Chivalry Thesis

Otto Pollack (1950):

• Imbalance in the rates of male and female criminality

  • Males are more likely to be charged and convicted of crimes

• Pollack suggested that this was a misrepresentation - due to the paternalistic attitudes of men towards women

The Chivalry Thesis:

• Police less likely to record female crimes

• Judiciary less likely to hand down custodial sentences

• Men are socialised into protecting' women

• Assumptions about women's criminality being harmless - society perceives women to be good' yet in need of protection

• Crimes such as prostitution and petty thefts, such as shoplifting less likely to be
  recorded

Application of Chivalry Thesis:

• Oxford medical Student Lavinia Woodward was spared jail due to a promising medical career

• Woodward stabbed her boyfriend in the leg

• Woodward has a history of drug and alcohol abuse

• The judge praised her determination to overcome addiction and her promising career

Evidence for the Chivalry Thesis:

• Self-report studies suggest little difference between male and female criminality

• Males are more likely to receive custodial sentences and be seen as career criminals, and women are more likely to be perceived as errors of judgement

• 9% of women have criminal records compared to 32% of men

Evidence against Chivalry Thesis:

• Heidensohn (1996) - 'double deviance' - women judged on standards of deviance against norms and values of society and femininity

• Carlen (1997) - judgement is made against women on the basis of their gender roles, rather than their conduct

• Walklate (1998) - women are on trial as victims in rape cases - have to prove they did not consent