Topic 5: Gender, crime and justice

This includes : Chivalry thesis, explaining female crime, why do men commit crime

What is most crime appeared to commit by?

Men

What are the statistics that **Heidensohn and Silvestri** shows for gender differences being the most significant feature of recorded crime?

* 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

What are some of the significant gender differences official statistics show?

* A higher proportion of female than male offenders are convicted of property offences (except burglary) .
* A higher proportion of male than female offenders are convicted of sexual offences
* Males are more likely to be repeat offenders to have longer criminal careers and to commit more serious crimes. Men are 15 times more likely to be convicted of homicide

What are some of the arguments that supports the sociologists and criminologists that argue about the statistics that underestimate the amount of female against male offending?

* Typically ‘female’ crimes are less likely to be reported. Like shoplifting is less likely to be noticed or reported than the violent or sexual crimes more often committed by men
* Some claim that even when women’s crimes are decked or reported, they are less likely to be prosecuted or, prosecuted more likely to be let off relatively lightly

What is the *‘chivalry thesis’*?

This argues that most criminal justice agents such as police and judges are men and men are socialised to act in a ‘chivalrous’ way towards women

What does **Pollack** argue about men’s attitude towards women?

They have a protective attitude towards women and that men hate to accuse women and thus send them to their punishment

The criminal justice system (CJS ) more______ with _______ and so their crimes are less likely to end up in the official statistics.

lenient, women

How does the CJS give an invalid picture of offending?

It exaggerates the extent of gender differences in rates of offending

How has the chivalry thesis been supported?

**Self-reported studies**

This is where individuals are asked about what crimes they have committed and this does suggest that female offenders are treated more leniently

What does **Graham and Bowling’s** research sample of 1721 14-25 year olds suggest?

That although males were more likely to offend the difference was smaller than that recorded in the official statistics

What is another type of evidence that supports the chivalry thesis?

Official statistics

According to official statistics what is the evidence that gives support to the chivalry thesis?

* 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 do community service and less likely to be sent to prison. Women on average receive shorter prison sentences
* On in nine female offenders receive a prison sentence for shoplifting but for males it is one in five

What did **Hood’s** with his study of 3,000 defendants find?

He found that women were about one-third less likely to be jailed in similar cases

What are some points against the chivalry thesis?

* **Farrington and Morris’** study of sentencing of 408 offences of theft in a magistrates court found that women were not sentenced more leniently for comparable offences
* **Box’s** review concluded that women who commit serious offences are not treated more favourably than men
* **Buckle and Farrington’s** study suggests that women shoplifters may be more likely to be prosecuted than their male counterparts
* Self reported studies also provide evidence that males commit more offences
* The chivalry thesis ignore the fact that many male crimes do not get reported. In 2012 only 8% of females who had been victims of a serious sexual assault reported it to the police and **Yearnshire** found that a woman typically suffers 35 assaults before reporting DV

What is a reason that of women appearing to be treated more lenient than men?

Their offences may be because their offences are less serious

Feminists argue that the CJS is being __ ______ ______ women?

biased against

What are some of the reasons why the courts may treat females more harshly than males when they deviate from gender norms?

* *Double standards:* courts punish girls but not boys for premature sexual activity. **Sharpe** found from her analysis of 55 youth worker records that 7 out of 11 girls were referred for support because they were sexually active but none out of the 44 boys
* Women who do not conform to accepted standards of monogamous heterosexuality and motherhood are punished more harshly. Stewart found magistrates’ perceptions of female defendants characters were based on stereotypical gender roles

What do feminist claim the CJS is and why do they believe this?

Patriarchal and this is because of the way that they deal with rape cases as there has been numerous cases of male judges making sexist victim-blaming remarks

What does **Walklate** say about arpes cases referring back to victims and the defendent?

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.

Who are the women that are deemed to lack respectability and who is the sociologists that says this? Also what is difficult for them?

**ADLER**

Single parent, punks and peace protestors find it difficult to have their testimony believed by the court

What is an explanation of gender differences in crime?

Biological differences

What does **Lombroso and Ferrero** argue about criminality?

Criminality is innate and there were very few ‘born female criminals’

What is a biological factor for the reason why there is a gender difference in violent offending?

Men have higher testosterone levels this can account for gender differences in violent offending

What is the sociological reasons for the explanation of gender differnces in crime?

1. Sex role theory
2. Control theory
3. The liberation thesis

Which sociological view believes in the sex role theory?

Functionalism

What does **Parsons** trace a difference in crime and deviance to?

The gender roles in the conventional nuclear family

What type of role do men take?

Instrumental breadwinner role

What type of role do women take?

The expressive role

What does the *‘expressive role’* do?

They take the main responsibility for socialising the children

How do boys react to these gender roles?

They tend to reject feminine models of behaviour that express tenderness, gentleness and emotion.

What do boys seek instead of the feminine role models they reject?

They seek to distance themselves from such models by engaging in compensatory compulsory masculinity

What is *‘ compensatory compulsory masculinity’*?

This si aggression and anti-social behaviour which can slip into acts of delinquency

What do men have less of a role in the conventional nuclear family?

