Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM

Browse over 1 million classes created by top students, professors, publishers, and experts.


See full index

SOCIOLOGY A-LEVEL > CRIME AND DEVIANCE TOPIC 5: GENDER, CRIME AND JUSTICE > Flashcards

CRIME AND DEVIANCE TOPIC 5: GENDER, CRIME AND JUSTICE Flashcards

1
Q

what are 4 patterns of crime (evidence)

A

-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)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

what are 2 reasons why statistics underestimate the amount of female crime?

A

-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

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

what is the chivalry thesis according to POLLAK?

A

-male law enforcement staff treat female offenders with courtesy and let them off

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

how do self-report studies support the chivalry thesis?

A
  • women are committing crimes more than official statistics show
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

what are 3 ways in which official statistics support the chivalry thesis?

A

-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

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

what are 3 statistics that go against the chivalry thesis?

A

-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 well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

how does the under-reporting of crimes provide evidence against the chivalry thesis?

A

-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

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

according to HEIDENSOHN, what are 2 ways in which courts may treat women more harshly?

A

-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

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

according to CARLEN, why are women more likely to be jailed?

A
  • not for the seriousness of the offence but more according to the courts assessment of them as wives/mothers/daughters
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

according to WALKLATE, what do women have to prove in rape trials?

A

-it’s not the defendant on trial but the victim and according to women have to prove their respectability to have evidence accepted

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

according to ADLER, why might some women not be believed in court?

A
  • women who are deemed to lack responsibility e.g. single parents find it difficult to have their testimony believed by the court
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

how does gender role socialisation explain gender differences in crime [FUNCTIONALIST SEX ROLE THEORY]

A
  • 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)
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

according to PARSONS, how do gender roles in the nuclear family help to explain gender differences in crime?

A

-causes crime as boys are less likely to have an adult male role model; boys would reject the feminine behaviour from female role models

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

according to COHEN, what is the effect of the lack of a male role model on boys?

A
  • more likely to join street gangs and commit acts of delinquency as a source of status and identity
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

what is WALKLATE’S criticism of the sex role theory?

A
  • 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
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

according to HEIDENSOHN, what is striking about women’s behaviour? (PATRIARCHAL CONTROL)

A
  • how conformist they are
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

explain how control at home reduces women’s opportunities to offend?

A
  • in situations of being controlled more means reducing their opportunities to offend
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

according to DOBASH AND DOBASH, how are men able to control women in the home?

A

-men have dissatisfaction with their wives performance of domestic duties= domestic abuse
-exercise control through financial power e.g. denying sufficient funds

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

what is bedroom culture and how does it affect opportunities for deviance?

A
  • it’s where daughter’s find themselves confined to the home, would rather socialise at home rather than in public
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

(CONTROLLING WOMEN IN PUBLIC PLACES) what is the threat of violence?

A

-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

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

(CONTROLLING WOMEN IN PUBLIC PLACES) what is media reporting?

A
  • reports of rape contributes towards women’s fear
  • distorted media= frightens women into staying indoors
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

(CONTROLLING WOMEN IN PUBLIC PLACES) what are definitions of respectability?

A
  • women in public have a fear of being regarded as not respectable e.g. by dressing a certain way= gain a negative reputation
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
23
Q

(CONTROLLING WOMEN IN PUBLIC PLACES) how is it within school according to LEES?

A
  • boys maintain control over girls via sexualised verbal abuse e.g. girls called ‘slags’ if they can’t conform to gender role expectations
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
24
Q

what 2 factors contribute to how women’s behaviour is controlled and opportunity limited in the workplace?

A
  • 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
25
Q

CARLEN- what is the class deal?

A
  • women who work are offered material rewards and a decent standard of living
26
Q

CARLEN- what is the gender deal?

A
  • patriarchal ideology promises women material and emotional rewards from family life through conformity to gender roles
27
Q

give 3 examples of ways in which women in CARLEN’S study had failed to achieve the class deal

A
  • 32% always been in poverty
  • they found job security seeking extremely difficult
  • faced stigma for claiming benefits from the gov.
28
Q

give 3 examples of ways these women hadn’t achieved the gender deal

A
  • some have been sexually abused by their fathers
    -experienced domestic violence
  • over 1/2 of women spent time in care
29
Q

what was CARLEN’S conclusion about the women in her study?

