Topic 5 - Gender, Crime and Justice

Question 1

Who observed gender differences as being the most significant feature of recorded crime?

Answer 1

Heidensohn and Silvestri

Question 2

What are some of the gender differences shown by official statistics?

Answer 2

• a higher proportion of female than male offenders are convicted of property offences
• a higher proportion of male than female offenders are convicted of violence or sexual offences
• males are more likely to be repeat offenders, to have longer criminal careers and to commit more serious crimes.

Question 3

do women commit more crime?

Answer 3

sociologists and criminologists argue that the statistics underestimate the amount of female as against male offending.

Question 4

what are the two arguments put forward in support of the view that crime underestimates the amount of female offenders?

Answer 4

• typically ‘female’ crimes are less likely to be reported, e.g = shoplifting is less likely to be noticed or reported than the violent or sexual crimes more often committed by men.
• even if reported, women are less likely to be prosecuted, or if prosecuted, more likely ro be let off relatively lightly.

Question 5

what is the chivalry thesis?

Answer 5

the thesis argues that most criminal justice agents such as police officers or judges are men, and men are socialised to act in a ‘chivalrous’ way towards women.

Question 6

which theorist is associated with the chivalry thesis and what do they argue?

Answer 6

Pollak = argues that men have a protective attitude towards women and that “men hate to accuse women and thus send them to their punishment”

Question 7

what are the criminal justice system like when it comes to gender

Answer 7

the criminal justice system is more lenient with women and so their crimes are less likely to end up in the official statistics. this in turn gives an invalid picture that exaggerates the extent of gender differences in rates of offending.

Question 8

what is a self-report study and what do es it suggest

Answer 8

individuals are asked about what crimes they have committed - suggests that female offenders are treated more leniently.

Question 9

who provides an example of self study reports

Answer 9

graham and bowling = research on over 1,000 14-25 year olds found that although males were more likely to offend, the difference was smaller than that recorded in the official statistics.

Question 10

which other theorist provided another example of evidence of self-report studies

Answer 10

Flood Page et al = while only one in 11 female self-reported offenders had been cautioned or prosecuted, the figure for males was over 1 in 7 self-reported offenders.

Question 11

what do official statistics provide and what are the examples given

Answer 11

court statistics appear to give some support to the chivalry thesis. for example =
- females are more likely than males to be released on bail rather than remanded in custody
- women on average receive shorter prison sentences

Question 12

what did Hood find in his study of defendants

Answer 12

that women were about one third less likely to be jailed in similar cases

Question 13

which theorists provide evidence against the chivalry thesis and what did they found

Answer 13

Farrington and Morris = study of sentencing of offences of theft in a magistrates’ court found that women were not sentenced more leniently for comparable offences

Question 14

which theorist studied American and British self-report studies and what did they find

Answer 14

box = concluded that women who committed serious offences are not treated more favourably than men.

Question 15

which theorists studies shoplifting

Answer 15

Buckle and Farrington = observational study of shoplifting in a department store witnessed twice as many male shoplifters than females.

this small-scale study suggests that women shoplifters may be more likely to be prosecuted than their male counterparts.

Question 16

what do self-report studies show when it comes to evidence against the chivalry thesis and what example did they use

Answer 16

provide evidence that males commit more offences. for example, young men are more likely than females to report binge drinking, taking illegal drugs or engaging in disorderly behaviour.

Question 17

what theorist is linked to self-report studies

Answer 17

Hales et al = found that they were significantly more likely to have been offenders in all major offence categories. other studies suggest that the gender gap increases as the offences become more serious.

Question 18

what is a criticism of the chivalry this

Answer 18

the under-reporting of male crimes against women = the chivalry thesis ignores the fact that many male crimes do mot get reported.

Question 19

provide a theorist and their example regarding criticising the chivalry thesis and the under-reporting of male crimes against women

Answer 19

Yearnshire found that women typically suffer 35 assaults before reporting domestic violence.

Question 20

what other types of crime are under-represented in self-report studies and victim surveys?

Answer 20

crimes of the powerful and these are also more likely to be committed by men by virtue of their more privileged position in the job market.

Question 21

what may be the reason women appear to be treated more leniently?

Answer 21

may simply be because their offences are less serious

Question 22

why are women more likely to recieve a caution instead of going to court?

Answer 22

because women offenders seem more likely to show remorse

Question 23

what does Heidensohn argue regarding bias against women

Answer 23

that the courts treat females more harshly than males when they deviate from gender norms.

Question 24

what are some examples of how courts treat females more harshly than males when they deviate

Answer 24

• double standards = courts punish girls but not boys for premature or promiscuous sexual activity. Sharpe found that 7/11 girls were referred for support as they were sexually active, but none out of 44 boys.
• Stewart found that magistrates’ perceptions of female defendants’ characters were based on stereotypical gender roles.

Question 25

what does Carlen argue regarding custodial sentences

Answer 25

that when women are jailed, it is less for ‘the seriousness of their crimes and more according to the courts’ assessment of them as wives, mothers and daughter.’

carlen found that Scottish judges were much more likely to jail women whose children were in care than women who they saw as good mothers

Question 26

what do feminists argue regarding double standards and provide examples

Answer 26

feminists argue that these double standards exist because the criminal justice system is patriarchal. the most evident is the way the system deals with rape cases. there have been numerous cases of male judges making sexist, victim blaming remarks.

Question 27

what does Walklate argues regarding rape cases

Answer 27

that is not the defendant who is on trial but the victim, since he has to prove her respectability in order to have her evidence accepted.

Question 28

what does Alder say on women who are deemed to lack responsibility?

Answer 28

such as single parents, punks and peace protestors find it difficult to have their testimony believed by the courts.