Feminist Criminology
11.1 Foundations of Feminist Criminology
Definition of Feminism
Feminism encompasses various forms with unique characteristics, but generally defines the discrimination experienced by women due to their sex or gender.
Central concepts include:
Patriarchy: A system that privileges male power and influences social structures leading to gender inequality.
Emphasizes the necessity for substantial changes within social institutions to achieve gender equality.
Break Out Box: Different Feminisms
Feminist perspectives in criminology address shortcomings in traditional criminological theories that often omit or misrepresent women.
Key factors considered include:
Patriarchy
Power dynamics
Capitalism
Gender inequality
Intersectionality
Main Feminist Perspectives in Criminology:
Liberal Feminism:
Focuses on achieving gender equality within existing social structures.
Argues for equal access to employment and educational opportunities for women.
Example: Access to programs for incarcerated women should match those available to men.
Criticism: Fails to recognize differing needs and risk factors between genders.
Radical Feminism:
Views society as patriarchal and structured to maintain male power.
Proposes that violence against women is a means of further subjugating them.
The criminal justice system is viewed as a tool for controlling women.
Advocates for dismantling patriarchal structures to resolve issues of violence against women.
Marxist Feminism:
Recognizes capitalism as the primary oppressor of women.
Exploits women through limited job access, commonly leading them into low-paying positions.
Links exploitation to disproportionate involvement in property crime and sex work.
Calls for restructuring society to liberate women from capitalist oppression.
Socialist Feminism:
Combines radical and Marxist perspectives.
Attributes gender oppression to both patriarchy and capitalism.
Advocates for removing both systems to address inequality.
Highlights how these overlapping inequalities influence female offending patterns.
Post-modern Feminism:
Acknowledges the diversity of women's experiences.
Challenges the notion of a singular feminist reality.
Focuses on deconstructing language and communication that shapes societal perceptions of women.
Recognizes the impact of variables such as race, sexuality, and class on women’s realities.
Intersectional Feminism:
Critiques other perspectives for neglecting how gender intersects with multiple identities (race, class, ethnicity, sexual orientation).
Advocates for understanding the compounded effects of these intersecting identities on women’s victimization and offending.
Indigenous Feminism emerged as a critique, addressing colonialism and patriarchy's impacts specifically on Indigenous women.
Waves of Feminism:
First Wave: Late 1800s - Early 1900s focused on suffrage and women's voting rights.
Second Wave: Began in the 1960s, advocating for gender equality and addressing issues like domestic violence and reproductive rights.
Third Wave: Mid-1990s focusing on diverse experiences of discrimination, introducing the concept of intersectionality.
Fourth Wave: Around 2010, characterized by online activism (e.g., #MeToo), inclusivity, and emphasis on a variety of gender issues.
Feminist Activism in the 1960s and 1970s:
Highlighted increased visibility of gender discrimination alongside liberation movements for Black Americans, LGBTQ+ rights, and anti-war protests.
Addressed women's victimization and challenges within the criminal justice system.
Resulted in the establishment of domestic violence shelters and recognition of systemic trauma among female offenders.
Women's absence in traditional criminology was challenged by feminist scholars who criticized the masculinist perspective controls in theory.
11.2 Critiques of Existing Criminological Theory
Emergence of Feminist Criminology:
Arising from the recognition of women’s exclusion in criminological theories that predominantly focused on male offending.
Theories generally fell into three categories:
Misogynistic: Negative portrayal of women, exemplified by Cesare Lombroso's work.
Lombroso's theories depicted women as inferior and primitive.
Suggested criminality stemmed from atavistic traits, contrasting them with non-criminals.
His belief: "Typical women were characterized by piousness, maternal instincts, and lack of intelligence,” with criminal women depicted as having masculine traits.
Gender-blind: Theories that entirely omitted gender, such as Hirschi's Social Bond Theory.
Initially focused on boys and ignored the female experience.
Key elements: attachment, commitment, involvement, and belief in social norms that discourage crime. Women’s perspectives were eroded from this framework.
“Add Women and Stir”: Assumptions that theories about male criminality could be universally applied to women without question.
Exemplar is Cloward and Ohlin’s Opportunity Theory, which examined paths of legitimate versus illegitimate success.
Failed to theorize the unique experiences of women under strain and assumed frivolous topics such as romance as their main concern.
Androcentric Nature of Criminology:
In the criminological field, male-centric theories dominated research, demanding female perspectives be equally acknowledged.
Prominent feminist criminologists (e.g., Meda Chesney-Lind, Carol Smart) called for women's experiences—both as victims and offenders—to be a focal point of study.
11.3 Issues that Brought Feminist Criminology to the Surface
Key Issues:
The differential treatment of women within the criminal justice system and issues around domestic violence.
Feminist criminology has significantly shaped the understanding of women’s victimization, emphasizing the systemic root causes.
