Gender, Crime & Justice

Question 1

Gender Patterns in crime

Answer 1

• 4 out of 5 offenders are male
• Women are convicted of more of property crime (except burglary)
• Men are convicted of more serious crime (eg. violent and sexual crimes)

Question 2

2 arguments that official statistics undermine the amount of female crime?

Answer 2

• Female crime is less likely to be reported (eg. shoplifting is less likely to be reported than violent crimes by men)
• Even when women’s crimes are reported, they are less likely to be prosecuted

Question 3

The Chivalry Thesis

Answer 3

Women are less likely to be prosecuted for their offense.
- Pollack argued that men have a protective attitude towards women, so are unwilling to charge arrest, prosecute/ convict them.
(Their crimes are less likely to end up in official statistics, giving an invalid picture that under represents women’s crimes)

Question 4

Evidence FOR and AGAINST the Chivalry Thesis

Answer 4

FOR:
- Official stats show that women are more likely to receive a fine, than go to prison
- Self Report studies show that female offenders are treated more leniently
- Hood studied over 3000 defendants and found that women were about 1/3 less likely to jailed, in similar cases to men

AGAINST:
- Self Report studies show that males commit more offenses
- Farrington and Morrice found that women were not sentences leniently for comparable offenses
- Many male crimes also don’t get reported (eg. corporate crime and white collar crime)

Question 5

Bias against Women

Answer 5

• Feminists argue that the CJS is not bias towards women, but against them- especially when they go against gender norms (eg. motherhood)
• Walkgate said that in rape cases its the victim on trial, trying to prove her respectability, only then will her evidence be accepted

Question 6

Functionalist explanation for gender differences in crime

Answer 6

PARSONS
Parsons states that women perform the expressive role, primary socialisation, so girls have a positive role model. But boys reject feminine models of behaviour that express emotion and tenderness.
- Instead boys distance themselves by taking part in “compensatory, compulsory masculinity”, consisting of risk taking aggressive and anti social behaviour
- The absence of the father in the home (breadwinner) makes socialisation more difficult for boys

A.K COHEN
The absence of an adult male role model in the home means that boys are more likely to join all male street gangs as a source of masculine identity, earning status through delinquent acts

Question 7

Feminist explanation for gender differences in crime

Answer 7

HEIDENSOHN
argued that women commit fewer crimes because patriarchal society imposes greater control over women, reducing their opportunities to offend
- HOME: In the home, daughters are subject to patriarchal control (Eg. can’t stay out late) this creates a bedroom culture, socialising girls at home instead of in public spaces
- SOCIETY: Females are controlled by their fear of sexual violence not to leave their house often
- WORK: The “glass ceiling” prevents women from rising up into power where they could commit white collar/ corporate crime