topic 2- social dist of crime: gender

patterns of crime gender

girls and women appear to commit fewer crimes than boys and men and when they do offend, they tend to commit different kinds fo crimes from males

in 2019 what stats

in 2019, 98% of sexual offences were commited by men

92% of robberies were commited by men

92% of drug offences were commited by men

93% of posessions of weapons were commited by men

in 2023, 4% of the prison population was female

average prison sentence l

men: 17.7 months

women: 11.6 months

percentage of women in senior police

only 15%

what do Heidensohn and Silvestri note

observe that gender differences are the most significant feature of recorded crime

they focus on:

• Three out of four convicted offenders in England and Wales are male.

• By the age of 40, 9% of females have a criminal conviction, as against 32% of males.

differences in type of offence

among offenders, there are some significant gender ditferences, For example, oficial statistics show that:

• A higher proportion of female than male offenders are convicted of property offences (except burglary).

75% of those prosecuted for TV licence evasion were female.

Theft from shops accounted for 21% of all female prosecutions for indictable offences, compared to 8% for males

• Males are more likely to be repeat offenders, to have longer criminal careers and to commit more serious crimes. For example, men are about 15 times more likely to be convicted of homicide.

in 2022, 17% of females and 7% of males were serving sentences of less than 12 months.

two reasons why official statistics show women committing less crime?

• Typically 'female crimes are less likely to be reported.
  For example, shoplifting is less likely to be noticed or reported than the violent or sexual crimes more often committed by men. Similarly, prostitution - which females are much more likely than males to engage in - is unlikely to be reported by either party.

• Some claim that even when women's crimes are detected or reported, they are less likely to be prosecuted or, if prosecuted, more likely to be let off relatively lightly → chivalry thesis

what is the chivalry thesis

the thesis argues that most criminal justice agents

- such as police officers, magistrates and judges - are men, and men are socialised to act in a 'chivalrous' way towards women.

what does otto pollak argue

For example, Otto Pollak (1950) argues that men have a protective attitude towards women and that

men have a natural predisposition to protect women
'Men hate to accuse women and thus send them to their punishment, police officers dislike to arrest them, district attorneys to prosecute them, judges and juries to find them guilty, and so on.'
The criminal justice system is thus more lenient with women and so their crimes are less likely to end up in the official statistics. This in turn gives an invalid picture that exaggerates the extent of gender differences in rates of offending.

evidence of chivalry thesis in self report studies

• self-report studies Evidence from some self-report studies - where individuals are asked about what crimes they have committed - does suggest that female offenders are treated more leniently.

• court statistics show women are more likely to be released on bail

what did graham and bowlings find about self report studies supporting chivalry thesis

John Graham and Ben Bowling's (1995) research on a sample of 1,721 14-25-year-olds found that although males were more likely to offend, the difference was smaller than that recorded in the official statistics.
They found that males were 2.33 times more likely to admit to having committed an offence in the previous twelve months - whereas the official statistics show males as four times more likely to offend.

HOW DO OFFICIAL STATISTICS SUPPORT CHIVALRY THESIS

Official statistics At first sight, court statistics appear to give some support to the chivalry thesis. For example:

• Females are more likely than males to be released on bail rather than remanded in custody.

• Females are more likely than males to receive a fine or a community sentence, and less likely to be sent to prison.
  Women on average receive shorter prison sentences.

• Only one in nine female offenders receive a prison sentence for shoplifting, but one in five males.

