SOC - Feminism & Crime

Question 1

Heidenson

Answer 1

• Social control prevents women from offending.

- The few women who do offend are judged as doubly deviant

Question 2

Heidensohn Social Control

Answer 2

Women are socially controlled and this restricts them from committing crime. EG:
House wife role = too busy caring for children
Men usually bosses, no option for women to commit white collar crime
Women avoid pubic through fear of negative labelling.

Question 3

Heidensohn Doubly Deviant

Answer 3

when women do commit crime (which is less often than men due to social control… they are actually treated more harshly by the criminal justice system EG female criminal may be seen as a bad mother/wife as well as a criminal

Question 4

Pollack / Heidenson Evaluation

Answer 4

Heidensohn’s social control theory directly opposes the idea of ‘chivalry thesis’ put forward by sociologist, Pollak.

• the appearance of low levels of female crime was due to them being treated more leniently by the CJS. There is some evidence that this is actually the case, so Heidensohn’s double deviance theory may not be that relevant.

Question 5

Walby

Answer 5

• Crimes against women are caused by a combination of gender inequalities across all agents of society. There is a matrix of inequality that causes women to become victims.
• argues that sociologists need to address the issue that women are increasingly becoming victims of violence and sexual assault.
• Decline of sexual assault convictions helps support this

Question 6

Walby examples

Answer 6

• Education, focuses on telling girls to protect themselves rather than teaching males not to harass women
• Women on a low income struggle to leave abusive partners for financial reasons.
• Marital rape

Question 7

Walby evaluation

Answer 7

Critics might point to the significant advances in gender equality that have occurred in recent decades.

Question 8

Female committing crime

Answer 8

Archer
Adler
Vicky Price (Economist)

Question 9

Females victim to crime

Answer 9

Heidenson

Walby

Question 10

Archer

Answer 10

Riot Girls (girls in gangs). Archer used the media, police, and previous studies to conduct secondary study on girl gangs. Archer discovered that gang culture can be liberating for many young girls who feel marginalised in society. Girls in gangs may be considered to be “resisting established gender roles.”

Question 11

Archer Eval

Answer 11

Secondary research and its validity can be questioned

Question 12

Adler

Answer 12

• Women’s liberation has resulted in an increase in offenders as women adopted more male qualities in order to fulfil male societal responsibilities - just consider the emergence of the ‘ladette.’
• Heidensohn accepts the rise in female crime ,but says it is a result of female marginalisation

Question 13

Ladette

Answer 13

Phenomenon of the late 90s and 00s , where young women behaved in a boisterously assertive or crude manner and engages in heavy drinking sessions.