feminist views of crime Flashcards
which gender is most likely to be convicted of a crime?
male
what % of the prison population is male?
95%
what sort of crimes are females more likely to commit?
theft and fraud offences
what is the difference between male and female victimisation?
men victimised by strangers, acquantainces and friends. women victimised by partners or ex-partners.
who would argue that females only appear to commit less crime?
pollak - chivalry thesis.
campbell - self report studies.
hood - less likely to be jailed
what is the chivalry thesis?
pollak’s idea that women are less likely to be prosecuted for offences and CJS is more lenient to them.
why does pollak suggest that the chivalry thesis happens?
most CJS agents are men and are socialised to act in a chivalrous way to women.
men may hace protective attitude towards women so less willing to prosecute.
their crimes are less likely to end up in official stats.
what does campbell say about female criminality?
self report studies point towards the fact that much female crime is unreported. crime ratios are more like 2:1 than 5:1.
what does the ministry of justice say about female prosecution?
women more likely to be cautioned than men.
what does Hood suggest about female prosecution?
women were 1/3 less likely to be prosecuted for similar offences.
which sociologists would disagree with the chivalry thesis?
smart and carlen - doubly deviant.
carrlen - assessment of character.
walklate - secondary victimisation.
casey review - misogyny.
what did smart and carlen say about female criminality?
doubly deviant - females sentenced more harshly as it’s a crime but then also deviant because of gender roles.
what did carlen say about female criminality?
cjs based sentences on assessment of character in relation to role as wife/mother, rather than severity of offence. violent women seen as much worse than violent men as they have maternal role.
what does walklate say about secondary victimisation?
in cases of rape, victim is often on trial bc cjs assumes she asked for it. victim must prove respectability.
what does the casey review suggest about victim blaming?
metropolitan police force has misogynistic culture with victim blaming and judgement.
what is NACRO?
idea that judges are influenced by whether an offender has exclusive responsibility for children or is pregnant.
theories arguing women DO commit less crime?
parsons, heidensohn, mcrobbie. oakley
what does parsons say about female criminality?
biologically, women perform nurturing and caring role so commit less crime.
what does heidensohn say about female criminality?
women commit less crime due to patriarchal control.
private patriarchy - domestic role in housework and childcare restricts opportunities. daughters controlled more strictly.
public patriarchy - fear of male violence, want to be seen as respectable.
work - glass ceiling prevents senior positions so less white collar crime.
what does mcrobbie say about female criminality?
due to bedroom culture where girls are more likely to socialise at home in the private sphere, they are presented with less opportunities for crime.
what does oakley say about female criminality?
cannalisation manipulates gender identity, eg girls being bought dolls may make them more nurturing and commit less crime.
ao3 of parsons view of female criminality?
feminists argues he ignores role of patriarchy in creating gender differences.
walklate argues he is assuming women are biologically suited to caring role.
ao3 of heidensohn’s control theory?
liberal feminists argue women are more free of patriarchy and have more opportunity to commit crime, hense the risein female crime.
what does carlen say about female criminality?
class and gender deal.
class deal - material rewards from working eg home and nice clothes.
gender deal - rewards from role in family, with emotional and material support from husband.
most criminal females failed to find class deal so lived in poverty, turned to crime to escape poverty as they has nothing to lose.
some criminal females had been abused or lived in care, offered nothing by gender deal. crime felt like rational solution. women were doubly victimised which pushed them into crime.
