Gender, crime and justice

Question 1

what are the gender patterns in the justice system

Answer 1

4/5 offenders are male

more females are convicted of property crime, more males are convicted of sexual violent offences

Question 2

what does Chivalry crisis mean

Answer 2

• most justice agents are men, socialised to act ‘chivalrous to women’
• self report studies suggest females are treated more leniently
• official stats show women more likely to be granted bail, receive a fine or given shorter sentences

Question 3

what did Pollak say about chivalry thesis

Answer 3

men have very productive attitudes towards women more lenient and less likely to end up in official statistics

Question 4

what does the flood page say about males and females

Answer 4

1/11 females to 1/7 had been prosecuted

Question 5

what is the evidence against chivalry thesis (A03)

Answer 5

• self reporting studies= males commit more offences such as drug taking
• crimes of the powerful underreported
• f may appear to be treated more leniently but may be due to lighter offences

Question 6

what did Farrington and marris say about evidence against chivalry

Answer 6

408 offenders, Fs not related treated more leniently

Question 7

what did Buckle and farrington say about evidence against chivalry

Answer 7

women are more likely to be witnessed and prosecuted for shoplifting

Question 8

what do feminist say about gender in offending

Answer 8

feminists argue that these exists because the criminal justice system is patriarchal. particularly in rape cases where judges make sexists remarks

Question 9

what did Heidensohn say about the bias agonists women

Answer 9

court treats Fs more harshly when they deviate from gender norms
Double standards: punishing girls for promiscuous behaviour. 7/11 girls referred for support for being sexually active, 0 males referred

Question 10

what did Carlen say about the bias against women

Answer 10

more likely to make judgements if there roles are mothers rather than seriousness of crime

Question 11

what is the functionalists sex theory

Answer 11

socialisation of males and females eg boys encouraged to take risk, be tough. More predisposed to committing crimes

Question 12

what did Parsons say about the functionalists sex theory

Answer 12

instrumental and expressive roles- boys reject emotion and engage in ‘compensatory compulsory masculinity’

Question 13

what did cohen say about the functionalist sex theory

Answer 13

men have less of a socialising role, boys turn to street gangs as a source of masculinity (new right)

Question 14

A03 for the functionalist sex theory

Answer 14

biological assumptions

Question 15

what did Hiensohn say about female crime

Answer 15

patriarchal society imposes greater control over women and this reduces opportunities to offend

Question 16

How does patriarchal control operate at home

Answer 16

housework and childcare imposes severe restrictions on time/movement
Dobash and Dobash: violent acts resort from men’s lack of satisfaction for domestic work, control finances

Question 17

how are daughters subject to patriarchal control

Answer 17

less likley to be allowed to come and go as they please as a result they a develop a ‘bedroom culture’ socialising with friends at home rather than at public places

Question 18

How does patriarchal control operate in public

Answer 18

women are controlled in public places by threat of violence or threat of male violence against them. females are also controlled by fear of being defined as not respectable or damaging ‘reputation’

Question 19

How does patriarchal control operate at work

Answer 19

male supervisors or managers control women’s work. sexual harassment ‘keeps women in their place’.
Glass ceiling prevents women from rising to senior opportunities where it is easier to commit crime

Question 20

A03 for Hiensohn patriarchal control

Answer 20

patriarchy can push women into crime eg poverty

Question 21

what was Carlen study on class and gender deals

Answer 21

study of 39 15-46 year old WC women, unstructured interviews
used Hirschis control theory - humans are controlled by the offer of a ‘deal’ - rewards for conforming. People turn to crime if rewards greater than risk

Question 22

What reasons did Carlen argue that leads WC women to conform

Answer 22

1. class deal- work- material rewards- decent standard of living
2. gender deal- patriarchal ideology promises women material and emotional rewards

Question 23

what happens if these rewards arent avalible

Answer 23

crime becomes more likely 
32 of them have always been in poverty, couldn't get a job, humiliated to go on benefits (class deal)

Question 24

what happens if these rewards are not availibe in terms of gender deal

Answer 24

abused by parents, spent time in care, homeless

Question 25

AO3 for carlens study

Answer 25

• sample was small and may be unrepresentative as it was largely WC and serious offenders
• sees women behaviour by external factors eg patriarchal control

Question 26

what does Adler argue

Answer 26

proposes the liberation thesis:

argues that as women become liberated from patriarchy, their crimes will become as frequent and as serious as men’s

