Gender, Crime, and Justice Exam 2

Female responses to trauma and stressors?

• Depression

• Anxiety

• Posttraumatic stress disorder

• Higher levels of anger and frustration

• Self-harm and suicidal ideations

• Substance Abuse

Issues associated with early puberty in terms of victimization.

• Physical maturity, but cognitive and emotional?

• Higher rates of delinquency and risky behaviors

• Higher likelihood of victimization in general

• More likely to associate with older peers who may exhibit problematic behaviors

• Earlier onset of sexual behavior

• Increased substance abuse

• Increased delinquency

• More parental conflict due to increased restrictions

Historical origins of intimate partner violence?

• Historically, women were property.

  • Husband or closest male relative

Mid-1600s - Puritans in Massachusetts

“Every married woman shall be free from bodily correction or stripes (whipping) by her husband, unless it be in his own defense upon her assault. If there be any just cause of correction, complaint shall be made to authority assembled in some Court, from which she shall receive it.”

Early 1800s - Bradley v. State

Husband could use “moderate chastisement in case of emergences”, in order to punish wives for subjective wrongdoing or to “protect” the husband from the wife’s subjective wrongdoing.

Late 1800s

• North Carolina

  • Criminal indictment cannot be brought against a husband unless the battery is so great as to result in permanent injury, endanger their life or is malicious beyond all reasonable bounds

1960s

Second wave feminism

Current definition of Intimate Partner Violence

“A pattern of abusive behavior an any relationship that is used by one partner to gain or maintain power and control over another intimate partner” (Office on Violence Against [OVW], 2023)

Types of intimate partner violence?

• Physical Abuse

• Sexual Abuse

• Economic Abuse

• Psychological Abuse

  • Emotional Abuse

What is the power and control wheel?

Cycle of Violence

1. Love bombing

2. Tension-building phase

1. ↑ Arguments

2. ↑ Substance use

3. Partner shows signs of stress

4. Snapping & Insulting

3. Battering Phase

4. Reconciliation (honeymoon phase)/ apologize bombing

Issues with measuring extent of intimate partner violence?

• Unknown, massively underestimated and undermeasured

  • Length of time

  • Frequency

• Studies excluded certain types of couples

  • Unmarried couples

  • LGBTQ+ couples

Frequency of sexual violence

• 1 in 4 females and 1 in 10 males experienced sexual violence, serious violence, by a partner.

• Roughly 24.3% females and 13.8% males experienced severe physical violence

• Roughly half of females and males reported psychological aggression

• Abuse of a child in the home is very likely as well

• Presence of a firearm in an IPV household?

Long term consequences of Intimate Partner Violence?

• PTSD

• Major Depressive Disorder

• Self-Harm

• Suicidal Ideations

• Suicide Attempts

• Substance Use Disorders

Types of sexual violence.

• Rape

• Attempted Rape

• Threat of Rape

• Forced Sexual Acts Upon Perpetrator’s Body

• Unwanted Sexual Touching

Traditional definition of rape.

Unlawful sexual intercourse committed by a man with a women who is not his wife through force and against her will.

Recognition of marital rape.

• By 1993, all states had marital rape laws

• The law does vary by state

Offender-victim dyad

• 19.5% are committed by a stranger

• 39% are committed by an acquaintance

• 33% are committed by a current or former spouse, boyfriend, or girlfriend

• 6% are committed by more than one person or the victim cannot remember

• 2.5% are committed by a non-spouse relative

8 out of 10 rapes are committed by someone known to the victim.

Why do victims not report?

• 20% feared retaliation

• 13% believed the police would not do anything to help

• 13% believed it was a personal matter

• 8% reported to a different official

• 8% believed it was not important enough to report

• 7% did not want to get the perpetrator in trouble

• 2% believed the police could not do anything to help

• 30% gave another reason, or did not cite one reason

Crisis Reaction Repair Cycle

illustrates how victims of sexual assault move through distinct phases following trauma:

• Crisis Phase - Initial shock, disbelief, and disorientation

• Reaction Phase - Processing emotions, experiencing PTSD symptoms

• Repair Phase - Healing, recovery, and rebuilding

This cycle is not always linear, and survivors may move back and forth between phases during their recovery journey.

Impact ←→ Recoil ←→ Reorganization

(Won’t last long and go back to impact)

(functionality but can return to impact)

Girls account for what percentage of juvenile arrests?

Juvenile females account for roughly 30% of juvenile arrests

Girls and status offenses?

