Please enable JavaScript.
Coggle requires JavaScript to display documents.
Crime and Gender - Coggle Diagram
Crime and Gender
Different Explanations
The subcultural theories of Miller (1962) and Merton (1968) argue that the culture and lifestyles of young men encourage and lead to crime
-
The Chivalry Thesis
-
Campbell (1981) did a self-report which unearthed a lot more female crime than the official statistics
However, she included more trivial crimes
Has been criticised as some sociologists argue that women's crimes are generally less serious, which is why they're punished less harshly
Women often show more remorse, which means they're more likely to be treated leniently
Sex-Role Theory
-
-
Heidensohn says that women are socialised into not being criminal in the same way as men are socialised into seeing criminal activity as acceptable
For women, criminal behaviour would be seen as highly deviant
Carlen (1997) found courts treated women differently depending on how they conformed to gender roles
E.g. women who were deemed good mothers were less likely to be jailed than those without children or with children in care
-
Feminist Theories
Social Control
Abbott and Wallace (1990) argue that young women are more closely watched by their families and given less freedom outside the home, reducing their opportunities for crime
Even outside the home, there are levels of control in action
-
In the workplace, managers and bosses are often male
Heidensohn (2002) agrees with Marsh that women have less 'opportunity' to commit some types of crime
Argues this is because of a patriarchal, male-dominated society
-
The crimes women do commit tend to relate to their role in the home as a wife or mother, shoplifting
The Liberation Thesis
-
Adler (1975) developed the liberation thesis - the idea that as women become more liberated and society becomes less patriarchal, women's crime rates increase
Leads to an increase in women committing previously male-dominated crimes, such as violence and armed robbery
Her ideas are supported by a rise in the female crime rate, and an increase in violent girl gangs
Westwood (1999) suggests female identities are changing and women are adopting more typically male behaviour patterns
-
-
-
Men are Convicted More
-
Men are suspected, charged and convicted of crime of almost all types more
This pattern crosses all other social factors such as age, class, ethnicity and religion