HOW DOES DAVID FARINGDON AND ALISON MORRIS ARGUE AGAINST CHIVALRY THESIS

David Farrington and Alison Morris'

(1983) study of sentencing of 408 offences of theft in a magistrates' court found that women were not sentenced more leniently for comparable offences.

how do abigail bucke and david farrington argue against chivary thesis

Similarly, Abigail Buckle and David Farrington's (1984) observational study of shoplifting in a department store witnessed twice as many males shoplifting as females

- despite the fact that the numbers of male and female offenders in the official statistics are more or less equal. This small-scale study thus suggests that women shoplifters may be more likely to be prosecuted than their male counterparts.

what does the chivary thesis ignore, abuse

The chivalry thesis also ignores the fact that many male crimes do not get reported. For example, in 2012, only 8% of females who had been victims of a serious sexual assault reported it to the police, while Yearnshire (1997) found that a woman typically suffers 35 assaults before reporting domestic violence.

what does chivary thesis ignore, coroporate crime

Crimes of the powerful are also under-represented in self-report and victim surveys, and these are also more likely to be committed by men by virtue of their more privileged position in the job market.

If women appear to be treated more leniently, it may simply be because their offences are less serious. For example, the lower rate of prosecutions of females as compared with their self-reported offending may be because the crimes they admit to are less serious and less likely to go to trial.

what does Hales say about male crime

men significantly more likely to engage in serious offences

so perhaps more men go to prison as they commit more serious crimes

feminsit view of chivalry thesis

Many feminists argue that, far from the criminal justice system being biased in favour of women, as the chivaly thesis claims. instead, they argue that it is biased against them. AS Heidensohn (1996) argues, the courts treat females more harshly that males when they deviate from gender norms. For exampe

• Double standards - courts punish girls but not boys for premature or 'promiscuous sexual activity. Such girls can end up in care without ever having committed an offence. Sharpe (2009) found from her analysis of 55 youth worker records, that seven out of 1 1 girls were referred for support because they were sexually active. but none out of 44 boys.

• Women who do not conform to accepted standards of monogamous heterosexuality and motherhood are punished more harshly. As Stewart 2006) found, magistrates' perceptions of female defendants' characters were based on stereotypical gender roles.

feminsit pat carlen, what does she argue

Pat Carlen (1997) puts forward a similar view in relation to custodial sentences. She argues that when women are jailed, it is less for 'the seriousness of their crimes and more according to the court's assessment of them as wives, mothers and daughters'. Girls whose parents believe them to be beyond control are more likely to receive custodial sentences than girls who live more 'conventional' lives.

Carlen found that Scottish judges were much more likely to jail women whose children were in care than women wno they saw as good mothers.

evidnece of the criminal justice system being patriarchal, carol smart

there have been numerous cases of male judges making sexist, victim-blaming remarks. For example, Carol Smart (1989) quotes Judge Wild as saying that

'Women who say no do not always mean no. It is not just a question of how she says it, how she shows and makes it clear. If she doesn't want it she only has to keep her legs shut.'

criinal justice system patriarchal, sandra walklate

Similarly, as Sandra Walklate 1998) argues, in rape cases it: is not the defendant who is on trial but the victim, since she has to prove her respectability in order to have her evidence accepted.

what does Pollack say why women’s crimes go undetected and under reported

• women are naturally more skilled then men at deceiving people derived from women’s ability to hide menstruation b/c of traditional taboos

• evaluation: Jones - there is no evidence

biological explanation to differences in commiting crime and offending

the first explanations of gender differences in crime were biological rather than sociological. For example, Lombroso and Ferrero (1893) argued that criminality is innate, but that there were very few 'born female criminals'. Some more recent psychological explanations have also argued that biological factors such as higher levels of testosterone in males can account for gender differences in violent offending

However, sociologists take the view that social rather than biological factors are the cause of gender differences in offending.

three main explanations of gender differences in crime

1. sex role theory

2. control theory

3. liberation thesis.

explanation fo sex role theory

functionalist view

focused on differences in the socialisation of males and females. For example, boys are encouraged to be tough, aggressive and risk taking, and this can mean they are more disposed to commit acts of violence or take advantage of criminal opportunities when they present themselves.

parsons explanation of sex role theory, casuse for differences in crime

The functionalist Talcott Parsons (1955) traces differences in crime and deviance to the gender roles in the conventional nuclear family. While men take the instrumental, breadwinner role, performed largely outside the home, women perform the expressive role in the home, where they take the main responsibility for socialising the children.

