Gender and Crime

Question 1

gender - crime-gender gap

Answer 1

males commit 11X more crime than females

Question 2

gender - less detectable offences

Answer 2

women commit offences less likely to be detected/reported

stealing small items

Question 3

gender - sex-role theory (females)

Answer 3

functionalism & new right; gender socialisation lead women to have feminine characteristics
females take expressive role which diverts them away from risk-taking as they have less opportunity to commit crime

Question 4

gender - control theory; gender and class deal (females)

Answer 4

gender deal
satisfaction they gain from doing their role in the family & the support from the male breadwinner
class deal
material rewards received in paid employment make women conform
women that don’t receive these rewards, make rational choice to turn to crime

Question 5

gender - constraints of socialisation

Answer 5

in patriarchal socialisation, women that get involved in crime face risk of social disapproval, stigma, double jeopardy

Question 6

gender - social control

Answer 6

social control is a patriarchal ideology

men dominate spheres to deter women from choosing conformity over crime

Question 7

gender - social control; private sphere of the home

Answer 7

• less time/opportunity for crime due to responsibilities
• more serious consequences
• parents supervise girls closely than boys

Question 8

gender - social control; public sphere outside the home

Answer 8

• fear from sexual/physical violence
• sexual harassment & supervision from bosses restrict choice to deviate
• top level jobs hard for women due to discrimination, restricting them from committing white-collar crime

Question 9

gender - the chivalry thesis

Answer 9

male-dominated CJS are more lenient women than men

Question 10

gender - evidence for the chivalry thesis

Answer 10

• female offenders half as likely to be given imprisonment or kept in custody
• more likely to receive community sentences & shorted prison sentences
• police approach the more informally as they view them as a less serious threat

Question 11

gender - evidence against the chivalry thesis

Answer 11

• women have mitigating factors (remorse, caring, responsibilities) whereas men have aggravating factors
• women risk harsh punishment due to double jeopardy
• CJS is patriarchal as women character is assessed by referring to their traditional role rather than the crime
• evil women theory: violent women are worse than men in similar situation & double deviant as men expected to be like that

Question 12

gender - labelling theory; police stereotyping (female)

Answer 12

women less likely to be watched, get caught, labelled as criminal or become criminal statistics
police stereotype women being less likely than men to be criminals

Question 13

gender - changing ratio of men and women committing crime

Answer 13

11 : 1 - 1957

3 : 1 - 2014

Question 14

gender - how much has crimes committed by females increased by?

Answer 14

25%

Question 15

gender - growing female criminality; changing gender roles (liberation thesis)

Answer 15

changing gender roles means more independence, being more successful = changing in offending behaviour

Question 16

gender - growing female criminality; changing gender roles (ladette culture)

Answer 16

females adopting traditional male attitudes and risk-taking behaviour

Question 17

gender - growing female criminality; changing gender roles (leisure time)

Answer 17

females now spend more time on the streets so are more visible to surveillance

Question 18

gender - growing female criminality; changing gender roles (labelling)

Answer 18

female criminality increased due to labelling/criminalising girls bad behaviour more seriously

Question 19

gender - sex role theory (males)

Answer 19

mens instrumental role, lack of domestic responsibility & constraint on women give men more independence and opportunities to commit crime

Question 20

gender - assertion of masculinity

Answer 20

hegemonic masculinity: male gender identity that defines what it means to be a real man
leads to higher rates of crime/delinquency, its a way to assert their masculinity when legitimate means are blocked
edge work is a motivate factor for men from all social class to assert masculinity

Question 21

gender - criticism of masculinity thesis

Answer 21

doesn’t explain why most men don’t turn to crime whose legitimate means are blocked

Question 22

gender - labelling theory; police stereotyping (males)

Answer 22

official statistics show men are more likely to be offenders, label their behaviour as criminal, press charges & appear in crime statistics

Question 23

gender - control theory (males)

Answer 23

men dominate public sphere where crime is committed
face fewer constrains
have less to lose
crime enhances their reputation and peer-group status

Question 24

gender - carleen study

Answer 24

1988 - unstructured tape-recorded interviews on working-class women who committed a crime
working-class women led to conform through the promise of rewards/'deals' (class deal, gender deal)