5.1 Gender & Crime

• What did Sharpe say about double standards?


  -Courts only punish girls for premature sexual activity

  -Can be put in care when they're never committed a crime due to this
• What do feminists think?

  The criminal justice system is biased against women
• What is a criticism of the chivalry thesis?

  Ignores male crimes against women e.g. sexual assault
• What did Farrington & Buckle say against the chivalry thesis?


  -Observational study of shoplifting

  -Witnessed 2x as many males shoplifting despite number in stats are more or less equal

  -Female shoplifters may be more likely to be prosecuted
• What did Hood find about women being jailed?


  They were 3x less likely than men to be jailed for similar cases
• What did Graham & Bowling find using their research?


  That even though males are more likely to offend, the differences are smaller than in statistics
• What supports the chivalry thesis?

  Self-report studies
• Who theorised the chivalry thesis?

  Pollak
• The chivalry thesis

  Most criminal justice agents are men, and men are socialised to act in a 'chivalrous' way towards women and refrain from arresting & convicting them
• What two reasons do sociologists give for why statistics underestimate the amount of female crime?

  -'Female' crimes less likely to be reported

  -Less likely to be prosecuted or given less punishment
• How many times more likely are men to be convicted of homicide than women?

  15 times
• Which gender is more likely to commit repeat offences?

  Men
• What offences are males & females more likely to commit?

  Males- Violence & sexual offences

  Females- Property offences