Gender + crime

• Main statistics

  • Females make up 23% of those given court disposals, 18% of arrests, 5% of prison population
  • Most female defendants go through the magistrates court as their offences are not serious enough for the crown court
  • Main offence group in female convictions fall into theft
• Why women commit less crime + men commit more - main theories

  • Biological theories - men have more testosterone, linked to aggression
  • Sex role theory - norms + values linked with traditional gender roles
  • Control theory - women more controlled so lack opportunities to commit crime
  • Chivalry thesis - actual rates of male + female offending are similar but women less likely to be labelled as criminals
• Chivalry thesis

  • Due to perceived vulnerability as victims of male violence, female criminals are treated differently by the CJS
  • Police, judges + juries more likely to treat female offenders with leniency
  • Evidence against - Heidensohn looked at 35 countries + found no evidence that female offenders were treated more lightly
• Sex role theory - Women

  • Parsons - As females carry out the expressive role, girls grew up to internalise values of empathy + care which reduces likelihood of committing a crime
  • Traditional female roles means women are busier than men - dual burden, triple shift - less time to commit crime
  • Bonds of attachment - women more attached to society as they keep in touch with relatives + their kids parents families
• Sex role theory - Men

  • Sutherland - boys taught to be rough so more likely to become delinquent
  • Parsons - masculinity is internalised in adolescence so boys engage in more delinquent acts than girls
  • Cloward + Ohlin - in gangs, young members learn from older males that traits like toughness are needed for a strong masculine reputation
  • Connell - Crime is used as a resource when other resources aren't available for accomplishing masculinity
• Gender bias in CJS

  • Smart - women are victims of a sexist CJS which fails to prosecute male criminals responsible for DV + rape
  • Female criminologists - reporting rates for DV or rape are low + taken less seriously
  • In rape cases, character of female victims are put on trial - if a women isn't a virgin or wearing provocative clothing she's accused of 'asking for it'
• The Liberationist Perspective - explaining increasing female crime in later half of 20th century

  • Adler - found cross-national correlation between women's economic freedoms + their crime levels
  • Increased economic opportunities for women lead to an increase in female crime rate
• Heidensohn - control theory

  • In the domestic sphere - women controlled by DV, girls have stricter curfews
  • Women controlled in public - fear of rape, less likely to go to risky areas, less likely to go out at night alone
  • Control at work - less likely to have higher responsibility positions, engaged in jobs where crime is less possible