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Sociology
Crime
5.2 Explaining Female Crime
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Created by
Megan Kelly
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Cards (16)
What is a biological reason why women commit less crime?
Their bodies release more
oxytocin
(happier & reduces
stress
&
anger
)
Are women or men more likely to be victimised by an acquaintance?
Women
Moral panic about girls (
Sharpe
)
Professionals are influenced by media stereotypes of violent 'ladettes'.
Self
fulfilling
prophecy and
amplification
spiral occurs: girls misbehave more and are convicted more, leading to more negative media coverage
Net widening (
Steffensmeier
and
Schwartz
)
-No change in
women's
involvement in
violent
crime
-Rise in arrests is due to justices system
'widening
the
net'
& arresting women for less
serious
crimes
-Female police officers
don't
have chivalry bias
What is a criticism of Heidensohn & Carlen's two theories?
They see
women's
behaviour
determined
by
external
forces & underplay the importance of
free will
&
choice
Why did the inability to make these deals lead to crime?
-Crime is the only route to a decent
standard
of
living
-They have
nothing
to
lose
and everything to
gain
What has caused women not to make the gender deal?
Abuse by
fathers
or
partners
Spent time in care, broke the
bonds
with
family
members
Homelessness, unemployment, poverty
What has caused women not to make the class deal?
Poverty
Struggled to get
jobs
even with qualifications
Many women experienced
humiliation
when trying to claim benefits
Carlen's Class and Gender Deals
Class
deal- women working will be offered
material
rewards of a decent
standard
of living
Gender
deal- patriarchal ideology promises women
material
&
emotional
rewards from
family
life by conforming to the
norms
What is a criticism of the liberation thesis?
The
female
crime
rate began rising long before the women's liberation
movement
Liberation Thesis
(
Adler
)
-As women become
liberated
from
patriarchy
, their
crimes
will become as
frequent
&
serious
as
men's
-Commit more
'male'
crimes like
violence
& white-collar crime
What are 2 examples of how women are controlled & consequently commit less crime?
Childcare
&
housework
forces them to stay at
home
for long periods of time and reduces
opportunities
to commit crime
Fear
of crime in
public
reduces
opportunities
Control theory (
Heidensohn
)
Patriarchal control over
women
causes them to commit
less
crime e.g
childcare
&
housework
reduces
opportunities
to commit crime
How does
Walkgate
criticise the sex role theory?
It has
biological
assumptions
Sex Role Theory (
Parsons
)
-Men
socialised
to be
tough
and
agressive
, boys reject models of
femininity
and distance themselves from it which can lead to
delinquency
-Women socialised to be caring and responsible and follow female role models &
less
likely to commit crime
What are the 3 main explanations for gender differences in crime?
Sex
role
theory,
control
theory &
liberation
thesis