gender, crime and justice Flashcards
gender patterns AO2 trends 3/__ offenders in England and Wales are ___
3/4 are male
the chivalry thesis Ao1
most criminal justice agents are (e.g police) are men and have been socialised to act in a ‘chivalrous’ way towards women
CJS is more lenient with women so their crimes are less likely to end up in official statistics
chivalry thesis Ao2
men were over 2x more likely to admit to committing an offence but statistics show 4x more likely
females more likely than males to be released on bail
chivalry thesis Ao3 - under-reporting
ignores the fact that many male crimes don’t get reported
e.g in 2012 8% of females who had been victims of sexual assault reported it
chivalry thesis Ao3 - less serious
may appear to be treated more leniently because their crimes are less serious and so less likely to go to trial
women are more likely to show remorse
bias against women Ao1
CJS is biased against women - treat females more harshly when they deviate from gender norms
double standards - courts punish girls not boys for promiscuous activity
Carlen - women are jailed less for the seriousness of the crime, more for assessment of them as wives
bias against women AO2
carlen
judges are more likely to jail women whose children
are in care than women who they saw as good mothers
bias against women Ao3 - feminists
feminists argue double standards exist because the CJS is patriarchal
bias against women Ao3 - women in CJS
however, there are an increasing number of women working in the CJS which disregard this thesis
functionalists sex role theory AO1
differences in crime is because of different gender roles
because women socialise kids - girls have access to a role model
boys reject this ‘feminine’ model and distance themselves through anti-social behaviour
also men have much less of a socialising role
functionalist sex role theory Ao2
lack of male role model means means boys are more likely to turn to male street gangs
functionalist sex role theory Ao3 - biological assumptions
Walklate criticses theory for biological assumptions
it assumes that just because women have the biological capacity to bear children, they re best suited to the expressive role
functionalist sex role theory AO3 - feminism
feminist put forward an alternative explanation - the patriarchal nature of society and women’s subordinate position in it
patriarchal control Ao1
Heidensohn
patriarchal society places greater control over women = reduces opportunities to offend
control at home:
women’s domestic role with constant housework and childcare impose restrictions on their time and little opportunity to commit crime
control in public:
controlled by the threat or fear of male violence against them
patriarchal control Ao2
many violent attacks result from mens dissatisfaction with their wives domestic job performance
= hard to reject the domestic role
control in public: 54% of women avoid going out at night out of fear o fbeing victims of crime - 14% of men
patriarchal control Ao3 - pushed into crime
patriarchy can push women into crime
women are more likely to be poor (gender inequality in jobs and pay) so may turn to theft or prostitution to earn a wage
patriarchal control Ao3 - equal
there are an increasing more equal opportunities for women
equal pay act
discrimination act
which means they’re becoming equal to men
Carlen - class and gender deals Ao1
study of working class women convicted for theft, fraud, violence
version of control theory
humans are controlled by being offered a deal in return to conforming to social norms
WC led to conform by 2 rewards
class deal = women who work will be offered material rewards, decent standard of living
gender deal = patriarchal ideology promises material and emotional rewards from family life
if these rewards aren’t available or worth the effort = crime more likely
Carlen - class and gender deals Ao2
links to lack of class deal -
32/39 women studied had been in poverty
Carlen - class and gender deals Ao3 - external forces
can be accused of seeing women’s behaviour as determine day external forces such as patriarchy or class and gender deals
= underplays the importance of free will and choice in offending
Carlen - class and gender deals Ao3 - sample size
sample size was small so may be unrepresentative - as it largely consisted of working class and serious offenders
liberation thesis Ao1
Adler
as women become liberated from patriarchy crimes will become as frequent as mens
given more opportunities in work and education = can adopt traditionally male roles = commit ‘male’ crime
women’s greater self-confidence
liberation thesis Ao2
recently there’s been a media talk of ‘girl gangs’
females as likely as males to engage in risk-taking behaviour
liberation thesis Ao3 - support
number of females arrested for violence rose by 17% each year (2000-2008)
liberation thesis Ao3 - overestimate
overestimates the extent to which women have become liberated and the extent to which they’re able to engage in serious violent crime.
masculinity and crime Ao1
Messerschmidt
masculinity explains mens offending
masculinity is a social construct and accomplishment
different masculinities
e.g hegemonic masculinity - dominant form, men wish to accomplish. earnt through paid-labour market
but subordinated masculinities (gay men) don’t desire to accomplish
crime and deviance is a way to achieve masculinity
masculinity and crime Ao2
white middle class youths
have to obey teacher sin school to gain MC status and masculinity
outside school - drinking, vandalism gains masculinity
masculinity and crime Ao3 - not all men
it doesn’t explain why not all men use crime to accomplish masculinity
masculinity and crime Ao3 - over-works
overworks the concept of masculinity to explain virtually all male crimes from joy riding to embezzlement
male offending - winlow Ao1
globalisation meant the loss of many traditional manual jobs - through which WC men were able to express masculinity
expansion of service sector including night time leisure means young WC men have been provided employment and criminal opportunities
male offending - winlow Ao2
Winslow’s study of bouncers shows that in this job it provided them with both paid work and the opportunity for illegal business in drugs as well as opportunity to demonstrate their masculinity
male offending - winlow Ao3
could be considered a description of offenders rather than explanation
not all men commit crime to accomplish masculinity