• Truancy

• Runaways

  • Situational

  • Longer-term

  • System youth

  • Throwaway

• Curfew and loitering violations

• Underaged drinking

• Ungovernable/Incorrigible youth

What are the different types of runaways?

• Short Term

  • ↓ Frequency

• Longer Term

  • ↑ Frequency

  • Longer periods of time

  • Return often forced.

  • System youth

    • More serious

    • Behaviors

    • Long-term consequences

    • Vic. risk

  • Throwaway

    • Kicked out

    • ↑ victimization

What contributes to girls’ delinquency?

• Victimization

• Negative Life Events

• Early Puberty

• Family

  • Parental criminality

  • Attachment

  • Parenting practices

• Peers

  • Association with males

• School

• Neighborhoods

• Substance Abuse

• Female Runaways

Women’s historic involvement in crime?

• By class?

Trends in types/intent of crime?

Historically, women's involvement in crime varied by social class:

Upper Class Women:

• Were confined, dependent, and regimented

• Not fully educated

• Had strict expectations regarding demureness and purity

Lower Class Women:

• Were held to different standards than upper-class women

• Depended on their labor for survival

Crime Trends (Current):

• Women account for 27.25% of all arrests (2023)

• More likely to engage in property or non-violent crimes, including:

• Prostitution (69.35%)

• Embezzlement (47.25%)

• Larceny (38.68%)

• Fraud (34.65%)

Violent Crime:

• Lower involvement in serious violent crimes:

• Murder (11.19%)

• Robbery (15.62%)

• Simple assault (30.95%)

• Women are underreported in violent crime, especially severe violent crime

Women account for what percentage of adult arrests?

27.25%

What offenses are women more likely to engage in?

According to 2023 data, women are most likely to engage in:

Non-violent crimes:

• Prostitution (69.35%)

• Embezzlement (47.25%) - typically small-scale crimes

• Larceny (38.68%) - mainly petit larceny and shoplifting

• Fraud (34.65%) - commonly bad checks and welfare fraud

Violent crimes:

• Simple assault (30.95%) - most common violent offense

• Most assaults involve people close to them - acquaintances (32%), spouse (28%), or boyfriend/girlfriend (14%)

Drug/Alcohol related:

• Liquor law violations (30.88%)

• Drug possession (26.71%)

Embezzlement

• Why are women more likely to get caught?

According to the research by Steffensmeier, Harris, & Painter-Davis (2015), women who commit embezzlement typically:

• Are in positions with less oversight (clerical, office workers)

• Commit smaller-scale crimes (75% of embezzlement arrests were for less than $2,000)

• Work in retail locations like department stores, gas stations, restaurants, and specialty stores (75% of cases)

Notably, women who embezzle make less than their male counterparts.

Embezzlement

• Why are women more likely to get less $ from their crime?

According to the research, women typically get less money from embezzlement because they:

• Are mainly in lower-level positions (clerical, office workers) rather than positions of power

• Most commonly work in retail locations like department stores, gas stations, restaurants, and specialty stores

These positions naturally provide access to smaller amounts of money compared to higher-level positions in organizations.

Fraud

• What types of fraud are women more likely to commit?

According to research, women are most likely to commit:

• Bad checks and welfare fraud

Women who commit fraud typically:

• Are older and have a later onset of criminal behavior

• Are divorced or separated

• Have dependents (nearly 77%)

Forgery

• What types of forgery are women more likely to commit?

According to Steffensmeier and colleagues (2015), women are typically involved in possession of forged instruments, specifically:

• Transportation tokens

• Debit/credit cards

• Government checks

Larceny-Theft

• Why are women likely to steal?

According to the research, women who shoplift often:

• View themselves as professionals who "dress for the job"

• Steal items needed by their family

• Buy high-value items to resell in the community

• Sometimes use drugs to aid with anxiety during theft

This type of crime is often called "Pink Collar Crime".

Patterns among women who use substances?

According to Tuchman (2010), women who use substances often show these patterns:

• Come from problematic family situations and have family dysfunction

• Experience stress and traumatic events

• Deal with over-responsibility

• Have more co-occurring disorders

• Are less likely to seek treatment

• How are women’s engagement in these crimes different than males?

  • What are common motives?