Gender-based Violence Statistics:
Women are disproportionately affected by violence in Canada.
Concerning gendered aspects of victimization, female victims comprised two-thirds of police-reported family violence incidents.
Women account for 80% of intimate partner homicide victims.
Intersectional Differences:
Various identities (e.g., race, sexual orientation) intersect with gender, increasing vulnerability to violence.
Rates of violence escalate notably for women with disabilities and LGBTQ+ individuals.
Misogynoir concept describes the unique hatred faced by Black women, blending racial and gendered oppressions.
Indigenous Women's Victimization:
Indigenous women face distinct forms of violence linked to their historical and ongoing colonial oppression.
Indigenous women experience significantly higher rates of violence compared to non-Indigenous women.
11.4 Sexualised Violence
Victim Demographics:
A significant majority of sexual violence victims are women, particularly young women (87% of survivors).
Specific age groups impacted most: 12-17 years (33% of victims); 18-24 years (21% of victims).
In sexual assault cases, men are the perpetrators in 98% of reported instances.
Impact of Identifying Factors:
Women with disabilities report higher sexual violence rates.
Bisexual women face disproportionate levels of sexual violence compared to heterosexual women (four times more likely).
Transgender individuals also report higher levels of unwanted sexual behavior compared to cisgender individuals.
Victim-Blaming Culture:
Victims are frequently blamed for their assault, as evidenced in various legal cases (e.g., comments by Judge Robin Camp).
Victim-blaming contributes to underreporting due to fear and stigma surrounding assaults.
Feminist Criminology's Role:
Highlights the social structures (patriarchy, capitalism) contributing to women's victimization.
Calls for societal and systemic reforms within the criminal justice institutions to address these issues adequately.
11.5 Criminalisation of Women
Focus on Female Offenders:
Traditional criminology often overlooks female pathways to offending, leading to inadequate responses.
Recognition of female offenders as a minority; however, they still warrant close examination due to distinct motivations for criminality.
Theories of Female Offending:
Liberation Thesis by Adler and Simon (1975): Linked women's liberation movements to increased female crime in the 1960s and 70s.
Differed on perceived impacts on violent versus property crime; Adler suggested violent crime would rise, whereas Simon believed it would decrease.
Power Control Theory: Established by Hagan: Examines the family dynamic's influence on gendered crime patterns.
Portrays patriarchal settings as restrictive to girls leading to lower delinquency; egalitarian settings offer more opportunities for girls.
Cycle of Violence Theory by Widom (1989): Examines how experiencing trauma correlates to later criminal activity.
Pathways Theory: Investigates childhood abuse and trauma as significant contributing factors for female offending, noting higher prevalence rates in female offenders.
11.6 Crime Statistics on Women
Statistical Overview (2017):
Female offenders made up 25% of police-reported crime, largely resulting from property crimes (35%).
Women are less likely than men to face violent crime charges; when charged, 70% are for assault (primarily common assault).
Indigenous women face an alarming 27 times higher homicide rate compared to non-Indigenous counterparts.
Incarceration History in Canada:
Women historically poor treatment in incarceration settings, notably documented by various reports.
The Prison for Women opened in 1934, yet faced significant criticisms leading to eventual closures by 2000.
Ashley Smith Case:
Exhibits dire lack of treatment and trauma-informed care, culminating in her tragic death while in custody, highlighting extensive gaps in correctional health protocol.
11.7 Treatment in the Criminal Justice System
Gender Inequality Recognition:
Current feminist criminology emphasizes the need to recognize the multifaceted identities of women, including how race and socioeconomic status impact treatment in the justice system.
Victimization of incarcerated women:
Incarcerated women show disproportionately high levels of trauma and abuse, not criminal behavior per se.
Issues arise with mental health treatment for women in correctional facilities, leading to inadequate support systems.
Rape Culture:
Society often shifts blame to women for assaults via myths associated with sexual conduct.
The focus tends to be on preventative measures for women rather than addressing men’s behaviors that lead to assault.
Progress and Challenges:
Feminist advocacy has resulted in notable legal changes, such as the recognition of marital rape.
Ongoing social pushback against attitudes of victim-blaming indicates gradual progress in response-focused reformations; however, further work remains necessary to address continued inequalities.
11.8 Critiques of Feminist Criminology
Key Critiques Identified:
Focus predominantly on cisgender women with calls for more inclusivity towards all gender identities.
Intersectionality Acknowledgment:
Expanding the feminist perspective to cover how various demographics, including racialized and transgender women, experience distinctive forms of marginalization and victimization.
Expanded Theoretical Framework:
Modern feminist criminology serves to explicate the various living experiences for all individuals related to crime, focusing on how different social identities interweave and produce unique experiences of oppression, thus fostering an inclusive perspective on victimization and criminalization.