7) gender + crime.

• Gender socialisation in the family

  • Males more likely to be socialised into characteristics that potentially made them excellent criminals such as competition, aggression, risk‐taking and extrovert behaviour
  • Toys, games and activities that boys are directed towards at an early age facilitate the development of these characteristics
  • These qualities are generally more pronounced amongst the criminal population
  • Males are less tightly controlled by the family and have the freedom to go out and about independently and therefore have the opportunity to commit crime
  • Sense of boredom and frustration amongst young males at the lack of opportunities they have in society
• Women do indeed commit fewer crimes than men, largely because of their own socialisation and also the lack of opportunity because of the way in which they are controlled
• Women's control and opportunities

  • Women are controlled within the home as they take primary responsibility for childcare which prevented them from committing crimes in the public space
  • Women were more likely to be victims of crime within the home as they suffered higher levels of domestic abuse
  • Women were also more likely to be controlled in the public space as they feared male violence against them
  • This means they were less likely to engage in crimes such as violence, property crime and significantly less likely to be the perpetrators of sexual crimes
• Male criminality


  • Males may tend towards criminality because they have been socialised into assuming the instrumental role which means they are responsible for providing financially for their families
  • In situations where they are unable to do so using legitimate opportunity structures they turn to illegitimate opportunity structures such as criminal subcultures, conflict subcultures or retreatist subcultures in a bid to gain prestige and status and potentially material gain to support their families
  • The lack of opportunity towards males tends to be a particular problem amongst the working classes as there has been a significant decline in manufacturing industries and the working world has become more feminised
  • This means many of them turn to crime as they are experiencing a sense of status frustration, which Marxist sociologists believe emerges from the unequal nature of society
• The rate of female criminality has been understated in sociological research, with many blaming a 'chivalry' thesis for the reason why men appear to be more criminal or commit property offences (except burglary)
• These types of crimes are less likely to be reported to the police and therefore are often dealt with internally by store security and so do not appear in the official crime statistics
• The criminal justice system is generally more lenient with women than men
• Females are also more likely than men to be regarded as weaker and also more central to the family, therefore a mother who has committed a crime is much less likely to receive a custodial sentence due to the impact it might have on the children
• There is, however, significant evidence against the chivalry thesis which suggests in fact that at times the criminal justice system can actually be biased against women – particularly those who do not conform to the gender stereotypes