Gender and Crime Flashcards
gender - crime-gender gap
males commit 11X more crime than females
gender - less detectable offences
women commit offences less likely to be detected/reported
stealing small items
gender - sex-role theory (females)
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
gender - control theory; gender and class deal (females)
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
gender - constraints of socialisation
in patriarchal socialisation, women that get involved in crime face risk of social disapproval, stigma, double jeopardy
gender - social control
social control is a patriarchal ideology
men dominate spheres to deter women from choosing conformity over crime
gender - social control; private sphere of the home
- less time/opportunity for crime due to responsibilities
- more serious consequences
- parents supervise girls closely than boys
gender - social control; public sphere outside the home
- 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
gender - the chivalry thesis
male-dominated CJS are more lenient women than men
gender - evidence for the chivalry thesis
- 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
gender - evidence against the chivalry thesis
- 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
gender - labelling theory; police stereotyping (female)
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
gender - changing ratio of men and women committing crime
11 : 1 - 1957
3 : 1 - 2014
gender - how much has crimes committed by females increased by?
25%
gender - growing female criminality; changing gender roles (liberation thesis)
changing gender roles means more independence, being more successful = changing in offending behaviour
gender - growing female criminality; changing gender roles (ladette culture)
females adopting traditional male attitudes and risk-taking behaviour
gender - growing female criminality; changing gender roles (leisure time)
females now spend more time on the streets so are more visible to surveillance
gender - growing female criminality; changing gender roles (labelling)
female criminality increased due to labelling/criminalising girls bad behaviour more seriously
gender - sex role theory (males)
mens instrumental role, lack of domestic responsibility & constraint on women give men more independence and opportunities to commit crime
gender - assertion of masculinity
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
gender - criticism of masculinity thesis
doesn’t explain why most men don’t turn to crime whose legitimate means are blocked
gender - labelling theory; police stereotyping (males)
official statistics show men are more likely to be offenders, label their behaviour as criminal, press charges & appear in crime statistics
gender - control theory (males)
men dominate public sphere where crime is committed
face fewer constrains
have less to lose
crime enhances their reputation and peer-group status
gender - carleen study
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)