Question 27

what does Adler argue to be the cause of changes in women’s offending behaviour

Answer 27

changes in the structure of society. As opportunities have improved for women eg education so women have began to adopt traditionally males roles in legitimate activity and illegitimate activity

Question 28

how have changes in the structure of society impacted women

Answer 28

women now commit typically ‘male’ offences such as crime of violence + white collar crimes. This is due to women’s greater self confidence, assertiveness and all greater opportunities

Question 29

what evidence is there to support the liberation thesis

Answer 29

• female offences rose during the second half of the 20th century
• media talk of growth of girl gangs

Question 30

what are the criticisms for liberation thesis

Answer 30

• most female criminals are WC so liberation thesis doesn’t apply to them benefits MC much more
• female crime rate began rising in the 1950s - long before the women’s liberation movement, which emerged in late 1960s

Question 31

what did Hand and Dodd say about females and violent crimes

Answer 31

between 2000 and 2008 number of females arrested for violence rose by 17% each year
if these statistics are accurate picture if offending it suggests that females are increasingly committing ‘male’ crimes

Question 32

what did steffensmeier and schwartz say about the criminalisation of females

Answer 32

found that while the female share of arrests grew from 1/5 to 1/3 between 1980 and 2003 the rise in police statistics was not matched by the findings of victim survey ( those who report it)

Question 33

what did steffensmeier and schwartz say about net- widening

Answer 33

conclude in reality there has been no change in women’s in violent crime. They argue that the rise in arrests is due to the justice system ‘widening the net’- arresting and protesting females for less serious forms of violence than previously

Question 34

If female participation in violent crime is not in fact increasing, how do we account for the increase in criminalisation of females for this kind of crime?

Answer 34

one view is that it is a social construction resulting from a moral panic over young women’s behaviour.

Question 35

what did sharpe say about the moral panic of girls

Answer 35

found that professionals such as judges, probation officers and police were influenced by media sterotypes of violent ‘ladettes’ + many believed the behaviour was getting worse

Question 36

what is the overall effect of a moral panic of girls

Answer 36

a self fulfilling prophecy and an amplification spiral : reports of girls misbehaviour sensitive police and courts, who take a tougher stance, resulting in more convictions, which produces further negative media coverage + so on

Question 37

what are the statistics for homicide victims

Answer 37

70% are male. females are more likely to know their killer and in 60% of these cases this was an ex partner/partner.
males are more likely to be killed by a friend or acquaintance

Question 38

what are the statistics for victims of violence

Answer 38

• women are more likely to be victimised by an acquaintance, men by stranger
• 10x more women reported having been sexually assaulted by men

Question 39

what did Ansara and hindin say about the mismatch between fear and risk

Answer 39

found that women victims experienced more severe violence and control.
furthermore, victim surveys do not necessarily convey the frequency or severity of the victimisation

Question 40

what is hegemonic masculinity

Answer 40

work in paid labour- labour market, subordination of women, hetero sexism (ie different from desire for women) and the driven and uncontrollable sexuality of men

Question 41

How does hegemonic masculinity compare to subordinate masculinity

Answer 41

includes gay men, who have no desire to accomplish hegemonic masculinity, as well as lower class and some ethnic minority men who lack resources to do so

Question 42

how do white MC men achieve masculinity

Answer 42

have to subordinate themselves to teachers in order to achieve MC status leading to an accommodating masculinity in school.
outside school : gets it through drinking and pranks

Question 43

how do white WC men achieve masculinity

Answer 43

constructed through sexists attitudes, being tough and opposing teachers authority. Links to the lads in Willis study they showed this kind of masculinity

Question 44

how do black WC youths achieve masculinity

Answer 44

may use gang membership and violence to express their masculinity or turn to serious property crime to achieve material success

Question 45

give to criticism of Messerschmidt (came up with how different class and ethnic affect masculinity)

Answer 45

• doesn’t explain why not all men use crime to accomplish masculinity
• He over works the concepts of masculinity to explain virtually all male crimes, from joy riding to embezzlement

Question 46

How has globalisation led to more criminal activity for WC

Answer 46

led to loss of many traditional manual jobs which WC men were able their masculinity through hard + providing for their family

Question 47

what is bodily capital

Answer 47

using their body to gain money. To maintain their reputation + employability the men must use this eg many of bouncers seek to develop their physical assets of body building