Gender, Crime And Justice

Front 1

GRAHAM & BOWLING

Back 1

1,721 14-25 year olds. They found males were more likely to offend but the difference was smaller than that recorded in official statistics.

Front 2

HOOD

Back 2

Study of over 3,000 defendants, women were about 1/3 less likely to be jailed in similar cases.

Front 3

FARRINGTON & MORRIS

Back 3

Sentencing of 408 offences of theft in the magistrates' court and they found that women weren't sentenced more leniently for comparable offences.

Front 4

BUCKLE & FARRINGTON

Back 4

Observational study of shoplifting in a department store witnessed twice as many males shoplifting compared to females, however, the numbers of male/female offenders in official statistics are more or less equal. Suggesting women shoplifters may be more likely to be prosecuted than their male counterparts.

Front 5

BOX

Back 5

Review of American and British self-report studies concludes that women who commit serious offences aren't treated more favourably than men. Women offenders also seem to be more likely to show remorse this may help to explain why they are more likely to receive a caution instead of going to court.

Front 6

HEIDENSOHN

Back 6

Argues courts treat females more harshly than males when they deviate from gender norms. For ex.
Double standards - courts punish girls but not boys for premature/promiscuous sexual activity. 'Wayward' girls can end up in care without ever having committed an offence.
Women who don't conform to accepted standards of monogamous heterosexuality/motherhood are punished more harshly.

Front 7

SMART

Back 7

Feminists argue that double standards exist because the criminal justice system is patriarchal. E.g. rape cases, male judges have made sexist, victim-blaming remarks.
JUDGE WILD; "women who say no don't always mean no. If she doesn't want it, she only has to keep her legs shut."

Front 8

PARSONS - Functionalist sex role theory

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Men take the instrumental role - breadwinner, outside the home. Women take the expressive role. Girls access an adult role model, boys reject feminine models of behaviour (emotion,gentle). Boys seek for distance by engaging in 'compensatory compulsory masculinity' through aggression and antisocial behaviour, this can slip into delinquency. So, socialisation can be more difficult for boys rather than girls. This can help to explain why females commit less crime.

Front 9

WALKLATE

Back 9

Criticises Parsons' functionalist sex role theory, WALKLATE says Parsons assumes because women have the biological capacity to bear children they are best suited to the expressive role.

Front 10

HEIDENSOHN - patriarchal control

Back 10

The patriarchal control over women reduces their opportunities to offend.
- Control at home; domestic role, housework, childcare, confining a woman to the house, reducing opportunities for them to offend. Women who reject role may experience domestic violence by partners.
- Control in public; threat/fear of male violence especially sexual violence. Distorted media portrayals of raping strangers has kept women inside. They are also controlled by the fear of being seen as not respectable. Dress,makeup, demeanour are defined as inappropriate, gaining a 'reputation'. Women on their own in a pub? Site of criminal behaviour, prostitutes? LEES - boys maintain control through calling girls 'slut' or 'slag.'
- Control at work; sexual harassment is widespread, women's subordinate position reduces their opportunities to engage in criminal behaviour at work. The 'glass ceiling' prevents many women rising to senior positions where there's greater chance to commit fraud.

Front 11

... HEIDENSOHN continued...

Back 11

Patriarchal control giving fewer opportunities for women to commit crime.
Heidensohn recognises patriarchy can push women into crime. Women are more likely to be poor, turn to theft or prostitution to gain a decent standard of living.

Front 12

CARLEN - based on feminism and control theory.

-Using unstructured tape-recorded interviews
- 39 14-46 year old working class women
- convicted of a crime (theft, fraud, burglary, drugs, proposition, arson & violence.
- 20 in a prison or youth custody.

Back 12

CARLEN uses HIRSCH'S theory...
Humans are rewarded for conforming to social norms. People will turn to crime if they don't believe they'll get the rewards and rewards of crime are greater than the risks. The women are generally led to conform through the promise of 2 deals;
- the CLASS deal; women who will work will be offered material rewards, a decent standard of living, leisure opportunities.
- the GENDER deal; patriarchal ideology promises women material and emotional reward from family life by conforming to the norms of a conventional domestic gender role.
If these rewards aren't available, crime becomes more likely...
32 - always been in poverty
Problems with claiming benefits
Qualification in jail - no use gaining work upon release
Some been abused physically/sexually by partner
Over 1/2 spent time in care
Running away from care - then unemployed, homeless,poor.

Front 13

... CARLEN continued

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EVALUATION;

+ Many patriarchal controls prevent women from deviating. Failure of patriarchal society to deliver the promised 'deals' to some women removes the controls that prevent them from offending.

- Seeing womens' behaviour by external factors, what about free will and choice?
Carlen's sample = small, unrepresentative.

Front 14

ADLER

Back 14

THE LIBERATION THESIS
As women become liberated from patriarchy, their crimes with become frequent and as serious as mens. Changes in the structure of society have led to changes in women offending behaviour. Females now commit typically 'male' offences such as violence,white collar crime. They now have greater opportunities in the legitimate structure. E.g. higher jobs therefore more opportunities to commit fraud.

Front 15

DENSCOMBE

Back 15

Media talk of the growth of 'girl gangs.'
It was found females were as likely as male to engage in risk-taking behaviour and girls were adopting more male stances, e.g. the desire to be in control/ to look 'hard.'

Front 16

MESSERSCHMIDT

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Argues that different masculinities coexist within society but that hegemonic masculinity is the dominant one that most men wish to accomplish.
HEGEMONIC MASCULINITY = "work in the paid labour market, the subordination of women, heterosexism (difference from and desire for women) and the driven and uncontrollable sexuality of men. "

Front 17

WINLOW - bouncers in Sunderland.

An area of de-industralisation and unemployment.

Back 17

Bouncers - paid work, opportunity for illegal business ventures (drugs) the opportunity to demonstrate masculinity through violence. In modern society = there's always been a violent, conflict subculture in Sunderland. 'Hard men' earned status through their ability to use violence. The absence of a professional criminal career so little opportunity for career in organised crime. Postmodern society = organised professional criminal subculture has emerged as a result of new business opportunities to be found in the night-time economy. Violence isn't just a way of displaying masculinity but a commodity with which to earn a living. To maintain their reputation/employability, the men must use BODILY CAPTIAL. E.g. bouncers-physical assets. To maintain the sign value of their bodies, to discourage competitors from challenging them. This shift to postmodernism has opened up criminal opportunities for men who are able to use violence to express masculinity and organised criminal subcultures.