 4.1% of men were victims of all personal crime compared to 2.8% of women
what are 4 gender differences between men and women’s likelihood of being a victim of violence?
-more women are victims of intimate violence (domestic/sexual abuse)
-5x more women than men report having been sexually assulted
-women are more likely to be victimised by an acquiantance, and men by a stranger
-only 8% females that experienced serious sexual assult reported it
why is it difficult to determine whether it is men or women who are more likely to be victims of violent crime?
-research shows women have a greater fear for crime but the CSEW shows they are at less risk of victimisation
-there is evidence from studies that female victims of violence may be more likely to refuse to be interviewed (Sparks et al)
what are the criticisms of victim surverys?
=they don’t show the frequency or severity of victimisation
-EV: LEA&YOUNG some local victim surveys found that they are at a greater risk than men
-ANSARA&HINDIN found that female victims experienced more severe violence
-WALBY&ALLEN women were much more likely to be victims of multiple incidents
(WHY DO MEN COMMIT CRIME?) according to MESSERSCHMIDT, what is masculinity?
- masculinity is a social construct that men need to continually work at in order to prove themselves in society
what is hegemonic masculinity?
-the dominant, most prestigious form that men want to achieve is defined through:
-work in the paid labour market, -subordination of women, being different from them and liking them (heterosexism)
what are subordinate masculinities?
-gay men
-those who have no desire to accomplish hegemonic masculinity
-lower class ethnic minority men, who lack the resources to do so
white m/c youths using rule breaking to demonstrate their masculinity:
-subordinate themselves to teachers to achieve m/c status, leading to an accommodating masculinity in school
-outside school their masculinity takes an opposite form, through drinking, pranks and vandalism
white w/c youths using rule breaking to demonstrate their masculinity:
-have less chance of educational success = their masculinity is oppositional both in & out of school
-constructed around sexist attitudes, being tough and opposing teachers authority
=the lads in WILLIS’ 1977 study
black lower w/c youths using rule breaking to demonstrate their masculinity:
-they may have few expectations of a reasonable job, may use gang membership and violence to express their masculinity, or turn to serious property crime to achieve material success
what are differences in class crime amongst youths and how they obtain masculinity?
acknowledges that m/c commit crime but the differences is in the type of crime
-m/c males commit white collar crime and corporate crime to accomplish hegemonic masculinity, poor groups may use street robbery to achieve a subordinated masculinity
- presents a circular arguement
-masculinity explains male crimes like violence; they are crimes committed by males who have violent characteristics
-doesn’t explain why not all men use crime to achieve masculinity
-over works the idea of masculinity to explain virtually all male crimes, from joy riding to embezzlement
(POSTMODERNITY) what was the impact on jobs moving from modern to post-modern society?
-decline in traditional jobs=w/c men can’t express their masculinity by physical labour
expansion of the service sector
-e.g. night clubs, pubs and bars
=provided a combination of legal employment, lucrative criminal opportunities and a means of expressing their masculinity
according to WINLOW, how are bouncers able to demonstrate their masuclinity?
-provided young men with paid work and the opportunity for illegal business with drugs, duty free tobacco and alcohol
=demonstrate their masculinity through violence
how has the subculture in Sunderland moved from a violent subculture to a professional criminal cuture?
-In modern society there has been a violent conflict subcultures in Sunderland where ‘hard men’ earned status through their use of violence
=is now a professional criminal subculture = display masculinity and is a way for employment to maintain their reputation
according to WINLOW, what is bodily capital ?
-looking the part to discourage competitors challenging them e.g. body building=build assets
= the signs of masculinity become an important commodity in their own right
what is the importance of WINLOW’s study?
-It shows how the expression of masculinity changes with the move from a modern society to a postmodern industrialised one
=this change opens up new criminal opportunities for men who are able to use violence to express masculinity by creating the conditions for the growth of organised criminal subculture
