GENDER, CRIME, AND JUSTICE Flashcards
What are gender patterns in crime in official statistics?
- three out of four convicted offender in england and wales are male
- by the age of 40, 9% of females have a criminal conviction whereas 32% of men.
- higher proportion of female than male offenders are convicted of property offences.
- higher proportion of male than female offenders are convicted of violence or sexual offences.
- males are more likely to be repeat offenders and have longer criminal careers, and to commit more serious crimes.
- men are about 15 times more likely to be convicted of homicide.
do women commit more crime?
- female crimes are typically less likely to be reported such as shoplifting.
- prostitution isn’t likely to be reported by both parties.
-some claim that women’s crimes less likely to be prosecuted.
what is the chivalry thesis?
- most criminal justice agents such as the police officers and judges are men, who are socialised to act in a lenient way towards women.
what does otto pollak suggest?
men have a protective attitude towards women and they hate to accuse women of crimes, thus the criminal justice system is more lenient towards women therefore their crimes are less likely to end up in official statistics. as a result gender differences in rates of crime are exaggerated.
what evidence is there to support the chivalry thesis?
- self report studies: suggests women offenders are treated more leniently. a research found that males were more likely to offend but gender difference was smaller than recorded official stats.
- official statistics: females are more likely to be released on bail and receive a fine or community service, less likely to be sent to prison and tend to receive shorter sentences.
what evidence is there against chivalry thesis?
- farrington and morris study of sentencing of 408 offences of theft found that women were not sentenced more leniently.
- women who commit serious crimes aren’t treated more leniently
- buckle and farrington’s observational study of shoplifting discovered male shoplifters were two times more than female ones in number.
- self report studies provide evidence that males commit more offences and are more likely to report crimes such as illegal drug use. hales et al found males were more likely to be offenders in all major categories. gender gap increases as crime gets more serious.
- chivalry thesis ignores that many male crimes do not get reported. only 8% of females victims of serious sexual assault reported it.
- crimes of the powerful are less represented in self report and victim surveys and also more likely to committed by men.
what is bias against women?
- double standards: courts only punish girls for premature sexual activity.
- women who don’t conform to accepted standards of monogamous heterosexuality and motherhood are punished more harshly.
- there have been numerous cases where the judges made sexist and victim blaming remarks in rape cases.
- feminists argue these double standards exist because the criminal justice system is patriarchal
what does carlen suggest?
- Studied 39 working class women, convicted of a range of offences. 23 were in custody. Most
serious convicted criminals are working class - when women are jailed it is less for the seriousness of their crime but more based on stereotypical gender roles such as their assessment as wives, mothers, and daughters.
- she found that girls who live conventional lives are less likely to receive custodial sentences.
how is female crime explained?
- functionalist sex role theory
- heidensohn’s patriarchal control
- carlen’s class and gender deals
- liberation thesis
what is functionalist sex role theory?
- early explanations focused on differences of socialisation of males and females
- parsons suggests men take the role of the breadwinner role and perform largely outside the home in conventional nuclear families. women perform expressive roles in the home. this gives girls access to an adult role model but causes boys to reject feminine models of behaviour that express softness and emotion. they engage in masculinity through aggression and anti social behaviour.
- cohen argues boys are more likely to turn to street gangs in the lack of a male role model.
criticism of functionalist sex role theory?
- walklate criticises it for its biological assumption
what is heidensohn’s patriarchal control?
- women commit less crimes because of the patriarchal control that reduces their opportunities to offend.
- the domestic role involves a constant round of housework and childcare, restricting their free time
- controlled in public by fear of male violence. 54% of women avoid going out at dark out of fear of being a victim.
- controlled by fear of judgement about their looks eg. dress makeup to be respectable
- at work behaviour is controlled by men. sexual harassment is widespread and helps keep women in place. their subordinate position prevents committing major criminal activity such as fraud.
what is carlen’s class and gender deals?
- argues most convicted serious female offenders are working class
- they are offered promise of rewards such as the class deal and the gender deal which have material rewards and emotional rewards.
- if these are not available, crime becomes more likely
- she concluded poverty and oppressive upbringing are two main causes of female criminality.
evaluation of carlen and heidensohn?
- both are based on patriarchal control
- however they see women’s behaviour as determined by external forces which underplays the importance of free will and choice in offending.
- carlen’s sample was small and might be unrepresentative.
what is the Adler’s liberation thesis?
-if society becomes less patriarchal, female crime rates would become similar to male.
- as patriarchal control and discrimination lessened, and more opportunities in education and work became available, women started to adopt traditionally male roles including crime.
- women no longer commit just traditional female crimes. they also commit violent and white collar crime.