Parsons argues, it tends to mean that boys reject feminine models of behaviour that express tenderness, gentleness and emotion.

Instead, boys seek to distance themselves from such models by engaging in 'compensatory compulsory masculinity' through aggression and anti-social behaviour, which can slip over into acts of delinquency.

albert cohen expalnation fo sex role theory causing differences in crime

According to Albert K. Cohen

(1955), this relative lack of an adult male role model means boys are more likely to turn to all-male street gangs as a source of masculine identity. , in these subcultural groups, status is earned by acts of toughness, risk-taking and delinquency.

new right explanation to sec role theory to explain differences in crime

New Right theorists argue that the absence of a male role model in matrifocal lone parent families leads to Crime and Deviance boys turning to criminal street gangs as a source of status and identity.

how does sandra walklate criticise parsons sex role theory

Criticisms of Parsons Sandra Walklate (2003) criticises sex role theory for its biological assumptions. According to Walklate, Parsons assumes that because women have the biological capacity to bear children, they are best suited to the expressive role.

Thus, although the theory tries to explain gender differences in crime in terms of behaviour learned through socialisation, it is ultimately based on untested biological assumptions about sex differences.

what do feminists argue casue for differences in offending

reject sex role theory

they see either: control theory or the liberation thesis as cause

feminist, heidensohn what does she argue

• Frances Heidensohn (1996) argues that women are more conformist than men, committing fewer and less serious crimes.

• She explains this through patriarchal control, where society places greater restrictions on women’s behaviour and opportunities.

Control at home

• Women’s domestic role (housework and childcare) limits their time, freedom and movement.

• This confines many women to the home for long periods, reducing opportunities to commit crime.

• If women try to reject this role, some partners may enforce it through domestic violence.

Control in public spaces

• Women are controlled by the threat or fear of male violence, particularly sexual violence.

• The Islington Crime Survey found 54% of women avoided going out after dark, compared with 14% of men.

Role of the media

• Frances Heidensohn argues that sensationalist media coverage of rape increases women’s fear.

• Media often portray rapists as strangers committing random attacks, which encourages women to stay indoors and restrict their movements.

how does dobash and dobash support heidensohn’s argument that women who tryt to reject their domestic role are met with D.V

As Dobash and Dobash (1979) show, many violent attacks result from men's dissatisfaction with their wives' performance of domestic duties. Men also exercise control through their financial power, for example by denying women sufficient funds for leisure activities, thereby restricting their time outside the home.

how are women unable to commit corporate crime, feminsts

control at work: women's subordinate position reduces their opportunities to engage in major criminal activity at work.

For example, the 'glass ceiling' prevents many women from rising to senior positions where there is greater opportunity to commit fraud. As a result, they are less likely to be involved in white collar crime.

what is the liberation thesis, who put it forward

• Freda Adler (1975).

• Adler argues that as women become liberated from patriarchy, their crimes will become as frequent and as serious as men’s.

• Women’s liberation has led to a new type of female criminal and a rise in the female crime rate.

• Changes in the structure of society have led to changes in women’s offending behaviour.

• As patriarchal controls and discrimination have lessened, and opportunities in education and work have become more equal, women have begun to adopt traditionally ‘male’ roles.

• This applies to both legitimate activities (such as work) and illegitimate activities (such as crime).

• As a result, women no longer only commit traditional ‘female’ crimes such as shoplifting and prostitution.

• Women are increasingly committing ‘male’ offences such as violent crime and white-collar crime.

• Adler argues this is due to greater self-confidence and assertiveness among women, as well as greater opportunities within the legitimate structure.

• For example, more women now hold senior positions at work, giving them the opportunity to commit white-collar crimes such as fraud.

• There is some evidence supporting this view.

• For instance, during the second half of the 20th century, both the overall rate of female offending and the female share of offences increased.

