The Gendered experience of Young Women Troubles of Youth

Lecture Outline The Different Experiences of Transition Gender and Youth Offending –Empirical considerations –Theoretical Explanations Doing Gender –Girl Gangs – myths and realities –“Troublesome Girls”

Transition Characterised by senses of uncertainty, and individualisation –Timing of transitional events changing –Identification with structural position (class, ethnicity and gender) reduced –Youth constructing their own biographies –Traditional gendered “Life plans” are increasingly questioned – the separation of the domestic and work sphere has lessened However, realities still limited by limited provision of affordable childcare, inflexible paid work, and division of domestic labour

Source: Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System (2003)

25% increase in girl’s offending Youth Justice Board Annual Workload Data Report –2003/04 – 47,538 crimes –2006/07 – 59,236 crimes Things to note –Still around a quarter of male crime –More girls around –Does not take into account repeat offending –Less tolerance for girls’ offending? “there is a change in behaviour, but it is not the dramatic change the figures might suggest” Dr Elaine Arnull

% Prevalence On Track Survey (2005) year olds % Prevalence Offending Crime and Justice Survey (2004) year olds BehaviourBoysGirlsBoysGirls Alcohol60%61% Smoking12%19% Drugs14%12%25.5%19.1%[1][1] Stealing29% 15%9% Receiving26%16%21%14% Attacked Someone19%8%18%9%[2][2] Carried a Knife15%4%6%2%[3][3] Vandalized Property33%32%4%2%[4][4] Official caution, warning or court conviction 17%8% Played Truant in previous 4 weeks 16%18% [1][1] The drugs question refers to "ever" in the On Track Survey, and "In the past 12 months" for the OCJS [2][2] In the OCJS, the questions refers to "Assault". [3][3] The "Carried a Knife" category refers to year olds in the OCJS [4][4] In the OCJS, the category refers to "Criminal Damage".

Questions posed for Criminological theory Why is there a gender-gap in offending patterns? Why does it seem to be reducing? Why would young women offend at all? Do women experience different levels of criminogenic conditions, or do they react to them differently?

Robert Agnew & General Strain Theory Limitations of classic Strain Theory –Fail to explain gender differences in offending –An assumption that women feel less economic strain Agnew’s –Gendered differences in sources of strain and adaptations –Women: relationships and purpose of life –Men: finance, work and status

Agnew & GST Why are men more delinquent? –Do men experience more strain? No –Do they experience different strains? Possibly: may be becoming more similar –Do men react differently to strain? Probably SituationReactionResponse Men Work/Status Strain Fairness of Outcome Anger; need to rectify; moral outrage Crime Women Personal Strain Fairness of Procedure Sadness; Depression; Fear; anxiety Self-destructive deviance eg. Eating disorders; drug use

GST - Evaluation Addresses weaknesses in traditional strain theory Addresses gender differences in a range of loci –Structural strain –Reactions to strain –Adaptations to Strain Possibly tendency to simplification of these gender differences

John Hagan: Power-Control Theory Different Work Patterns For Mothers and Fathers Different Levels of Gender authority in workplace and power in the home Different Parenting styles For boys and girls Gendered Patterns of Risk amongst boys and girls Different Patterns of Delinquency Changes over time have seen these gender distinctions reduce “Free-floating” patriarchal Ideologies of control

Hagan PCT Useful integration of Risk and Deviancy theory Can be used to explain a range of gendered risky behaviour, not just crime Prioritises the “fourfold family” and gendered parenting: revisions address this (somewhat)

Economic Marginalization? Argument: –Economic Marginalization is a important causal determinant of crime –Women have become increasingly economically marginalized – the “feminization of poverty” Higher number of female headed single parent households Reduction in welfare provision –The gender gap in offending is narrowing

One Specific Social Problem: Girl Gangs? The Feral Sex: The terrifying rise of violent girl gangs (Daily Mail, 16 May 2008) “The most recent Metropolitan Police estimate put the number of gangs in London at 174, of which at least three were exclusively girls.”

Troublesome Girls – Annie Hudson Girls judged by dual standards of behaviour, and gender –Girls expected to be ‘domesticated’ –Conduct, esp. sexual conduct viewed as ‘beyond control’ –Emotional reactions by girls problematized Attempts to enforce these standards, esp. in a care setting, can result in rejection by girls -> a further source of ‘deviance’

Girls in Gangs – A denial of Femininity? Laidler (2001) –Growing concern about girl gangs: the “masculinization” of girl gang members –Laidler (and others) see the ‘bad girl’ is seen as a particular form of femininity, combined with more ‘culturally appropriate’ forms: gender drift theory? –Status an important concern for girls and boys: not simply the masculinist sense of power and control, but ‘respectability’ a key concern for girls Strength; independence; maternal roles; community involvement; ethnic distinctiveness; avoidance of excessive drinking and drunkenness As with last week, we have to ask ourselves what constitutes a “gang” –here, the suggestion is that ‘girl gangs; constitute a relatively unproblematic grouping, but by referring to them as ‘gangs’ there is a danger of ‘stretching’ the term

Summary Young women are particularly affected by aspects of late-modernity Offending patterns show a reduction in the gender gap, but these findings need careful interpretation Some developments in “traditional” criminological theory attempt to explain the changes ‘Folk Devil’ of the feral girl gang member might be triggering the changed CJ response.