gender and crime

• Trends in gender and crime - types of crime by women

  • property offences - except burglary
  • shoplifting
  • fraud
  • prostitution
• trends in gender and crime - types of crime by men

  • violent crime
  • assualt
  • sexual offences
  • white collar crime
  • corporate crime
• trends in gender and crime - prison statistics

  • by the age of 40 -> 9% of women have a conviction against 32% of men
• gender and crime - chivalry thesis

  POLLACK

  • it is not that women commit fewer crimes than men it is that they are less likely to be charged or convicted of the crime
  • due to the criminal justice system being made up mostly of men who are brought out to be chivalrous towards them
• gender and crime - chivalry thesis

  POLLACK - AO3

  • there are now more women in the criminal justice system which disregards the chivalry thesis
  • women may get treated more leniently as their crimes tend to be less serious
  • women face double deviancy in the criminal justice system especially when their crimes go against traditional gender norms
• reasons why women commit less crime than men

  • less detectable offences
  • sex role theory
  • control theory
  • class and gender deals
  • socialisation
• reasons why women commit less crime than men

  • Less detectable offences

  In general, women tend to commit less detectable crimes - shoplifting and petty theft

  When men shoplift - bigger more detectable items than women
• reasons why women commit less crime than men

  • sex role theory

  PARSONS - females commit less crime than men due to the socialisation that they receive as children and their access to adult role models

  Boys: less access to adult role models in the home so are more likely to turn to all male gangs for masculine identity
• reasons why women commit less crime than men

  • sex role theory AO3

  WALKLATE - makes a biological assumption about the roles of men and women

  women = nurturing due to childbearing - role models in their mothers
• reasons why women commit less crime than men

  • control theory

  HEIDENSOHN - women commit less crime than men due to the amount of patriarchal control women are subjected to - home, workplace and public arenas so women have less opportunities to commit crime
• reasons why women commit less crime than men

  • control theory AO3

  Patriarchal control can push people into crime rather than preventing it - equal opportunities could be reducing patriarchal control
• reasons why women commit less crime than men

  • class and 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 of wife and mother and gains emotional rewards

  -> not all women can access these rewards so they may turn to crime to gain rewards
• reasons why women commit less crime than men

  • class and gender deals AO3

  Sample in the original study small - hard to generalise to all women

  Suggests that women are influenced by external factors which under plays the role of free will
• reasons why women commit less crime than men

  • socialisation

  Women are socialised into being the 'guardians of domestic morality' and therefore risk more social exclusion than men if they commit crime

  Women face a double jeopardy of being condemned twice once for committing the crime and once for behaving in an unfeminine way
• reasons for increased female crime

  • liberation thesis
  • feminisation of poverty
• reasons why women commit less crime than men

  • liberation thesis

  ADLER - as women have become more liberated from patriarchal control there will be an increase in the levels of female crime as well as an increase in the seriousness of those crimes - greater self-confidence and assertiveness as well as greater opportunities
• reasons why women commit less crime than men

  • liberation thesis - AO3

  crime rates in women started growing in the 1950s before the liberation movement

  a majority of female criminals are working class so less likely to be influenced by liberation movement

  CHESNEY-LIND - women branching into male crimes is linked to female crimes
• reasons why women commit less crime than men

  • feminisation of poverty

  Women are more likely to be living under the poverty line which can force them into criminal activity to make ends meet
• reasons why women commit less crime than men

  • feminisation of poverty AO3

  Not all women who live below the poverty line turn to crime to support their family

  Doesn't explain non-utilitarian crime
• reasons for male crime rate

  • masculinity theory
  • labelling theory
  • opportunity
• reasons for male crime rate

  • masculinity theory

  MESSERSCHMIDT - men commit crime to show their masculinity and prove they are men

  he clarifies between hegemonic and subordinate masculinity
• reasons why women commit less crime than men

  • masculinity theory AO3

  Could be considered a description of offenders rather than an explanation - not all men commit crime to accomplish masculinity

  Too far reaching
• reasons why women commit less crime than men

  • labelling theory

  Men often stereotyped as being more violent than women which can lead to a self-fulfilling prophecy on how they should behave

  Men labelled as providers for the family and may turn to crime in order to do this
• reasons why women commit less crime than men

  • labelling theory AO3

  Not all men are criminal

  Rise of the symmetrical family and women in the world of work means that men are no longer seen as the sole providers for family
• reasons why women commit less crime than men

  • opportunity

  Men have more opportunity to commit crime both blue collar and white collar crime

  Men are more likely to be in situations that can lead to violent action and have access to commit white collar crime
• reasons why women commit less crime than men

  • opportunity AO3

  It doesn't explain why men commit the crimes they do - not all men