• Between the 1950s and 1990s, the female share of offences rose from about 1 in 7 to around 1 in 6.

evidence to support adler’s liberation thesis

There is some evidence to support this view. For example:

• Both the overall rate of female offending and the female share of offences rose during the second half of the 20th century. For example, between the 1950s and 1990s, the female share of offences rose from one in 7 to one in 6.

how does martin denscrome support liberation thesis

• Martin Denscombe

(2001) of Midlands teenagers' self-images found that females were as likely as males to engage in risk-taking behaviour and that girls were adopting more

'male' stances, such as the desire to be in control and look 'hard'.

growth in ‘girl gangs’

criticsm of liberation thesis

• The female crime rate began rising in the 1950s - long before the women's liberation movement, which emerged in the late 1960s.

• Most female criminals are working-class - the group least likely to be influenced by women's liberation, which has benefited middle-class women much more. According to Chesney-Lind (1997), in the USA poor and marginalised women are more likely than liberated middle-class women to be criminals.

increase in female arrest and conviction statistics for violent crime support adler’s iberation htesis, give example

Hand and Dodd (2009), between 2000 and 2008, police statistics show the number of females arrested for violence rose by an average of 17% each year. these police statistics are an accurate picture of offending, it suggests that females are increasingly committing typically

'male crimes, since violent offending has traditionally been a male form of crime.

who concldes that in reality there has been no change in womne’s invovlent in violent crime

Steffensmeier and Schwartz (2009) found that while the female share of arrests for violence grew from one-fifth to one-third between 1980 and 2003, this rise in the police statistics was not matched by the findings of victim surveys. That is, victims did not report any increase in attacks by females.

Similarly, self-report studies showed no upward trend in females' violent criminality.

they argue there has been no change but the rise in police arrests due to the justice system ‘widening the net’ and arrests for less serious forms of violence

how does chesney lind support net widinging as giving the false impression of rise in female violent crime

Chesney-Lind (2006) argues that a policy of mandatory arrests for domestic violence has led to a steep rise in the female violence statistics in the USA. Where a couple fight, both may be arrested, even though it is likely that the woman is the victim. Females previously ignored by the justice system now find themselves being labelled as violent offenders.

what does Burman and Batchelor add to it being a social construction resulting from a moral panic that makes it appear that female participation in crime is increasing

Burman and Batchelor (2009) point to media depictions of young women as drunk and disorderly, out of control and looking for fights'.

How does Sharpe support Burman and Batchelor’s point

Sharpe (2009) found that professionals such as judges, probation officers and police were influenced by media stereotypes of violent ladettes and many believed that girls behaviour was rapidly getting worse

how can we see this social construction in the USA

n the USA Steffensmeier et al (2005) found that media-driven moral panics about girls were affecting sentencing decisions.

what is the effect of this moral panic surrounding female criminality

n the USA Steffensmeier et al (2005) found that media-driven moral panics about girls were affecting sentencing decisions.

stats of victimination of females

• More women are victims of intimate violence (domestic abuse, sexual assault and stalking). One in four will experience domestic abuse during their adult life.

• Five times more women than men report having been sexually assaulted.

• Women are most likely to be victimised by an acquaintance, men by a stranger.

• Only 8% of females who had experienced serious sexual assault reported it. A third of those who didn't report it said they believed the police couldn't do much to help (CSEW 2012).

How does Messerschmidt explain why men commit crime?

James Messerschmidt (1993) argues that masculinity is a social construct or 'accomplishment' and men have to constantly work at constructing and presenting it to others. In doing so, some men have more resources than others to draw upon.

