Gender and Crime

What crimes are mostly committed by men?

98% of sexual offences committed by men, and 92% of drug offences and possession of weapons

Why do official statistics show that women commit less crime?

the crimes that women commit are often under reported and and less likely to be prosecuted

What is the chivalry thesis according to Pollack?

criminal justice agents are mostly male and are socialised to act in a chivalrous way towards women so they give women less harsh punishments

What is a contemporary example of chivalry thesis?

Lavinia Woodward was spared prison after stabbing her boyfriend in the leg with a knife because she had a promising career

Why may women receive less harsh punishments?

judges believe that women commit these crimes because of a lapse of judgement and that they are less harmful to society 

What percentage of women have a criminal record at 30 compared to men?

9% of women compared to 32% of men

What percentage of female offenders are given cautions compared to men?

49% compared to 30%

What did the ministry of justice find sentences given to men and women?

women are more likely to receive community sentences and shorter prison sentences 

What did Graham and Bowling find about the difference between self report studies and official stats?

they found men are 2.33 x more likely than women to have committed an offence in the last year compared to 4 x as suggested by official stats

Why are crimes of women under reported?

more likely to be seen as victimless crimes, police may chose not to report it, police officers less likely to stop and search a woman

What did Heidensohn find about how women judged when they commit a crime?

they can commit double deviance by being a criminal and going against their gender norms

What did Sharpe find about girls in care?

7 out of 11 of the girls were referred for support because they were sexually active compared to none of the 44 boys

What did Stewart find about how women were judged by magistrates?

based on stereotypical gender norms

What did Farrington and Morris find about the sentencing of men and women?

men and women’s sentences for theft were the same

What does the Sarah Everard case prove?

that women are still victim blamed, people still want to tell women to take precautions over dealing with the institutional causes of men’s violence

What is the criminal justice system still a perpetrator of?

patriarchy

What did Smart quote a judge saying?

‘if she didn’t want it she should have kept her legs shut’

What did Walklate find about the CJS?

places responsibility of women’s safety onto the shoulders of women instead of managing actual issues such as in rape cases where the victim is forced to prove their own innocence

What does the CJS reinforce?

the patriarchy while judging women’s morality

What is the sex role theory?

boys are encouraged to be aggressive, tough and risk taking which leads to more criminal behaviour whereas girls are expected to be quiet, caring and submissive

How does the Sex role theory link to Parson’s instrumental and expressive role?

because the instrumental role is outside the home boys only have female role models leading them to reject female attributes and engage in compensatory compulsory masculinity which can lead to delinquency 

How can a lack of nuclear families also lead to boys engaging in criminal behaviour?

they lack male role models so they look for it in other organisations such as criminal gangs which use criminal behaviour as a way of gaining status

What did Walklate say which criticises the sex role theory?

assumes that women are best suited to the expressive role just because they have the capacity to have children

How do postmodernists criticise the sex role theory?

not applicable as gender is more fluid and is chosen and being a man is not about aggression 

How do Marxists criticise the sex role theory?

ignores the structural reasons for crime and the criminogenic nature of capitalism

Why do women commit less crime according to Heidensohn?

they are controlled in the home, public and at work through the threat of violence, discrimination, dual burden and shame so they have less opportunity to commit crime

What does Heidensohn ignore in her theory?

women still have agency as despite the patriarchy women still commit crime and the patriarchy may lead to women committing utilitarian crime

What is the control theory?

women can either take the gender deal or the class deal meaning pathways for women are severely limited

What is the class deal?

gaining material rewards through employment which requires you to be obedient and diligent skills which are taught in school 

What is the gender deal?

women can become housewives which brings emotional and psychological rewards and financial security from their husband

How does the control theory lead to women committing crime?

when women reject either of these pathways or they haven’t provided the rewards they should women then turn to crime

What stats support the control theory?

women in prison often unemployed for a long time, 70% have no qualifications, 1/5 had no residence, 2/3 were single

What are the criticisms of Carlen’s research?

focused on women who rejected either pathway but women of have chosen one also commit crime

How do post-modernists criticise this theory?

women have more choice over their pathways and are not so constrained by the patriarchy