Gender patterns in crime Flashcards
gender patterns, reasons for gender patterns
Which gender commits the most crime?
Most crime is committed by males
What proportion of convicted offenders are male?
⅘ convicted offenders are male
What type of offences do a higher proportion of females get convicted for?
Property offences
What type of offences do a higher proportion of males get convicted for?
Violent or sexual offences
Who argues that gender difference is the most important feature of reported crime?
Heidensohn and Silverstri
2 reasons why statistics underestimate the extent of female crime?
- typical female crimes are less likely to be noticed
- women are less likely to be prosecuted
What is the chivalry thesis?
Most criminal agents are men who are socialised to act chivalrous towards women
The chivalry thesis suggests that societal norms lead men to protect women, influencing criminal justice outcomes.
According to Pollock, how do men typically behave towards women?
Men are protective towards women
This protection can affect how female offenders are treated in the criminal justice system.
What do self-report studies suggest about female offenders?
Female offenders are treated more leniently
The ratio is 1:11 for female offenders cautioned or prosecuted vs. 1:7 for males.
What did Graham and Bowling find regarding offending rates between genders?
Males are more likely to offend, but the difference is smaller than the statistics showed
This suggests that the perception of male criminality may be exaggerated.
According to Hood, how does the likelihood of women being jailed compare to men in similar cases?
Women are ⅓ less likely to be jailed in similar cases
This statistic highlights potential gender biases in sentencing.
Who is the main sociologist for the chivalry thesis?
Pollock
3 pieces of evidence in support of the chivalry thesis
1.Self report studies suggest that female offenders are treated more leniently - 1:11 female offenders had been cautioned or prosecuted vs 1:7 males
2.Graham and Bowling - males are more likely to offend but the difference is smaller than the statistics showed
3.Hood - women are ⅓ less likely to be jailed in similar cases
who found that women are less likely to be jailed?
Hood
who found that the gender differences in offending is smaller than what statistics suggest?
Graham and Bowling
3 pieces of evidence against the chivalry thesis
- Farrington and Morris - women are not sentenced more leniently
- self report studies show that men commit more crime
- Buckle and Farrington - there are more male shoplifters which suggests that women are more likely to be prosecuted than males
Is there a bias against women in the CJS?
Yes, there is a bias against women in the CJS
What percentage of judges were women?
25% of judges were women
This indicates a significant gender imbalance in the judiciary.
According to Heidensohn, how do courts treat females?
Courts treat females more harshly and employ double standards
This suggests systemic discrimination in judicial proceedings.
What did Sharpe find regarding girls and sexual activity?
Girls are more likely to be referred for support when they are sexually active
This points to a gendered approach in handling cases of sexual activity.
What does Stewart argue about women who don’t conform to societal standards?
Women who don’t conform to standards of heterosexuality and motherhood are punished more harshly
This highlights the intersection of gender norms and legal consequences.
According to Carlen, what influences the jailing of women?
Women are jailed less for the seriousness of their crimes and more according to the courts’ assessment of them as wives
This suggests that societal roles impact judicial outcomes.
What did Judge Wild express about rape victims?
Judge Wild blamed rape victims rather than the rapists
This reflects a troubling attitude towards victims in the judicial system.
evidence suggesting that there is a bias against women in the CJS
25% of judges were women
Heidensohn - courts treat females more harshly and employ double standards
Sharpe - girls are more likely to be referred for support when they are sexually active
Stewart - women who don’t conform to standards of heterosexuality and motherhood are punished more harshly
Carlen - women are jailed less for the seriousness of their crimes and more according to the courts assessment of them as wives
Judge Wild blamed rape victims rather than the rapists
Functionalist sex role theory
- Differences in socialisation affect behaviour
- Parsons - girls have access to a feminine role model but boys reject such role models by engaging in compensatory compulsory masculinity through aggressive anti-social behaviour
- Cohen - socialisation may be harder for boys as a lack of role models could lead them to street gangs for masculine identity
- New Right theorists - absence of male role models turns boys to gangs for a sense of identity and status
What does Parsons say about the functionalist sex role theory?
girls have access to a feminine role model but boys reject such role models by engaging in compensatory compulsory masculinity through aggressive anti-social behaviour
What does Cohen say about the functionalist sex role theory?
socialisation may be harder for boys as a lack of role models could lead them to street gangs for masculine identity
What does the New Right say about functionalist sex role theory?
absence of male role models turns boys to gangs for a sense of identity and status
Who criticises the functionalist sex role theory? How?
Walklate questions the assumption that women are best suited to the expressive role. This theory is based on biological assumptions about sex differences
What is patriarchal control theory? Who is the key sociologist?
Heidensohn - women have fewer opportunities to commit crime due to patriarchal controls
In which 4 places do women experience patriarchal control?
Home, public, school, work
How do women experience control within the home?
women’s domestic role can restrict women’s time and movement. Dobash and Dobash found that control at home is imposed through violent attacks and men could exercise control through their positions as breadwinners. Daughters are less likely to be allowed to stay out late and more likely to be made to do chores which limits opportunities for crime
Who talked about domestic abuse?
