Why do sociologists argue female crime is ignored in their subject?
(Heidensohn)
- male dominance of offenders
- male dominance in sociology
- vicarious identification (what interests males is studied & applied to crime e.g lives of marginal or exciting but this was off limits to females in the past)
- sociological theories often cannot be applied to females
(Smart)
- most crimes committed by females are boring and trivial in comparison
What general trends about gender and crime are shown in statistics?
+ what might explain why females are underrepresented throughout the CJS?
- men make up 96% of prisoners
- women are less likely to be sentenced & go to prison
- men commit more serious and violent crimes than women
- 54% of female homicide victims (where suspect was known) were killed by their partner or ex-partner
+ more of them are first time offenders
+ women serve shorter sentences
What is Pollack’s Chivalry Theory?
Statistics seriously underestimate the extent of female criminality
- women commit most shoplifting offences & these are less likely to be caught
- many unreported crimes are committed by female domestic servants
- women’s roles give them opportunity to commit crimes
- law enforcement are usually men and they are more likely to show leniency to women
- women are better at hiding crime due to their biological makeup (hide pain & fake pleasure)
- women don’t fit police stereotypes so are less likely to be stopped & arrested
How does Hiedensohn criticise Pollack?
+ what evidence is there that official stats are not true to reality?
- men commit much of shoplifting
- number of female domestic servants has dropped significantly
- women no longer have to hide things such as period pain
+ women cannot be charged with rape or homosexuality
+ men cannot be charged with infanticide
What do Kalven and Zaesel argue about chivalry and crime?
+ sociological studies to support this
Chivalry encourages juries and judges to be more lenient to females
+ (Campbell) female suspects are more likely to be cautioned when men are charged for the same crime- urban girls study
+ females are committing the same amount but getting away with more
+ (Allan) judges reluctant to separate mothers from their children (1/3 less likely to be sent to prison)
+ (Farrington and West) found that 1.33 offences were committed by men for every 1 offence committed by females but stats suggested this was 8.66
What evidence is there against Chivalry Theory?
+ evidence supporting it
1) (Box) when it comes to serious crimes stats are fairly accurate when compared with self-reports
2) (Heidensohn) double standards of CJS are against women
- more likely to be punished when they deviate from their gender norms
3) (Carlen) women sentenced in terms of being seen as wives and mothers not the seriousness of their crime e.g Kathleen Folbigg
+ there has been an increase in female crime and convictions
Criticisms of Chivalry Theory
- ignores class and ethnicity
- women are more likely victims than offenders
- self-reports often show men admit to more crime than women
- CJS is patriarchal and often blames women e.g in rape cases
What is Functionalist Sex-Role Theory?
Suggests that females are less likely to commit crimes than males because their opportunities are limited:
1) Socialisation
- (Feminists) values females are brought up with e.g care and nurture does not lead to crime unlike boys’ values e.g aggression
- (Parsons) instrumental and expressive role means men are expected to earn money & discipline
2) Role Models (Cohen)
- boys need a male role model and without this they are more likely to turn to all-male street gangs (link to status frustration)
- New Right supports this
Criticisms of Functionalist Sex-Role Theory
(Walklate) attacks Parson’s fixed biological gender roles, focus more on how women are controlled by patriarchy
Too deterministic
There are other explanations for gender differences in crime:
- education e.g National Curriculum
- generalising & stereotyping
- non-gendered toys
- many women work & are strong role models
What is Heidensohn’s Patriarchal Control Theory?
+ how are women controlled in home, public and work?
Women are generally conformists due to the control imposed on their lives and their limited opportunities for crime
+ HOME: domestic abuse, traditional gender roles, bedroom culture
+ PUBLIC: harsher punishments if female breaks gender roles, certain values expected, media & male gaze control attitudes and behaviour
+ WORK: pay gap, glass ceiling prevents big WCC opportunities, having kids hinders women’s progression
Evaluation of Control Theory
+ highlights role of patriarchy
- poverty & marginalisation can push some women into utilitarian crime
What is Carlen’s study of class and gender deals?
- what are the two gender deals which working class women are promised?
+ what are the main reasons for their criminal behaviour?
