NATURE & EXTENT OF WOMEN’S AND GIRL’S CRIMES Flashcards
1
Q
what Crimes Committed by
Canadian Women?
A
• Female offenders commit ‘feminine
offenses’
• Number of crimes committed by
women are extremely low in comparison to men
2
Q
murder fax
A
- Rare for both genders
- Men kill other men/strangers
- Of women who kill:
- 46% kill husbands or common law partners
- 22% kill one of their children
3
Q
explain intimate abuse
A
• Most women who kill do so after suffering physical/emotional abuse at hands of partner • Most women who kill do so after suffering physical/emotional abuse at hands of partner • ‘Self help’ homicides: kill the men who sexually assault and beat them • Case: R. V. Lavallee
4
Q
explain assault
A
Self-defense
• Police statistics
• Dark Figure of Crime:
5
Q
explain robbery
A
Male to female ratio has declined since
mid 70s
• Women play secondary, marginal role
6
Q
explain drugs
A
• Less likely than males to use illegal substances, but increased use of legal drugs (alcohol, prescriptions) • Less likely than males to use illegal substances, but increased use of legal drug ( ,p p ) s (alcohol, prescriptions) • Men do drugs for excitement, pleasure or peer pressure • Women do drugs as a means of selfmedication
7
Q
explain prostitution
A
Ratio of 4:1 (primarily a female occupation) • Women more likely than men to be charged for prostitution related offences (street prostitution) • “Qualified Choice” - ? • Means of survival in ‘gender’ stratified society
8
Q
explain property crime
A
Women more likely to be charged for theft and fraud • Least serious offences (under $5000) • Males - ‘Doing masculinity’ • Females – ‘Survival crime’ • Societal response
9
Q
explain whitecollar crime
A
Old-boys network • Women = Proletariat - underrepresented in the ‘crimes of the powerful’ • ‘Pink-collar ghetto’ – no opportunity
10
Q
how are women criminalized?:
A
Women most likely convicted of property crimes • Violent crime is most often common assault • Female offenders are most likely economically marginalized • Overrepresentation of aboriginal women and non-white women
11
Q
explain crime increase
A
297% increase in the proportion of women charged with crime BUT… This is relative to the proportion of all men charged with crimes Lower base numbers = % increase greater
12
Q
explain how women are impoverished
A
Segmented Labour Market - 63-85% of male earnings • 7 out of 10 work part time • 18% - Low income • 84% of lone parent families headed by females • 53% below LICO
13
Q
rates of racialized women?
A
• Aboriginal people account for 3% of entire population • Aboriginal women – 35% of females admitted to sentenced custody (2009). • Black women – 2% of population, but 7x more likely to be incarcerated than white women • Resist marginalization • Assert independence • Avoid state-enforced dependency • Most crime is ‘poverty’ crime
