Women And Crime Flashcards
What does sex role theory suggest about women’s crime rates?
Women commit less crime due to gender socialization that encourages emotionality and risk aversion
Gender socialization leads women to adopt characteristics (like being less aggessive and tough) that deter criminal behavior.
What traditional roles do women occupy that affect their crime rates?
Wives, mothers, housewives, and workers
These roles can make women more fearful of crime and provide fewer opportunities to commit it.
According to Parsons, what are the roles of men and women in the traditional nuclear family?
Men take the instrumental role outside the home; women perform the expressive role in socializing children
lack of male role model leads compensatory compulsory masculinity
What is ‘compensatory compulsory masculinity’?
The behavior boys engage in to distance themselves from feminine models by adopting anti-social behavior
Why do boys turn to street gangs according to Cohen?
Lack of a role model leads them to seek male identity through toughness and aggression
Street gangs provide a source of status for boys.
What do Heidonsohn and Carlen suggest about women’s socialization and crime?
Women have more to lose if they turn to crime, as they are seen as ‘Guardians of Domestic Morality’
This expectation discourages women from engaging in criminal behavior.
What is the Chivalry Thesis?
The idea that the criminal justice system treats women more leniently than men
Anderson suggests CJS ‘paternalistic’ = stereotypes of women as helpless and naive.
What evidence supports the Chivalry Thesis regarding sentencing?
First female offenders about half as likely to receive immediate imprisonment compared to male counterparts
Ministry of Justice data shows 49% of women received cautions vs. 30% of men.
What do studies suggest about female offenders’ perceived threat level?
Female offenders are regarded as a less serious threat than male offenders
This leads to more informal approaches like cautions or warnings for women.
What did Pollak suggest about men and women in cjs?
Men raised to be respectul and courteous to women = leniency
Women more subversive due to biology = better at hiding crimes
How do men and women differ in their admissions of crime?
According to flood and page, women are more likely to admit their offences and show remorse, leading to leniency
What are the two deals Carlen identifies that encourage conformity in women?
Class deal and Gender deal
The class deal involves material rewards from paid employment; the gender deal involves emotional support from a male partner.
- most women conform and dont commit
What factors might lead some women to choose crime according to Carlen?
Poverty, unemployment, and abusive partners
make the benefits of crime more appealing.
How does patriarchal social control affect women’s opportunities to offend?
according to Heidensohn, patriarchal control limits women’s opportunities both in private and public spheres
Women face serious consequences for offending, reducing their chances of criminal behavior.
What is the effect of fear of violence on women’s public behavior?
Women may avoid going out alone at night due to fear of physical or sexual violence
link to public sphere
This fear can limit their opportunities for deviance.
How does workplace dynamics restrict women’s opportunities for deviance?
Women face sexual harassment and supervision by male bosses, limiting their ability to commit crimes
The glass ceiling further restricts advancement to positions with more opportunities for fraud.
What does Adler argue about changes in women’s offending behavior?
As patriarchal controls weaken, women adopt traditionally male behaviors in crime
This includes committing crimes that were previously male-dominated - violent and white collar
What is ‘Ladette culture’ according to Denscombe?
Females adopting male characteristics to assert identity, leading to risk-taking and violence
led to increased police action against girls involved in such behaviors.
What societal reaction has emerged concerning ‘Ladette culture’?
It has become a moral panic, with increased police action against girls
This reflects changing perceptions of female behavior in society.
