explaining female crime Flashcards
gender patterns in crime - heidensohn and silvestri
3 out of 4 convicted offenders in england and wales are male
by the age of 40, 9% of females have a criminal record, against 32% of males
higher proportion of females than males are convicted of property crimes
men 15 times more likely to be convicted of homocide
female crimes less likely to be reported - shoplifting is less likely to be reported than sexual offences
chivalry thesis
pollack - most criminal justice agents are socialised to act in a chivalrous way towards women
criminal justice system is more lenient with women so their crimes are less likely to end up in official statistics - gives an invalid picture that exaggerates the extent of gender differences in rates of offending
evidence against chivalry thesis
farrington and morris - found that women were not sentenced more leniently in comparable cases
buckle and farrington - women are more likely to be prosecuted for shoplifting than males - double deviance
heidensohn - courts treat women more harshly than men because they have deviated from their gender roles
bias against women
feminists argue that the criminal justice system is biased against women, prosecuting them more
heidensohn - courts treat women more harshly than men because they have deviated from their gender roles
functionalist sex role theory
parsons - traces differences in crime and deviance to the gender roles in the nuclear family - instrumental and expressive roles, women’s main role is socialisation
boys reject feminine models of behaviour and engage in compensatory compulsory masculinity through aggression and anti social behaviour
cohen - socialisation is difficult for boys. the relative lack of an adult male role model means boys are more likely to turn to street gangs as a source of masculine identity
criticisms of parsons
walklate - assumes that women are best suited to an instrumental role
based on untested biological assumptions
feminists - patriarchal society and women’s position in it causes crime
heidensohn - patriarchal control
argues that the most striking thing about women’s behaviour is how conformist it is - commit fewer and less serious crimes than men because the patriarchal society imposes greater control over women and reduces their opportunities to offend
control at home - women’s domestic role imposes severe restrictions on their time and movement, reducing opportunities to offend. dobash & dobash - show many violent attacks result from men’s dissatisfaction with the wives performances. daughters socialised into bedroom culture . men’s financial control
control in public - women are controlled in public places by the threat of male violence. 54% of women avoid going out in the dark
control at work - behaviour controlled by male supervisors - sexual harassment is widespread and help to keep women in their place
criticisms of patriarchal control
women’s increased opportunities outside the home
changing identity of girls - gangs
modern relationships are more equal
more policing of domestic violence
carlen - class and gender deals
most serious convicted female criminals are working class
working class women are generally led to conform through the promise of 2 types of rewards:
- the class deal - women who work will be offered material rewards, with a decent standard of living and leisure opportunities
- the gender deal - patriarchal ideology promises women material and emotional rewards from family life by conforming to the norms of a conventional domestic role
if these rewards are less likely, then crime becomes more likely
in terms of the gender deal, the women have failed to find a legitimate way of earning a decent living and this left them feeling powerless, oppressed and victims of injustice
being criminalised and jailed made the class deal even less available, making crime more attractive
evaluation of carlen
heidensohn - many patriarchal controls prevent women from deviant
carlen shows how the failure of patriarchal society to deliver the promised deals to some women removes the controls that prevents them from offending
small sample
sees women’s behaviour as determined by external forces - underplays free will and choice
the liberation thesis
adler - if society becomes less patriarchal and more equal, women’s crime will be similar to men’s
changes in the structure of society have led to changes in women’s behaviour - as patriarchal control has lessened and education opportunities have increased, women have adopted a male role in legitimate work and illegitimate crime
no longer commit traditional female crime such as shoplifting and prostitution, also commit typically male crimes such as violence and white collar crime. this is because of women’s greater self confidence and assertiveness - greater opportunities in the legitimate structure
more women in senior positions at work giving them the opportunity to commit white collar crime
between the 1950s and 1990s, female crime rose from 1 in 7 to 1 in 6
evaluation of the liberation thesis
female crime rates began rising in the 1950s long before the women’s liberation movement
most female criminals are working class
chesney lind found evidence of women branching out into more typically male offences such as drugs - usually because of their links with prostitution
little evidence that the illegitimate opportunity structure of professional crime has opened up to women. laidler and hunt found that female gang member in the usa were expected to conform to conventional gender roles in the same way as non deviant girls
draws attention to the importance of investigating the relationship between changes in women’s position and changes in patterns of female offending
overestimates the extent of liberation and the extent to which they engage in crime
gender and victimisation
homocide victims - 70% are male, female are 60% more likely to know their killer
victims of violence - fewer women are victims compared to men
- more women are victims of intimate violence - 1 in 4 will experience domestic abuse
- 5 times more women than men report having been sexually assaulted
- women are most likely to be victimised by a stranger
- only 8% of women who had experienced serious sexual assault reported it, 1/3 who didn’t report it believed the police couldn’t do much to help