- studied WC women convicted of a range of crimes
- uses Hirschi’s Control Theory
- found many of the women had always been in poverty or were abused
- rewards become unattainable and crime becomes a rational alternative
- they saw crime as their only route to a decent standard of living with nothing to lose but everything to gain mindset
Class Deal: work offers material rewards
Gender deal: patriarchal ideology promises material/emotional rewards from role as wife/mother
+ poverty
+ being brought up in care/oppressive family
+ addiction & desire for excitement also contributed
+ jail worsens this
Evaluation of Patriarchal Control Theory
+ recognises the impact of the patriarchy
+ explains why some women are less likely to conform
- accused of seeing women’s behaviour as determined by external forces
- ignore free will and choice
- online & WCC can be committed from home
- too deterministic
What is Adler’s Liberation Thesis?
+ how does this work?
+ how does Denscombe’s study support this?
Suggests that female liberation has led to a new type of female criminal
- females are taking on more masculine roles and are therefore more likely to find themselves involved in more masculine crimes
+ feminist movement, Equal Pay Act, divorce laws, contraception, benefits etc have liberated women
+ this gives them more opportunities to commit crime e.g Elizabeth Holmes
+ (Denscombe) girls are more likely to join a gang today but their role is often limited to sexual exploitation
Evaluation of Liberation Thesis
+ supported by rising female crime
+ growth of girl gangs
- crime has not equalled out between genders
- women do not have equal opportunities (glass ceiling)
- WC women are most likely to commit crime but have not been liberated
- female crime began to rise in the 1950s before liberation
What evidence is there that women are more violent today?
+ what evidence is there that women have not changed?
Number of females arrested for violence rose by 17% per year
+ net widening
+ policy of mandatory arrests for DV
+ prosecuting females for more low-level violent crimes
+ victim surveys do not support this
+ increase in violence against women
How do sociologists argue women are criminalised?
- (Heidensohn) punished harshly for deviating from gender norms
- (Walklate) in rape trials, women have to prove their respectability to be believed
- (Chesney-Lind) both partners are now arrested in many domestic disputes despite women often being victims
- (Box) moral panic of rising female criminality to discredit feminism
- (Steffenmeiser) media influences harsher sentences leading to SFP & further deviance
Examples of high-profile female criminals
- Kathleen Folbigg (wrongfully convicted of killing her four infant children)
- Ghislaine Maxwell
- Lucy Letby
- Elizabeth Holmes (blood testing scam & was sent to prison for 11 years)
- Griselda Blanco (drug lord)
- Rose West (serial killer sentenced to life)
- Myra Hindley (Moors Murders)
What are statistics about gender and victimisation?
- about 70% of homicide victims are male
- women are less likely to be victims of violence than men
- more women than men were victims of intimate violence
- only 8% of women reported serious sexual assault to the police
- women are more likely to be victims of stalking, DV & sexual violence
What is the Postmodernist perspective on gender and crime?
Society is fragmented so there is no one explanation as to why people commit crime
- globalisation has declined manual jobs
- rise of service sector & nocturnal economy has created opportunities
(Smart)
- we would be looking at each act as unique & dealing with criminals on a local and individual level
- transgression away from traditional malestream criminology
What are the different Feminist perspectives on gender and crime?
LIBERAL
+ women have been largely ignored
+ policy needs to change
MARXIST
+ crime can only be understood through capitalism
+ we can only solve crime by removing this
RADICAL
+ we need to take a female perspective
+ we must focus on the fact that all males want to commit crimes against women
POSTMODERN
+ criminology is too male focused
+ Feminist criminology should focus on why women are victims & what can be done to help them
What does Messerschmidt argue about masculinity and crime?
Rejects both biological and sex role theory
- hegemonic masculinity (dominant type) involves dominance over women
- subordinate masculinities are homosexual masculinity and African American masculinity
What does Messerschmidt argue different groups of boys and crime?
MC white boys:
+ access to educational/sporting success
+ experience school as emasculating
+ display repressed characteristics outside of school e.g vandalism
+ as men they commit WCC
WC white boys:
+ less chance of academic success
+ experience school as emasculating
+ show aggression/violence to those who fail to match their perception of masculinity
+ use oppositional masculinity in and out of school
Ethnic minority boys:
+ experience more issues w employment
+ less material status & less likely breadwinners
+ violence & crime express masculinity over victims
+ gangs & turf wars are masculine control
What does Winlow argue about postmodern society and masculine crime?
- globalisation has led to shifts in society and the loss of many manual jobs which WC men used to express masculinity
- expansion of service sector has provided legal employment, lucrative criminal opportunities & way to express masculinity
- e.g bouncers have paid work and access to illegal ventures e.g drugs as well as opportunity to use violence
