gender and crime Flashcards
statistical differences in male and female offending
- by age 40 9% oh women have been convcited of a crime compared to 32% of men
- men 15x more likely to be convicted of homocide
two arguemnets why women are under-represntd in the crime statisitcs:
- female crimes such as shoplifting are harder to catch and less likely to be reported compared to male violent and sexual crimes
- females crimes such as prostitivution unlikely to go reported
- chivalry thesis
chivalry thesis
argues that mostly men work in the CJS, and men are socialised into being chivlarous towards owmen
pllak argues that this leader to womne being more likely to be let off for crimes by the jury and even police officers catching the crime as they have been taught to respect women
women are seen as uncaple of committing crimes and therefore more likely to be let off
self report crime study by flood-page found that 1 in 11 women who had committed a crime was cautioned compared to 1 in 7 men
showing women are let off more lightly
evidence against the chilvary thesis
buckle and farringtons study of observing shoplifting found that men are 2x more likely to shoplift than women yet in the crime stats they are equally likely
womenmay be over represetned
arguemnt against chilary thesis
more and more women are joining hte CJS so this is becoming less prominent
demonisation thesis
hedisohn aruges that instead of the CJS being mroe leniant towards women they are actually more harsh
if women don’t confrom to their gender idneity they are more likely to be treated negatively
for example in the 2008 rape case in northern ireladna. man was found not guily of raping a women on the basis that she was wearing red lacey underwear which suggests that she was clearly watning to be sexual
women are demonsied for not fiting trad roel and therfpre more heavily penalised
parsons sex role theory
- girls socialsied into bedroom culturs and playing nicley wehreas boys taught to be boyserious explaining why boys are socialsied into crime more
- similarly due to gender roels women more likely to socialsied childre. boys are mroe likely to reject female tratis such as being gentle in the persuit for being masculine and therofr ebieng agressive and snti social
the lack of a man socialting a boy make sthem mroe likely to join all male gangs
criticism of parsons’ sex role theory
no longer the dominant family type
diversity and choice in postmodernity means that gender rolesand socisaltion boundaries and blurred
hedihonson control theory
argues that women are less likely to commit crime due to vaiours partriachal controls that reuce their opportunity to commit crimes
ex.
controls at hoem such as having to be in the hosue a lot cleaning and raising children means less likely to have time to commit crimes
simairly owmen who reject this role are more likely to be subject to domestic violence (dobash and dobash)
controls in society: women less likely to go out due to fear of being abused by men
study found tat 54% of women dont go ut when its dark
controls in work: sexual harrasmnet keeps owmen in their palce and the glass cieling blocks them from jobs with power to commit white collar crime
argumnet against control theory
disregard’s women’s free will and agencynot just controled by extrenal pressure
and liberation thesis
adler’s liberation thesis
argues that women are slowly bieng ;iberatedformt he patrarchy and so womens crimes are increasing in frequency and severity
women are more intergated into workplace an acheiving high flying josb which allows them opporunity to commit more white collar crimes
crime rate is incrasing 1 in 6 in 1990 compare to 1 in 7 in 1950
crticism of adler’s liberation
only working class women being freed
simairly batchlors’s study founds that drunk and disordely women has caused a moral panic which has resulted in hihger policing of women
however they argue thatthsi behaviour has been havinign for yers before patrarhcal liberation it is just being policed more now
carlen’s class and gender deals
study of women in prison found that the owrking class are more likely to commit criems becuase they are unable to secure the deals which control you and make you less likely to commit crime
for exmample; the class deal such as having a job and the gender deal such as having a steady and happy home life was unbotanable for these women as
2/3 had been in poverty all life
and many had been domestically abused
these two lacks of controls on womens lives has meant that WC more likely to commit criems of drugs and alcholism and more violent crimes
what is carlesn theory based on
hisarchi’s control theory
why according to messerchmit to men commit more crime
because men strive to achive masculinity and present that to other men hegamonic masculinity is a goal that can cause crime
in line in cornell’s hierahcy of masculinitn he argues that those who are working class stuggle to have the measn to prove mascultiny such as being the breadwinner and have a job and so this strain leads to joiing gangs to assert masculinity that way