Messerschmidt argues that different masculinities coexist within society, but that one of these, hegemonic masculinity, is the dominant, prestigious form that most men wish to accomplish. Hegemonic masculinity is defined through:

work in the paid-labour market, the subordination of women, heterosexism /i.e. difference from and desire for women and the driven and uncontrollable sexuality of men

hoever, some men do not have a desire to commit hegemonic masuclinity explain

These include gay men, who have no desire to accomplish hegemonic masculinity, as well as lower class and some minority ethnic group men, who lack the resources to do so.

different forms of rule breaking to demonstrate masculinity

• white middle class youths: accommodating masculinity in schools, but oppositional form outside of school with drinking and vandalism

• white working class youths: there is less opportunity within education so take on oppositional form in and out of school e.g. Willis; study of ‘lads’

• black lower working class youths: few expectations of reasonable job due to racism so may use gang membership and violence to express their masculinity

different types of male crime as a response to class

Messerschmidt

• middle class commit white collar and corporate crime to accomplish hegemonic masculinity

• working class commit street crimes to achieve subordinate masculinity

how has globalisation affected traditional manual jovs

• in recent decades, globalisation has led to a shift from a modern industrial society to a late modern or postmodern de-industrialised society.

• This has led to the loss of many of the traditional manual jobs through which working-class men were able to express their masculinity by hard physical labour and by providing for their families.

• however, at the same time as job opportunities in industry have declined, there has been an expansion of the service sector, including the night-time leisure economy of clubs, pubs and bars.

• For some young working-class men, this has provided a combination of legal employment, lucrative criminal opportunities and a means of expressing their masculinity.

criticism of Messerschmidt’s theory

• risks a circular argument that masculinity explains male crimes

• doesn’t explain why not all men use crime to accomplish masculinity

• overworks the concept of masculinity to explain all male crimes

simon winlow study of bouncers in sunderland

simon Winlow's (2001) study of bouncers in Sunderland in the north east of England, an area of de-industrialisation and high unemployment.

Working as bouncers in the pubs and clubs provided young men with both paid work and the opportunity for illegal business ventures in drugs, duty-free tobacco and alcohol and protection rackets, as well as the opportunity to demonstrate their masculinity through the use of violence.

winlow draws on subcultural theorists wehre in a modern society, these men gain status through violence.

what has emerged due to the night time economy

organised professional criminal subculture

what opporunities come from this organised professional criminal subcultures

In this subculture, the ability to use violence becomes not just a way of displaying masculinity, but a commodity with which to earn a living.

thus, there has been an emergence in criminal opportuntiies for men who are able to use violence to express masculinity by being part of organised criminal subculture

what does bodily capital have to do with organised professional criminal subcultures

To maintain their reputation and employability, the men must use their bodily capital. For example, many of the bouncers seek to develop their physical assets by bodybuilding.

the signs of masculinity become an important commodity in their own right. This reflects the idea that in postmodern society, signs take on a reality of their own independent of the thing they supposedly represent

Outline two differences between recorded patterns of male and female offending

1. Overall crime rates
Official statistics show that men commit far more crimes than women. Men make up the majority of offenders in police records and prison populations 3 out of 4 convicted offenders were male, whereas women account for a much smaller proportion of recorded crime.

2. Types of offences committed
Men are more likely to commit serious and violent crimes, such as robbery and assault men are 15 x more likely to be convicted of homocide. In contrast, women are more likely to commit less serious offences, often property crimes such as shoplifting. This shows a clear difference in the types and seriousness of offences committed by males and females.

Outline three ways in which the criminal justice system is biased against women.

1. Double deviance
Frances Heidensohn argues that women who commit crime are judged more harshly because they are seen as “doubly deviant”. They have broken both the law and traditional gender norms of being caring, passive and nurturing. As a result, courts and the criminal justice system may treat female offenders more negatively because they are seen as bad women as well as criminals.

2. double standards: courts punish girls but not boys for premature or ‘promiscuous’ sexual activity e.g. placing them into care ever if they haven’t even committed an offence. Sharpe: 7 out of 11 girls referred for support b/c they were sexually active but none out of the 44 boys

3. CJS treatment of rape cases: Walkate → in rape cases it is not the defendant on trial, but the victim since she has to prove respectability in order to have her evidence accepted. Adler adds to this and says that women who are deemed to lack respectability e.g. single mothers have difficulty in having their testimonies believed in court

Outline two ways in which the chivalry thesis will impact gender patterns of offending.

