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
