5.2 Explaining Female Crime

• 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