CTION
Hypothesis:
Women convicted of crimes of a similar nature to men are given a shorter prison sentence.
Sociological relevance:
This topic shows sociological relevance as it furthers societies understanding of the inequality prevalent throughout the process of being sentenced in the criminal justice system.
Common sense explanations:
A common sense explanation to explain why women are given shorter prison sentences compared with males is that people assume that men are more likely to commit crimes of a violent or sexual nature whereas women are more likely to commit crimes that are not perceived as violent, for example property offences. Males are therefore given a prison sentence that is much shorter than females. Another common sense …show more content…
The traditional gender roles assume that women are caring, gentle and fragile whereas men are strong, emotionless and violent. The criminal justice system therefore continues to view women as weak and innocent individuals. They do not believe that women have the ability to commit crimes that are of a violent nature. The criminal justice system therefore try to figure out what provoked the women to do it, instead of accepting the violent nature that the women possess.
Instead they assume that the women carrying out violent crimes must have been provoked by a man. The criminal justice system has been highlighted as viewing women as the weaker sex, in turn they feel the need to protect them from a harsh sentence. This may be a reason for the judges that Sonja Starr highlighted in her study, to give women a shorter sentence as they show them more compassion.
They would also say that the criminal justice system view men as being more deserving of the longer sentence, or harsh treatment, or they believe that the judges could be biased by assuming that men can commit violent and harmful crimes in comparison to not believing that a women has the capability to do the same …show more content…
Once someone is labelled as being a criminal, they will find that being labelled as such becomes the main label that they are known by. The label is perceived to be more important than the individual’s characteristics. If the criminal is a female the criminal justice system will see that main label instead of the label of being a criminal so that will affect the length of time they are in prison for.
Once an individual is labelled as a criminal they will have the tendency to continue to act and carry out that same behaviour. This impacts the sentencing process as the people who make the decisions label them and do not change that label. This leads to them thinking about the person recommitting that crime again and ignore any personal characteristics. Due to the label they give the individual a lesser sentence may be given in the hopes that they will not continue to behave in the way that they once
Hypothesis:
Women convicted of crimes of a similar nature to men are given a shorter prison sentence.
Sociological relevance:
This topic shows sociological relevance as it furthers societies understanding of the inequality prevalent throughout the process of being sentenced in the criminal justice system.
Common sense explanations:
A common sense explanation to explain why women are given shorter prison sentences compared with males is that people assume that men are more likely to commit crimes of a violent or sexual nature whereas women are more likely to commit crimes that are not perceived as violent, for example property offences. Males are therefore given a prison sentence that is much shorter than females. Another common sense …show more content…
The traditional gender roles assume that women are caring, gentle and fragile whereas men are strong, emotionless and violent. The criminal justice system therefore continues to view women as weak and innocent individuals. They do not believe that women have the ability to commit crimes that are of a violent nature. The criminal justice system therefore try to figure out what provoked the women to do it, instead of accepting the violent nature that the women possess.
Instead they assume that the women carrying out violent crimes must have been provoked by a man. The criminal justice system has been highlighted as viewing women as the weaker sex, in turn they feel the need to protect them from a harsh sentence. This may be a reason for the judges that Sonja Starr highlighted in her study, to give women a shorter sentence as they show them more compassion.
They would also say that the criminal justice system view men as being more deserving of the longer sentence, or harsh treatment, or they believe that the judges could be biased by assuming that men can commit violent and harmful crimes in comparison to not believing that a women has the capability to do the same …show more content…
Once someone is labelled as being a criminal, they will find that being labelled as such becomes the main label that they are known by. The label is perceived to be more important than the individual’s characteristics. If the criminal is a female the criminal justice system will see that main label instead of the label of being a criminal so that will affect the length of time they are in prison for.
Once an individual is labelled as a criminal they will have the tendency to continue to act and carry out that same behaviour. This impacts the sentencing process as the people who make the decisions label them and do not change that label. This leads to them thinking about the person recommitting that crime again and ignore any personal characteristics. Due to the label they give the individual a lesser sentence may be given in the hopes that they will not continue to behave in the way that they once