1. Lower female crime rates in official statistics
The chivalry thesis, proposed by Otto Pollak, argues that the criminal justice system is more lenient towards womenbecause police officers, judges and juries act in a “chivalrous” way. As a result, women are more likely to receive warnings or cautions rather than arrests or prosecutions, meaning their offences are less likely to appear in official crime statistics, contributing to the pattern that women appear to offend less than men.

2. Women being less likely to receive custodial sentences
Because of chivalrous attitudes, women may be treated more sympathetically in court, particularly if they fit traditional roles such as being mothers or primary carers. This can lead to women being less likely to receive prison sentences and more likely to receive lighter punishments, reinforcing the pattern that women appear to commit less serious crimes than men.

Outline two ways that masculinity and crime may be linked.

1. biological reasoning: Lobraso and Ferrero: criminality is innate and there are very few ‘born female criminals’, high levels of testosterone account for gender differences in offending

2. way of proving masculinity:Messerschmidt argues that when men cannot achieve masculinity through legitimate means such as success in education or employment, they may turn to crime as a way of “accomplishing masculinity.” For example, working-class men may engage in violence, theft or gang crime to gain status and prove their masculinity.

Outline two crimes that women are more likely to be a victim of.

1. Domestic violence
Women are significantly more likely to be victims of domestic abuse committed by partners or ex-partners. Research by Sylvia Walby and Jonathan Allen found that women are much more likely than men to experience repeated domestic abuse, showing that women are disproportionately affected by this form of violence.

2. Sexual offences
Women are far more likely to be victims of sexual offences, including rape and sexual assault. Feminist sociologists argue that these crimes reflect patriarchal power relations, where men use sexual violence as a way of controlling women. For example, Susan Brownmiller argued that rape functions as a means of intimidation that keeps women in a state of fear.

Outline three reasons why women commit less crime than men

1. Patriarchal control over women
Frances Heidensohn argues that women commit less crime because patriarchal society imposes greater social control over them. Women are more closely controlled in the home (through domestic responsibilities), in public spaces (through fear of male violence), and at work, which limits their time, freedom and opportunities to offend.

2. Socialisation into traditional gender roles/ functionalist sex role theory
Women are typically socialised to be passive, caring and risk-averse, whereas men are often encouraged to be tough, competitive and risk-taking. These gender norms discourage women from engaging in criminal behaviour and help explain why men are more likely to commit crime.

3. Class and gender deal
Frances Heidensohn suggests that women conform more because they gain a “gender deal.” Women may receive material and emotional rewards from conforming to traditional roles such as being a wife, mother or homemaker. These benefits encourage women to conform to social norms and avoid criminal behaviour.

Outline three explanations why men commit more crime.

1. Accomplishing masculinity through crime
   James Messerschmidt argues that men may turn to crime as a way of “accomplishing masculinity.” If they cannot achieve success through legitimate means such as education or employment, they may use crime, violence or risk-taking behaviour to gain status and demonstrate masculinity.

2. functionalist sex role theory: boys reject feminine models or behaviour and distance themselves from typical female traits and engage in ‘compensatory compulsory masculinity’ through antisocial behaviour which can become crime

3. postmodernism: traditional manual jobs have declined so men look to night time leisure economy where there is a combination of legal and criminal opportunity e.g Winlow’s study of bouncer’s in Sunderland who engage in illegal business ventures e.g. protection rackets to demonstrate masculinity through violence

Outline three features of Heidensohn patriarchal control.

1. control at home: domestic role imposes serious restriction on women’s time and movement as they are confined to the house, threat of domestic violence also keeps them subordinate. Daughters are also controlled by being less likely to be allowed to stay out late or go out so develop a bedroom culture

2. control in public: women are controlled by fear of male violence e.g. Islington crime survey

3. control in work: male supervisors and managers, sexual harassment keeps women ‘in their place’ and glass ceiling limits them from achieving senior positions

analyse two reasons why men commit more crime.

1. proving masculinity

2. functionalist sex role theory