Crime stats - women

Question 1

Men Vs women’s stats

Answer 1

• men 60x more likely to commit sexual offences
• men 14x more likely to commit robbery
• men 8x more likely to commit violence

Question 2

Carlen (female, new right)

Answer 2

• women roped into two “social deals”
• “class deal” (being increasingly involved in work)
• “gender deal” (fulfilling expressive role)
• men are only part of the class deal
• if women don’t fulfil both of these, they have broken the social contract and are “deviant”

Question 3

Heidensohn: Socialisation Theory

Answer 3

• women socialised away from crime due to harsher expectations and punishments (more likely to be seen as “double deviant” - Smart)
• idea that men can “succeed” as criminals whereas women can’t (especially when involving some monetary/status gain for men)

Question 4

Heidensohn: Spheres of control

Answer 4

Factors keeping women away from crime

Private sphere:
- women constrained by work in the house in the patriarchal structure (lot of crime committed at night, where women are busy doing chores etc and men can go out)

Public sphere:
- women constrained by threat of violence so don’t go out at night
- also tend to work lower paid (less responsibility) jobs —> reduces chances of them committing crimes like white collar crime

Relationship sphere:
- idea that women’s relationships will take more of a hit following crime (lose reputation) —> disintegrative shaming

Question 5

Pollak (male): Chivalry thesis, 1950

Answer 5

Explains why less women convicted of crime (why there’s more dark figures/hidden offenders)

• women treated with more leniency in court, especially if they have a child
• CJS takes a “fatherly duty” when dealing with women criminals

Question 6

Adler (male): Liberation thesis, 1975

Answer 6

Argues women’s crime is increasing as a negative result of female “liberation”

• feminist movement altered gender roles, making them less concrete
• social control of women decreasing, so less feminine expectations on women
• less marrying now —> decreases “spheres of control”
• “ladette culture” whereby women adopting masculine traits (involved in more masculine behaviour) —> crime

Question 7

Supporting Pollaks “chivalry thesis”

Answer 7

Campbell: carried out a self report study that unearthed a lot more female crime than shown in stats —> proves that perhaps CJS is more lenient with convicting/sentencing women

Question 8

Criticising Pollaks “chivalry thesis”

Answer 8

• overall, female crime smaller scale than male so that’s why they’re convicted less seriously
• women often show more remorse & capacity to change than men which could be a reason they’re treated so

Question 9

Supporting Heidensohns “spheres of control”

Answer 9

Abbott & Wallace: evidence than young women watched more closely by family and given less freedom compared to boys

Question 10

Supporting Adlers “liberation thesis”

Answer 10

Westwood: female identities are changing in modern society