Dobash and Dobash
Who talked about control in pubic?
Sue Less
Examples of control in public
women are controlled in public by fearing men and sexual violence:
- 54% women avoid going out after dark vs 14% men
- Sensationalist media coverage fuels fear
- Fear of not being seen as respectable - avoid a ‘reputation’ by dressing respectfully and avoid going to pubs
How do women experience control at school?
sexualised verbal abuse from boys and labelling of girls as ‘slags’
How do women experience control at work?
sexual harassment from male supervisors and the glass ceiling limits a women’s power within a company which prevents them from being involved in corporate crime
2 theories explaining why women don’t commit crime
Functionalist sex role theory / Patriarchal control theory
who is the key sociologist for class and gender deals
Carlen
explain class and gender deals
Carlen found that the failure of patriarchal society to deliver promised deals removes controls stopping women offending. poverty, being brought up in care and oppressive family life were key to female criminality
what theory is class and gender deals based on?
Hirschi control’s theory
What are class deals according to Carlen?
women who work are promised that they will receive material rewards - decent standards of living and leisure opportunities but 2/3 of women in her study had always been in poverty. many experienced humiliation in trying to claim benefits and many turned to crime to escape poverty
Explain Carlen’s gender deals
patriarchal ideology promises women material and emotional rewards for following conventional domestic gender norms but many women have experienced physical and/or sexual abuse due to men. over half of the women in her study had spent time in care
who is the key sociologist for the liberation thesis?
Alder
2 reasons why women do commit crime
Class and Gender Deals
Liberation Thesis
Explain liberation thesis with examples
Alder - as patriarchal society controls women, a society that is becoming less patriarchal will have higher crime rates amongst women.
- Women are adopting traditionally male role of legitimate activity and illegitimate activity - increased participation in armed robbery
- More women in senior positions at work leads to the rise of women in white collar crime e.g embezzlement
- Growth of girl gangs
- Females are as likely as males to take part in risk taking behaviour
- Girls are increasingly wanting to be in control and ‘look hard’
Counterargument against liberation thesis
- Female crime rate was rising in the 1950s before the women’s liberation movement in the late 1960s
- Chesney-Lind - poor women are less likely to experience the positive impact of women’s liberation / women involved in ‘male crimes’ such as drugs normally did so due to links to prostitution
- Laider and Hunt - female gang members confirmed to conventional gender roles
who said that poor women are less likely to experience the positive impact of women’s liberation
Chesney-Lind
who argued that female gang members conformed to conventional gender roles
Laider and Hunt
Who found that there was a rise in arrests due to the CJS ‘widening the net’ rather than a rise in female crime?
Steffensmeier and Schwartz
Who found that there is a growing trend towards prosecuting females for low level physical alterations?
Sharpe and Gelsthrope
Are women being criminalised?
- Steffensmeier and Schwartz - rise in arrests was due to CJS ‘widening the net’ rather than a rise in female crime
- Chesney-Lind - mandatory arrests for domestic violence has led to a steep rise in female violence statistics as both partners may be arrested when a couple fights
- Sharpe and Gelsthrope - growing trend towards prosecuting females for low level physical alterations
- Jock Young - defining deviance up
- Worral - previously this behaviour was seen as a welfare issue but now it is seen as a crime
Is there a moral panic about girls? (3 points, 4 sociologists)
- Burman and Batchelor - media portrayals of women as drunk and disorderly, out of control
- Sharpe professionals such as judges are influenced by media portrayals of ‘ladettes’
- Steffensmeier - stereotypes such as ‘ladettes’ was affecting sentencing decisions
Are men or women more likely to know their killer?
Women
what crimes are women more likely to be victims of?
sexual assault, domestic violence, stalking
what % of women who experienced serious sexual assault reported it to the police?
8%
who said that women are at a greater risk?
Lea and Young
Two reasons why men commit crime
Masculinity and postmodernity
Who is the key thinker for the masculinity explanation for male crime?
Messerschmidt
How does masculinity lead to male crime?
Hegemonic is the dominant masculinity but when men fail to accomplish it, they have subordinated masculinity which encourages them to use crime to accomplish masculinity
3 criticisms of Messerschmidt’s masculinity explanation
- Masculinity could just be a description of male offenders. This argument is circular: masculinity explains male crimes because they are crimes committed by men
- Doesn’t explain why all men don’t use crime to accomplish masculinity
- Overworks the concept of masculinity
Who is the key thinker in the postmodernity explanation for male crime?
Winlow
What is the postmodernity explanation for male crime?
Postmodernity and globalisation has led to a shift from traditional manual jobs through which men could express their masculinity. Job opportunities in the service sector have risen
Bouncers in Sunderland - absence of a professional criminal culture meant that there was little opportunity for a career in organised crime.
Using bodily capital and violence to display masculinity and as a commodity to earn a living has emerged in the night time economy
what group does Winlow focus on?
Bouncers in Sunderland
Why is Winlow’s postmodernity explanation important?
shows how the expression of masculinity changes with the move from a modern industrial society to a postmodern de-industrialised one which has opened up new criminal opportunities
