Gender and Crime

Boys Fighting Girls Fighting

Why are Females Ignored? Heidensohn: Male dominance of offenders – 80% of offenders are men Male dominance of sociology – majority of academics were male Vicarious identification – men study what interests them Sociological theorizing – theories are often gender blind Boring – Smart suggests that female crimes are traditionally boring

Are statistics valid? Pollack (1950): NO Females are shoplifters Crimes go unreported Prostitution is not seen as a crime Women’s roles allow them to get away with crimes such as child abuse and poisoning their relatives!

Criticisms of Pollack: Heidensohn Much of shoplifting is done by men not women Domestic servants have declined in popularity Numerous crimes are committed against prostitutes Women’s roles have changed as have sexual attitudes so it is unfair to suggest that women are used to hiding things

The Chivalry Thesis Pollack and numerous others suggest that females get away with crime due to chivalry The justice system is run mainly by men and they are therefore more likely to treat them with more leniency Campbell – females get away with more crimes, stats suggest a ratio of 1:86, whereas she found it was 1:1.33

The Chivalry Thesis Most laws are gender blind however: Women cannot be charged with rape or homosexuality Men cannot be charged with infanticide and prostitution

Evidence against the Thesis Box – stats are correct in terms of serious crimes Carlen - females are handed tougher sentences than males if they do not fulfill the traditional female role

Explanations 1.Biological – Moir and Jessel - violent crime can be linked to pre-menstrual tension. 2.Psychological – Eysenck - criminals are extroverts

Explanations 3.Sex-role – females opportunities are limited due to: Socialisation Social control Lack of opportunities Marginalised

Explanations 4.Liberation – Adler, females are becoming more masculine 5.Postmodernism – Smart, don’t look for societal explanations 6.Transgression – Smart, we need to look at individuals

Feminism and Crime Feminism Liberal – women need to be brought into the agenda as they have largely been ignored. New theories should Focus on males and females Socialist – crime can only be understood in terms of capitalism. We can only truly solve crime by removing capitalism Radical – need to examine crime through a female perspective. Research Should focus on fact that all males want to commit crimes against female Postmodern – very concerns of criminology are male concerns. Feminist Criminology should focus on why women are victims and what can be done to help them

Evaluation: Has there been a surge in female crime? Box (1995): Surge in female crime has not occurred, it is merely a moral panic This panic is designed to discredit feminism What is happening is that more and more females are becoming victims

Possible Questions Identify and explain two reasons why women appear to commit less crime than men (8 marks) Examine some of the reasons why females appear to commit less crimes than males (12 marks) Assess the reasons as to why sociological approaches disregard female involvement in crime and deviance. (40 Marks) Critically assess the feminist treatment of gender and crime (40 Marks)