A
  • 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
30
Q

what is a criticism of control theory and feminism?

A
  • 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
31
Q

(LIBERATION THESIS) according to ADLER what will be the impact on female crime rates of women being liberated from patriarchy?

A
  • inc. opportunities to commit crime e.g. white collar crime and can be more frequent and serious as men’s
32
Q

(LIBERATION THESIS) according to ADLER, what will be the changes to the types of crime committed by women?

A
  • women can adapt male role in both legitimate activities e.g. job positions at work & crime e.g. commit violence
33
Q

what are 2 points of evidence to support ADLER’S THESIS?

A
  • 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
34
Q

what are 2 criticisms of ADLER’S THESIS

A
  • 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
35
Q

(FEMALES AND VIOLENT CRIME) what do the statistics appear to suggest? (HAND&TODD)

A

-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)

36
Q

what is meant by ‘net widening’? (STEFFENSMEIER & SCHWARTZ)

A

-police inc. arrests due to justice system ‘widening the net’ = more female arrests for less serious crimes

37
Q

according to CHESNEY-LIND why has there been a rise in females violent crime?

A
  • women aren’t seen as the only victim in situations therefore men are being included, any women previously ignored are labelled as violent offenders
38
Q

according to SHARPE & GELSTHORPE, what is the pattern of female’s violent crimes in the UK?

A

-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

39
Q

according to YOUNG, what is ‘defining deviance up’ ?

A

-prosecuting females for low level physical altercations to catch trivial offences in the ‘net’

40
Q

according to SHARPE, what is media influence on the criminal justice system?

A

-the negative media depictions= influences professionals e.g. judges/police= inc. female convictions of violent crime= self-fulfilling prophecy and deviance amplification spiral

41
Q

according to BURMAN AND BATCHELOR, what is the role of the media in the criminalisation of females?

A

-the media depicts young women as drunk and disorderly and out of control

42
Q

according to STEFFENSMEIER ET AL, what is the deviance amplification spiral of moral panic about girls?

A

-reports of girls misbehaviour sensitise police and courts, who take a tougher stance, resulting in more convictions, which produces further negative media coverage

43
Q

what do homicide victim statistics show about differences between male and female?

A

-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

44
Q

what are 4 gender differences between men and women’s likelihood of being a victim of violence?

A

-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

45
Q

why is it difficult to determine whether it is men or women who are more likely to be victims of violent crime?

A

-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)

46
Q

what are the criticisms of victim surverys?

A

=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

47
Q

(WHY DO MEN COMMIT CRIME?) according to MESSERSCHMIDT, what is masculinity?

A
  • masculinity is a social construct that men need to continually work at in order to prove themselves in society
48
Q

what is hegemonic masculinity?

A

-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)

49
Q

what are subordinate masculinities?

A

-gay men
-those who have no desire to accomplish hegemonic masculinity
-lower class ethnic minority men, who lack the resources to do so

50
Q

white m/c youths using rule breaking to demonstrate their masculinity:

A

-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

51
Q

white w/c youths using rule breaking to demonstrate their masculinity:

A

-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

52
Q

black lower w/c youths using rule breaking to demonstrate their masculinity:

A

-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

53
Q

what are differences in class crime amongst youths and how they obtain masculinity?

A

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

54
Q
A
  • 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
55
Q

(POSTMODERNITY) what was the impact on jobs moving from modern to post-modern society?

A

-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

56
Q

according to WINLOW, how are bouncers able to demonstrate their masuclinity?

A

-provided young men with paid work and the opportunity for illegal business with drugs, duty free tobacco and alcohol
=demonstrate their masculinity through violence

57
Q

how has the subculture in Sunderland moved from a violent subculture to a professional criminal cuture?

A

-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

58
Q

according to WINLOW, what is bodily capital ?

A

-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

59
Q

what is the importance of WINLOW’s study?

A

-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

SOCIOLOGY A-LEVEL (35 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2025 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions