gender

• the chivalry thesis

  pollacks "chivalry thesis" suggests the criminal justice system treats men & women differently

  he claims that this stems from gender role socialisation
• gender role socialisation

  the CJS is traditionally dominated by men who are raised to be "chivalrous" towards women

  this means that when faced with a female offender, male officers are more likely to treat them leniently
• what thesis does gender role socialisation link to?

  the chivalry thesis
• heidensohn

  in many domestic abuse cases, women choose not to report the majority of incidents to the police

  radical feminist heidensohn claims that the criminal justice system treats women very poorly when investigating claims of sexual assault or domestic violence
• what incidents do the majority of women not report to the police?

  domestic abuse cases
• gender norms

  heidensohn believes the CJS treats women poorly when investigating sexual assault because women are viewed to have deviated from stereotypical gender norms

  ie -> if they act in a sexually promiscuous way, they are not performing their expressive role
• sex role theory

  parsons suggests that women are less likely to be criminals due to their genetic characteristics & socialisation

  he argues the importance of the expressive leader in the primary socialisation of children

  suggests women have more to lose if they turn to criminal activity

  boys have less access to adult role models in the home & so are more likely to turn to all male gangs for a masculine identity
• patriarchal control

  heidensohn claims that women are more likely to conform to societies norms & values than men, & therefore tend to be restricted when it comes to criminal / deviant activity

  she claims because of PC, women are used to being controlled by men throughout their lives & thus do not have the same opportunity to commit crime
• the liberation thesis

  adler suggests that as female progression evolves, so will the opportunity for women to commit crime - greater self confidence & more opportunities

  as women become more prevalent in traditionally male spaces {employment} women will have more opportunity to commit crime {ie white collar crime}
• messerschmidt

  suggests that men constantly work at developing their masculinity, which is deemed to be an achievement in the eyes of other men

  thus men commit crime in order to show their masculinity & prove they are men

  hegemonic vs subordinate masculinity
• masculinity - messerschmidt

  claims masculinity is characterised by:

  • being paid for employment
  • the subordination of women
  • heterosexuality
  • being sexually active
• katz

  suggests that men commit crime to feel a thrill

  in most cases, katz claims that many crimes are committed out of boredom & that male criminals are seeking "thrills" at any opportunity
• katz 2

  he claims that different types of crimes bring different levels of thrill, depending on their severity

  ie -> shoplifting is a low-level crime & therefore only provides "sneaky thrills"
• types of crime committed by women

  • property offences {except burglary}
  • shoplifting
  • fraud {especially benefits}
  • prostitution
• types of crime committed by men

  • violent crime
  • assault
  • sexual offences
  • white collar crime
  • corporate crime
• prison stats

  by the age of 40, 9% of women have a criminal conviction

  by the age of 40, 32% of men have a criminal conviction
• the chivalry thesis - evaluation

  • there are now more women in the CJS which disregards the chivalry thesis
  • women may great treated more leniently as their crimes tend to be less serious
  • women face double deviancy in the CJS, especially when their crimes go against traditional gender norms
• double deviance theory

  the concept that women are treated more harshly than men for committing crime

  • first, for breaking social norms & expectations of how women should behave
  • secondly, for breaking the legal rule / law
• less detectable offences

  women tend to commit less detectable crimes than men {ie shoplifting & petty theft}

  even when men shoplift, they tend to select bigger, more detectable items than women
• sex role theory - evaluation

  walklate: makes a biological assumption about the roles of women & men

  it assumes that women are more nurturing due to childbearing & therefore find their role models in their mothers
• hediensohn - control theory evaluation

  patriarchal control can push people into crime rather than preventing it

  equal opportunities could be reducing patriarchal control
• class & gender deals

  *carlen

  class deal = material rewards for being in paid work which enable women to purchase consumer goods

  gender deal = conforming to traditional roles {wife, mother} & gains emotional rewards & male support

  not all women are able to access these rewards so they may turn to crime
• class & gender deals - evaluation

  the small sample in the original study makes it hard to generalise to all women

  suggests that women are influenced by external factors which under plays the role of free will
• control theory - heidensohn

  women commit less crime than men due to the amount of patriarchal control they are subjected to

  this control is:

  • at home
  • workplace
  • public areas

  which means that women have less opportunities to commit crime
• liberation thesis - evaluation

  • crime rates in women started growing in the 1950's before the liberation movement
  • a majority of female criminals are working class so less likely to be influenced by the liberation movement
  • chesney-lind: women branching into male crimes is linked to female crimes
• feminisation of poverty

  women are more likely to be living under the poverty line

  can force them into criminal activity to make ends meet
• feminisation of poverty - evaluation

  • not all women who live below the poverty line turn to crime to support their families
  • doesn't explain non-utilitarian crime
• masculinity theory - evaluation

  could be considered a description of offenders rather than an explanation

  not all men commit crime to accomplish masculinity

  too far reaching
• labelling theory

  men are often stereotypes as being more violent than women

  can lead to a self-sulfilling prophecy on how they should behave

  + men are labelled as providers for the family & may turn to crime in order to achieve this
• labelling theory - evaluation

  not all men are criminal

  rise of the symmetrical family & women working means that men are no longer considered the sole provider for family
• opportunity

  men have more opportunity to commit crime - both blue collar & white collar

  men are more likely to be in situations that can lead to violent action & have access to commit white collar crime
• opportunity - evaluation

  it doesn't explain why men commit the crimes they do

  not all men commit crime