Gender and crime Flashcards
What does Official statistics state about gender and crime?
- Males commit more crime than females.
Official statistics-40th birthday
- 1/3 males have convictions
- only 1/10 for women
Official statistics-Men
- Men are responsible for 4/5 recorded offences
- Men are more likely to be repeat offenders, longer criminal careers and commit more serious crimes.
Official statistics-Women
- More likely to be convicted for property crimes
What does Heidensohn suggest about gender and crime?
Heidensohn suggests that gender differences are the most significant feature of recorded crime
Do women commit more crime?
- Sociologists underestimate the rates of female offending for two reasons: Less likely to be reported and Less likely to be prosecuted!
Functionalist Theory-Sex roles and Gender socialisation
- Females!
- Female roles include caring for partners, children, and dependent elderly parents. Expected to perform household duties. Gender socialisation wants women to adopt these roles-being more emotional and less aggressive=more afraid of committing crime as they “do not have the characteristics of a criminal”
Functionalist Theory-Sex roles and Gender socialisation
-Men!
- Men are encouraged to be tough and aggressive, disposed to commit acts of violence!
Functionalists-Parsons
gender roles in the nuclear family. Men take on the breadwinner role whilst girls are expected to take on a nurturing, caring role in which they bring up children. Girls therefore have access to a role model whereas boys seek to distance themselves from feminine models of behaviour engaging in masculinity
Cohen
The absence of the male role model = boys to turn to all male street gangs as a source of masculine identity, earning more status through delinquency.
Evaluation of sex role theory-Walklate
Walklate (2003): Criticises Parsons for assuming that because of a women biological ability to bear children that they are the best to the expressive roles. Although Parsons tries to explain this socially he is actually doing so biologically about sex differences.
Patriarchal Control Theory and rational choice (gender deals)
Carlen and Heidensohn-build on rational choice theories and explain female offending with it. Heidensohn argues that the difference in gender in offending is down to socialisation, social circumstances and impacts of formal/informal agencies.
Also
Argues that women commit less crime because patriarchal society imposes greater control over women. It operates in the home, in public and at work.
Evaluation: Control at home
A women’s role in the home is to be a domestic goddess, clean and maintain the home, cook meals and look after the kids. This places high time demands on women and gives them less time to commit crime. Women who try and make time may find themselves in a domestic abuse situation because their partners don’t like their breakaway from the rules.
Evaluation-Dobash and Dobash
Shows how many violent attacks result from a man’s dissatisfaction with their wives performance domestically. Men also use control with their financial power to restrict funds for a woman’s leisure activities so that they spend more time working at home.
Further evaluation-Dobash and Dobash p2
Daughters are restricted because they are under great control to not come and go as they please or stay out late, as such they socialise in doors, a ‘bedroom culture’ is created and they are more likely to do housework chores than male counterparts.
Control in public
Women are controlled in public because they fear going out and getting raped. Media reports help stipulate this fear to frighten women into staying indoors.
Control in public-Crime survey
54% of women avoid going out after dark, against only 14% of men. There is also a fear of how women dress in public, dressing certain ways can get a reputation for being ‘loose’ or sexually promiscuous especially if they go out in pubs alone where many crimes occur.
Control at work
Women have a subordinate role at work. The glass ceiling prevents reaching higher and potential white-collar crimes.
The gender deal and the class deal-Carlen
Carlen looked at a small number of WC women who had criminal convictions. She said that women are expected to conform to two things, the class deal and the gender deal.
Carlen-The class deal
The class deal: The material rewards that happen when people work in paid employment, enabling women to purchase things.
Carlen-The gender deal
The gender deal: The rewards that women get from fulfilling their gender role in the family and home.
Carlen’s study: Class deal.
Women in Carlen’s study failed to find legitimate ways to earn a decent living. Most had always been in poverty and couldn’t handle benefits. In terms of gender deal; some had been abused by fathers/families and so family bonds were broken!
The constraint of socialisation: What does Heidensohn suggest?
Heidensohn suggests that women face a greater loss than men if they commit crime as they would face a social stigma!