A socialising role

What is more difficult for boys than girls?

Socialisation

What does **Cohen** say about the lack of an adult role model for boys?

They are more likely to turn to all-male street gangs as a source of masculine identity

What doe New Right theorists argue about the absence of a male role model in matrifocal lone parent families?

Leads to boys turning to criminal street gangs as a source of status and identity

What are some criticisms of **Parsons** sex role theory?

* **Walklate** says that the sex role theory for its biological assumptions. **Parsons** assumes that because women have the biological capacity to bear children they are best suited to the expressive role
* It is based on untested biological assumptions about sex differences

What are the two feminist approaches to expalining female crime?

* Control theory
* the liberation thesis

What dpes **Heidensohn** say about women’s behaviour?

About how conformist it is as they commit fewer and less serious crimes than men

Why does **Heidensohn** believe that women’s behaviour is conformist?

This is because patriarchal society imposes greater control over women and this reduces their opportunities to offend. This patriarchal control operates at home, in public spaces and at work

How does ‘*control at home’* make women conform?

Women’s role is domestic and with its constant round of housework and childcare this imposes severe restrictions on their time and movement and confines them to the house for long periods reducing their opportunities to offend

What does **Dobash and Dobash** say about men’s dissatisfaction with their wives’ performance of domestic duties?

Violent attacks happens

How do husbands restrict their wives?

Through financial power as they deny women sufficient funds for leisure activities thereby restricting their time outside the home

Who is also subject to patriarchal control in the family?

Daughters

What are girls in the family less likely to do?

They are less likely to be allowed to come and go as they please or stay out late

Who develops a *‘bedroom culture’*?

Girls

Define *’bedroom culture’*?

This is the act of socialising at home with friends rather than public places

What are girls require to do more than boys in the home and how does this lead to their deviant behaviour on the streets?

They are required to do more housework than boys. This gives them less opportunity to engage in deviant behaviour on the streets

How does ‘*control in public’* make women conform?

They have the threat or fear of male violence against them especially sexual violence

What is the statistic that **Islington Crime Survey** found?

That 54% of women avoided going out after dark for the fear of being victims of crime as against only 14% of men

What does **Heidensohn** note about the sensationalist media reporting of rapes and women’s response to this?

That it adds to women’s fears

What is the distorted media portrayals of the typical rapist?

A stranger who carries out random attacks frightens women into staying into staying indoors

What is another way women are controlled in the public?

By their fear of being defined as not respectable. Things like dresses, make-up and ways of speaking and acting are defined as inappropriate can gain a girl or woman reputation

Why would women on their own avoid going into pubs?

As they area site of criminal behaviour there’s a fear of being regarded as sexually ‘loose’ or as sex workers

How do boys in school maintain control of girls and who is the sociologist that said this?

**LEES**

In school, boys maintain control through sexualised verbal abuse for example labelling girls as ‘slags’ if they fail to conform to gender role expecation

How does ‘*control at work’* make women conform?

Through the male supervisors and managers

What makes women stay ‘in their place’ and is widespread?

Sexual harassment

Women’s subordinate position

This reduces their opportunities to engage in major criminal activity at work

What is the *‘glass ceiling’*?

This is the prevention that many women face from rising to senior positions where there is greater opportunity to commit fraud. As a result, they are less likely to be invovled in white collar crime

What does **Heidensohn** recognise when it comes women and patriarchy?

That the patriarchy can also push some women into crime

What is an example of the patriarchy pushing women to crime?

Women are more likely to be poor (as a result of gender inequalities in the labour market) and may turn to theft or prostitution to gain a decent standard of living

What study did **Carlen** do?

She did an unstructured tape-recorded interviews which had thirty nine 15-46 year old working class women who had been convicted of a range of crimes.

What does **Hirschi** say?

Argues that humans act rationally and are controlled by being offered a ‘deal’ of rewards in return for conforming to social norms

Why would people turn to crime according to **Hirschi**?

People will turn if they do not believe the rewards will be forthcoming and of the rewards of crime appear greater than the risks

What are the two types of rewards or ‘deals’ that the WC will be generally led to conform through a promise?

* The class deal
* The gender deal

What is the *‘class deal’* and what sociologist is related to this?

**CARLEN**

This is hen women who work will be offered material rewards with a decent standard of living and leisure opportunities

What is the *‘gender deal’* and what is the sociologist related to this?

**CARLEN**

This is the patriarchal ideology that promises women material and emotional rewards from the family life by conforming to the norms of a conventional domestic gender role

What happens when the deals are not available or worth the effort?

Crime becomes a more likely option

What are some statistics relating to the *class deal* that was found from **Carlen’s** study?

* Thirty-two of them had always been in poverty
* Some found that qualifications gained in jail had been no help in gaining work upon release
* Many had experienced problems and humiliations in trying to claim benefits

What was the result of gaining no rewards from the *class deal*?

They felt they had nothing to lose by using crime to escape from poverty

What are some statistics relating to the *gender deal* that was found from **Carlen’s** study?

* Some had been abused physically or sexually by their fathers, or subjected to DV by partners
* Over half had spent time in care which broke the bonds with family and friends
* Those leaving or running away from care often found themselves homeless, unemployed and poor

What conclusion did women meet when they did not get the rewards from the *gender deal*?

