feminist view

• What is the main assumption that feminists believe?

  They believe that society is dominated by men and that women are suppressed by male domination. a.k.a patriarchy.
• How do crime patterns and trends link to feminist's viewpoint that society is patriarchal?

  - There are lower conviction rates for females and slightly less involvement in crimes of violence.

  - There is a higher rate of victimisation for personal crime such as domestic abuse.
• There are two possibilities to explain the crime patterns which show that women have a lower conviction rate and are more likely to be victimised than men. The first possibility is the 'chivalry thesis'. Explain this term.

  Chivalry thesis is based on the idea that men protect and treat women in a chivalrous way. The criminal justice system is thought to be mainly headed by men, therefore the criminal justice system treats women more leniently.
• Contrastingly, why does the Chivalry thesis suggest that women may commit more crime than they appear to?

  Women are thought to be accustomed to lying to men (Polak)

  Self report studies believe that men do commit more crime but have higher conviction rates because women are able to conceal evidence of their crime and are treated more leniently by justice systems.

  Notably, self report studies lack validity, this data must be treated with caution.
• Who introduced the idea of Chivalry thesis?

  Polak
• Name the 2 sociologists that support the chivalry thesis.

  Allen - women are given slightly more lenient sentences when convicted of motoring offences.

  
  

  Box - reviewed evidence from a range of studies in the UK and USA and found that women were more likely to be treated kindly.
• Why do feminists disagree with the chivalry thesis?

  They believe that the criminal justice is biased against women.

  Feminists say that the chivalry thesis is evidence of male-stream thinking because conviction rates are explained in terms of biology.

  E.g. Armstrong analysed a large sample of undergraduates and discovered that testosterone had a positive and statistically significant association with impulsive and violent criminal behaviour.

  Statistics show that 14 to 19 year old boys have the highest levels of testosterone which links to the idea that violent crime is testosterone driven and 16-24 year olds commit the highest rates of crime. This suggests that perhaps men do commit more crime than women?
• Name 2 feminist sociologists that believes that the criminal justice system is biased against women.

  Pat Carlen - there is bias against violent women in the criminal justice system.

  Smart - suggests that there might be a double standard in court when it comes to gender. She suggests that if women are regarded as unfeminine and are then treated harshly. e.g. women received a longer sentence in partner crime.
• Explain Freda Adler's Women's liberation theory


  -There was an upsurge in female crime in the 1970s and Adler described it as dramatic as the numbers were small compared to male crime convictions.

  -She blames gender inequality as the driver of female crime as women expect equal opportunities to men in the workplace so they also desire equal opportunities with men to commit white collar crime and middle class crime.
• Explain Denscombe's Ladette culture theory.


  -He believed that the increase in risk behaviours among young women was caused by women adopting the sexual attitudes of young men.

  -He believed that women were adopting aggressive masculine behaviours such as drinking and violence as a result to traditional gender stereotyping and social control.
• Explain Heidensohn's Patriarchal control theory.


  -She argues that the patriarchal control of women prevents women from committing crime because they have fewer opportunities and incentives to offend.
• What are 3 types of control that Heidensohn believed that women were controlled by.

  Home - Women are controlled in their homes as young women's spare time is occupied by homework and they are not allowed to stay out at night.

  
  

  Work - Women are less likely to be in high positions so they are less likely to be able to commit fraud (white collar or middle class crime)

  
  

  Public - Women fear sexual violence and their image. e.g. men may intimidate women in public spaces or be aggressive if they enter 'male territory' like pubs.
• Explain Pat Carlen's theory about women not committing crime. (What are the 'Deals'?)

  -Women generally don't commit crime because they accept the rewards that come from social norms.....

  Gender deal - women wish to be seen as respectable in order to gain benefits from being in a relationship e.g. support from husband.

  Class deal - women from working-class homes expect to be able to earn a good living from working at a job.
• What are the pros of the feminist view?

  -Draws attention to the fact that male behaviour is problematic for society because men are disproportionately involved in criminal and violent activity. Its suggested that men commit crime because of their superior status in patriarchal society.

  
  

  - It explains why female criminals are demonised more than males who have committed similar actions.

  
  

  -It offers a direct challenge to the chivalry thesis, pointing out that women are victimised by the criminal justice system.

  
  

  - Heidensohn's control theory allows people to understand why people don't engage in criminal activity.
• What are the cons of the feminist view?

  -Depicts all men as evil or as the problem.

  
  

  -Feminist theories overlook issues of class and ethnicity.

  
  

  -By viewing women as victims, feminists overlook inexcusable female crime e.g. 16-35% of domestic violence offences are committed by women in the America.