Women's criminal engagement differs from men in several key ways:

Types of crimes:

• Women commit less violent crime overall - in 2023, they accounted for only 11.19% of murders and 15.62% of robberies

• They are more likely to commit property and non-violent crimes like embezzlement (47.25%), larceny (38.68%), and fraud (34.65%)

Common characteristics and motives:

• Economic necessity - many commit crimes to provide for dependents

• Scale of crimes tends to be smaller - for example, most embezzlement cases involve less than $2,000

• When violence occurs, it's typically against people close to them - about 74% of female violent incidents involve intimate partners, family members, or acquaintances

Substance abuse is often linked to family problems, stress, trauma, and over-responsibility

Assault

• In 2023, women accounted for 23.89% of assault arrests and 30.95% of simple assaults.

  • Most likely to assault people close to them—either family members or acquaintances

  • The victims were primarily acquaintances (32%), spouses (28%), boyfriends/girlfriends (14%), and strangers (7%).

  • Drugs or alcohol are often involved.

Homicide

Homicide is very rare among female offenders. When women do commit homicide:

• Nearly 80% of victims are intimates or acquaintances

• About half of parental/stepparental child murders are committed by women

Common characteristics and circumstances include:

• Early abuse and victimization experiences

• Results from arguments, often when a partner shows physical aggression

• History of trauma, abuse, and mental illness

• Substance use is often involved

In cases involving stepchildren, evolutionary psychology suggests stepparents may view non-biological children as competition for attention and resources

Gangs

• Reasons for joining

• Social reasons

  • Friendship and self-affirmation

  • Gang provides entertainment and amusement

  • Provides a surrogate family

• Identity formation

• Autonomy

• Victimization

• Financial gain

• Social capital

Gangs

• Social injuries to gang members?

• Females join earlier and more likely to leave earlier

• Stigmatization

• Marriage or stable relationship

• Pregnancy

• Rejection by community, former friends, & family members

• Pregnancy can cause drop out from a gang

  • Lack of support from the other parent

• Employment

• Interpersonal

  • Arguments

  • Common

• Sexual crimes by women?

  • Why is it understudied/overlooked?

• There's a widespread conception that females are not capable of such behavior

• Women are viewed as less threatening to the community

• They are viewed as less culpable (blameworthy)

This creates a hidden population that is incredibly difficult to detect and measure.

• Sexual crimes by women

  • Victim characteristics?

• Are predominantly underage

• Have a relationship with the offender (family member or caregiver)

  • This allows for easier concealment

• They are often victimized during routine care activities like dressing or bathing

• Victim sex seems to be more so opportunity than a sexual orientation of preference

• Coercion by a male partner

• Meet their “needs”

• Establishing power/control

  Studies show that:

• 14-26% of male sexual assault victims were assaulted by a female

• 6-15% of female sexual assault victims were assaulted by a female

The victim's gender appears to be more about opportunity than the offender's sexual orientation

Sexual crimes by women

• Offender characteristics?

• On average younger than male offenders

• Primarily identify as heterosexual

• More likely to have been diagnosed with a mental illness

• Unstable work histories

• History of multiple partners and unstable relationships

• Primarily act alone, though more likely than men to offend with a partner

  • Roughly 1/3 assault with a male partner

• Less likely to repeat offend

• Have a longer criminal record than average female offenders

• Grown up in underprivileged and unstable homes

• Experienced childhood maltreatment (including sexual, physical, and psychological abuse.)

  • Sexual abuse suffered was more long term and severe

• Early onset of substance use.

  • More likely to be addicted to substances

What is included under the idea of stalking?

• Making unwanted phone calls.

• Sending unsolicited or unwanted letters/emails.

• Following or spying on victims.

• Showing up at places without a legitimate reason.

• Waiting at places for victim.

• Leaving unwanted items, presents, or flowers.

• Posting information or spreading rumors about the victim.

Frequency of stalking?

• 1 in 3 women.

• 1 in 6 men.

• Males are more likely to be threatened with physical harm.

• 18 - 24-year-olds experienced the most.

• 11% of victims stalked for 5+ years.

• Most know the offender.

• Over half stalked by a current or former significant other.

• Impacts of victimization?

  • Fear of the unknown.

  • Fear stalking will continue.

  • Moving to avoid a stalker.

  • Psychological and emotional difficulties.

Legality of stalking?

• Threatening behavior.

  • Threats and a reasonable feeling of potential harm must be present.

• Criminal intent.

  • Must show that the stalker intended to engage in the stalking behavior (not an accident).

• Repetition.

  • Behaviors have to occur multiple times to be counted as stalking.