Crime was the only route to a decent standard of living. They had nothing to lose and everything to gain

What does **Carlen** conclude about in the study of class and gender deals?

That these women, poverty and being brought up in care or an oppressive family life were the two main causes of their criminality

What are **Heidensohn and Carlen’s** approaches to female crime based on which combination?

Feminism and control theory

* **Heidensohn** shows the many patriarchal controls that help prevent women deviating
* **Carlen** shows how the failure of patriarchal society to deliver the promised ‘deals’ to some women removes the controls that prevent them from offending

What are the evaluation points of **Heidensohn and Carlen’s** approach to female crime?

* Both control and feminism can be accused of seeing women’s behaviour as determined by external forces such as patriarchal controls or class and gender deals
* This underplays the importance of free will and choice in offending
* **Carlen’s** sample was small and may be unrepresentative consisting as it did largely of working-class and serious offenders

**Alder** - Liberation Thesis

She argues that as women become more liberated from patriarchy their crimes will become as frequent and as serious as men’s. This liberation has led to a new type of female criminal and a rise in the female crime rate

What is the evidence that supports the liberation thesis?

* Both the overall rate of female offending and the female share of offences rose during the second half of the 20th century
* **Adler** argues that the pattern of female crime has shifted. She uses studies showing rising levels of female participation in crimes previously regarded as ‘male’
* There has been media talk of the growth of girl gangs. **Denscombe** 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’

What are some criticisms of the liberation thesis?

* Female crime rate began rising in the 1950s long before the women’s liberation movement that happened in the late 1960s
* Most female criminals are WC (the groups least likely to be influenced by the liberation thesis)
* there is little evidence that the illegitimate opportunity structure of professional crime has opened up to women

**Hand and Dodd**

Between 2000 and 2008 police statistics show the number of females arrested for violence rose by an average of 17% each year and similar trends have been noted in other countries

**Steffensmeier and Schwartz** - Net widening

* In reality there have been no change in women’s involvement in violent crime they argue that the rise in arrests is due to the justice system arresting and prosecuting females for less serious forms of violence than previously

A moral panic about girls? - **Burman and Batchelor**

They point to media depictions of young women as ‘drunk and disorderly, out of control and looking for fights’

A moral panic about girls? - **Sharpe**

The reports of binge drinking, girl gangs and more may be affecting the CJS ad she found that professionals like judges and police were influenced by media stereotypes of violent ‘ladettes’ and many believed that girls’ behaviour were rapidly getting worse

Gender and victimisation - Homicide victims

About 70% are male. Females are more likely to know their killer and 60% of these cases ere done by a partner or an ex.

Gender and victimisation - Victims of violence

* More women are victims of intimate violence. 1 in 4 will experience DV during their adult life
* 5 times more women than men report having been sexually assaulted
* Women are most likely to be victimised by an acquaintance

**Messerschmidt** - maculinity

He agues that masculinity is a social construct or accomplishment and men have to constantly work at constructing and presenting it o other

What are the different masculinities that co-exist within society **Messerschmidt** claims?

* Hegemonic masculinity: his is defined through work in the paid-labour market, the subordination of women, heterosexism and the driven and uncontrollable sexuality of men
* Subordinated masculinities: This includes gay men, lower-class and some minority ethnic group men who lack the resources to do so

What are the clas and ethnic differences among youths that lead to different forms of rule breaking to demonstrate masculinity?

* Whit middle class youths: They have to subordinate themselves to teachers in order to achieve middle class status this leads to an accommodating masculinity in school. Outside of school their masculinity takes an oppositional form
* White working class youths: They have less educational success so their masculinity is oppositional both in and out of school
* Black lower working class youths: they may have few expectations of a reasonable job due to racism and may use gang membership and violence to express their masculinity or turn to serous property crime to achieve material success

What are the criticisms of **Messerschmidt**?

* Is masculinity an explanation of male crime or just a description of male offenders. He is in danger of a circular argument as masculinity explains male crimes because they are crimes committed by males
* He doesn’t explain why not all men use crime to accomplish masculinity
* He over-works the concept of masculinity to explain virtually all males from joy riding to embezzlement

Winlow: postmodernity, masculinity and crime

He did a study of bouncers in Sunderland this is an areas of de-industrialisation and high unemployment. Working s bouncers in the pubs and clubs provided young men with both paid work and the opportunity for illegal men with both paid work and the opportunity for illegal business ventures as well as the opportunity to demonstrate their masculinity through the use of violence

What has emerged due to the new illicit business opportunities?

An organised professional criminal subculture

What has an organised professional criminal subculture have the ability?

The ability to use violence becomes not just a way of displaying masculinity but a commodity with which to earn a living

Bodily capital

Bouncers seek to develop their physical assets by bodybuilding

How is Winlow’s study important?

It shows how the expression of masculinity changes with he move from a modern industrial society to a postmodern de-industrial one. This change opens up new criminal opportunities for men who are able to use violence to express masculinity by creating the conditions for the growth of an organised criminal subculture