Women in crime exam 2

the extent of offending

frequency with which they offend

nature of crime

type of crime committed

gender related crimes

>= 20%

theft- men more

forgery & fraud- men more

robbery- men more

white collar crime- women typically embezzle + shoplift for need not greed

prostitution- women related

gender neutral

<= 10%

poverty & theft

gender gap

bc of gender bias, assumptions of women participating in certain crimes, self report surveys lack of willingness to report

UCR

advantages: nationally representative

disadvantages: hierarchy rule, not a lot of info on victims or offenders

NIBRS

advantages: detailed data on 22 categories of offenses, no hierarchy rule

disadvantages: not nationally adopted

NCVS

includes ages 12+

gender differences in offending

men more likely to offend w other men

womens serious offenses done w men

girl related offenses= shoplifting

boy related offenses= assault

drugs and alcohol- womens context

male gender related

women are in a compromising position bc its believed these can lead to sex work

women more likely to self medicate for internalized probs

use drugs to lose weight- social constructs

women more likely to be introduced to these by spouses, men more likely by friends

strong relationship between risky behavior and substance use

theft- women context

males do it more and commit additional crimes on top

men start at younger age

men more likely to be arrested and do it more often

women more likely to have a co-offender & drug addiction feeding the crime

women do it out of need, poverty, drug addiction

robbery- women context

male gendered

men commit bc of toxic masculinity and use force/ weapons

women commit for necessity

target other women

use men to commit against other men

promise sexual favors w out delivering

white collar crimes- women context

women commit embezzlement- typically as bank tellers

some scholars think they shouldnt be convicted of WCW- not in position of power

commit out of need not greed

corruption- using influence in buisness transactions to obtain things for themselves; equal in both genders

fraud statements- falsification of documents; equal in both genders

sex workers and prostitution- women context

female gendered offense

Recievers/ buyers- 97% men are buyers

givers/ sellers- 23% of men are givers

brokers/ pimps/ facilitators- 77% of men

known as a victimless offense

sex workers do so for need of money

aggression and assault - women context

relationship between impulsivity and violence

men more likely- high testosterone

when women do this- primarily associated w others involved in some sort of crime

typically socially alienated from conventional life- no bonds

child abductions & kidnappings- women context

abduction- interference w family relationship like taking a child from a parent

kidnapping- taking a person against their will

sensationalized in the media- fear of vans, minorities said to be runaways

victim offender relationship

homicides- women context

intimate partner homicide- men 5x more likely to

women 3x more likely to be killed by spouse than men

filicide (killing the child)- more impulsive or revenge based

• mothers more likely to drown or young girls trying to hide pregnancies

girls and women in gangs

bargaining w the patriarchy - accept their role in gangs for social benefits like protection and respectability

Processing of women in the CLS

arrest- booking at station- appear before magistrate- indictment, trail, sentence- punishment and corrections

factors that influence decision making in the CLS

legal characteristics

extralegal characteristics

disputed characteristics

cultural variables

aggravating factors

mitigating factors

legal characteristics

extent, nature, prior crim history

extralegal characteristics

race/ ethinicty

sexuality

aggravating factors

can enhance sentencing outcome

can overlap w extralegal characteristics

equal treatment hypothesis

women and men are treated the same no matter the crime

law is law

chivalry hypothesis

says women are treated more leniently for same crime

chivalry is complicated

objected equal treatment- in similar circumstances men and women are treated similarly, but they are rarely in the same circumstances- employment, childcare, etc.

Reasons ppl think women should get chivalry:

• blameworthiness- not to blame bc they experience more trauma and victimization

• risk- women are less risky than men, more dependant on spouses, and kids depend on them so less at risk to offend

• practical constraint and consequences- some decisions made have a higher risk to kids if moms are incarcerated as opposed to dads

benevolent sexism

protects or rewards women who are traditionally feminine

hostile sexism

punishes women who are masculine

women who offend are masculine

evil woman hypothesis

women treated more harshly- not only broke law but the stereotype too

penal coloniality

promotes stigma that keeps poor populations afraid of eachother and as a result there is no solidarity

black and latinx populations more likely to be incarcerated

missing black man phenomenon

census data found 1.5 million black man missing from it

result of incarceration and early deaths- being killed on military duty

40 missing black men for 100 black women

mis measured race/ ethnicity

official records measure latinx ppl as white

ethnicities may be lumped together or guessed

3 means of gender discrimination in criminal law

implementing gender specific laws

applying gender neutral laws differently

victims gender based application

Muncy act and indeterminate sentencing

1813 in pensylvania

women sentenced to an indeterminate unfixed time until they are rehabilitated- submissive or model women

1966& 1973 state v chambers-

supreme court struck down indeterminate sentencing bc it violated the 14th amendment

only ended in 1979 when a state code was implemented

successful reforms

1900s- development of juvenille court

aimed to normalize girls sexuality

educate society that its normal to have sexual feelings/ behaviors

juvenille justice and delinquency prevention act

1974

successful in decreasing status offender incarceration by denying state funding for delinquency programs if they institutionalized status offenders

girls still being institutionalized at camps bc of sexuality

womens prison regime

since 1980s have seen lots of women in prisons

womens prison reform

prisons trying to do better- make prisoners better than when they arrived

originally they tried to domesticize and feminize

parenthood in prison

nurseries in prisons- kid can stay w mom for an allotted time

• allows bonds to form

• not as many adverse affects on the child

goal is to have them not return to prison

number of kids w incarcerated moms outpaced that of fathers'

moms held to high standards of cleanliness and caretaking

prison prorams

educational

recreational

vocational

changed notion of gender stereotypes

health needs in prison

some women would only first recieve healthcare when arriving at prison

HIV/ AIDS, OBGYN, mental health, disabilities

prison subculture- women context

pseudo families- respect among others/ elders

gang violence not as present

less racial tension

family matters over other concerns

form emotional and sexual bonds with inmates