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gender + crime - Coggle Diagram
gender + crime
explaining male criminality
Messerschmidt
= men commit crime in order to show their masculinity and prove that they are men e.g domestic violence
men are stereotyped as being more violent than women - male behaviour is seen as criminal to police officers
men are labelled as providers for the family and may turn to crime in order to achieve this
A03
women nowadays can be breadwinners
men have more opportunities to commit crime as they are more likely to be in the public sphere (where crime happens most)
gender bias in criminal justice
Pollak
= official statistics underestimate female offending because women are naturally more skilled than men at deceiving people
women get away with more undetected crime such as petty theft
Chivalry Thesis
= suggests that officials in the criminal justice system (who are predominantly men) are more inclined to let women suspects off, or to punish them less severely than men -> the idea that men are socialised to be softer and protective towards women while being harder on men
Holborn
= women are less likely than men to be sent to prison when convicted
in 2009, men were given longer sentences, on average than women
A03
in certain instances, women receive harsh punishment
bias against women
Walkgate =
argues that in rape trials, women's complaints are often not taken seriously and a large majority of alleged rapists are found not guilty
it is the female victim rather than the male suspect who ends up on trial because women are questioned about their sexual history
police officers do not take domestic violence against women seriously
Westmarland
= argues that women who are trafficked from one country to another to become sex workers are often treated with hostility by the authorities
double standards
Heidensohn =
women are treated badly when they deviate from the norms of behaviour associated with femininity - seen as 'double deviants'
leads to more severe treatment
yet courts are reluctant to send mothers with young children to prison
women tend to be divided into virgins or whores, witches or wives, depending on how they are seen, treated differently
explaining female criminality
biological explanations
= women are different from men, with a natural desire to be caring and nurturing
sex-role theory
= argues that women are less likely than men to commit crime because there are core elements of the female role that limit their ability to do so
Parsons
= most child-rearing is carried out by mothers, girls have a clear role model to follow that emphasises caring and support
Boys lacking male role models may turn to gangs to give them that support, which leads them to crime
A03
reasons for criminality may not link to socialisation - e.g. poverty
the changing role of 'liberationist' perspective = increasing rates of female crime are linked to their freedom from social control
Denscombe
= increasingly women are as likely as men to engage in risk taking behaviour
A03
Heidensohn
= argues that women most likely to be involved in crime tend to be poor/ working class who do not experience the benefits of women's liberation
identities are being reconstructed
feminist perspectives on women and crime
Heidensohn
= women are less likely to commit crime because they are subjected to closer levels of social control than men
control at home
women controlled through lack of time because of their primary responsibility of childcare and housework - keeping them in the home for more hours than men
controlled through domestic violence or financial dominance
control in public
women may choose not go into public spaces because they fear being attacked, raped, etc especially at night
sexists comments and the risk of being labelled 'slag' limits the freedom of women
control at work
most managers are men and therefore in a position to exercise control over females
various forms of sexual harassment might stop women from asserting themselves in the workplace
Carlen
= found that the women in the study were overwhelmingly from working class backgrounds and so had not enjoyed the benefits of women's liberation
the class deal = involves sacrificing personal freedom and working hard in order to earn enough to gain access to consumer goods
the gender deal = involves accepting marriage for the promise of security and happiness through family life (patriarchal ideology)
women tend to become offenders because they have little reason to conform
A03
can apply to male offenders too, not just women