Gender and crime Flashcards
what are some official statistics about gender and crime?
- in most countries men commit more crime than females
England and wales (2014):
- men accounted for 3/4 of all p’s convicted
- 85% of those convicted for indictable charges and 95% of prisioners
what is the likeliness of men to do certain things?
60x more likely of sex offences
14x more likely of robbery
13x more likely of possession of a weapon
8x more likely of violence
what is the most common offence among women?
- theft from shops
- 1/3 of women in prison are there for theft and handling stolen goods
what does the concept chivalry mean?
men are socialised to be softer and more protective towards females and harder on other males
what was argued about the chivalry thesis?
Pollack (1950)
- women are treated in a paternalistic way by police
- so they’re treated more leniently
- women are naturally more skilled than men at deceiving p’s
- derived from women hiding menstruation due to traditional taboos
what does the chivalry thesis mean for women?
- they’re seen as less guilty
- they’re seen as more vulnerable and in need of protection
- men need to be more lenient against them
how do functionalists explain lower crime rates for women?
sex role theory:
- gender role socialisation = women adopt feminine characteristics
- e.g emotional, caring, less aggressive
- female values don’t condemn crime in any way
- Parsons: child bearing gives girls a female role model to emphasis female characteristics
how does feminist Carlen (1998) explain the gender differences in crime?
class and gender deals:
- class deal: material goods that arise from payed work
- gender deal: accepting long term relationships for material and emotional support
- these deals aren’t available to all women e,g unemployment / abusive relationships
- some choose crime to live
according to feminist Henderson how is gender differences in crime explained?
control theory:
- social control deters women from crime in 3 ways:
- control at home, public and work
- all these put pressure to conform
- they have more to lose than gain by breaking the law
what is control at home?
- domestic roles create restrictions on time/ movement
- reduced opportunities for crime
- attempting to reject domestic roles could = domestic violence
- teenage girls are more supervised = bedroom culture
- reduces their chance of getting into trouble
what is control in public?
- women controlled by threat/ fear of male violence
- 54% of women avoided going out after dark for fear of being victims of crime vs 14% of men
what is control at work?
- sexual harassment helps keep women ‘in place’
- glass ceiling reduces opportunities to engage in crime
how could sex control theory explain male criminality?
- men socialised into masculine identities
- boys have more freedom
- exposed to more criminal opportunities
- turn to gangs when lack father figure (perverse intensive)
how could control theory explain male criminality?
- men dominate public space where most crime is committed
- face fewer controls
- unlike women, crime may enhance a mans reputation
whats a limitation of the control theory?
march of progress
- control of women has decreased
- there’s been progress in women achieving greater freedom