Gender, The Law and Crime.
Only men can be convicted of rape, women of infanticide or soliciting as prostitutes.
Smart (1977)Claims that littler research until recently has been done on Women and Crime, because female crime is not seen as a problem. Females tend to commit trivial crimes, and malestreamness (sociology dominated by men).
Argues that in rape the criminal justice system is biased against women.
"Women who say no, do not always mean no" Judge Wild 1982---[
bastard!]
Official Crime Statistics show that Women commit far less crime than men. (Men are 20 times more likely to be convicted of bulergy)
Pollack (1950) btw my teacher really thinks most of the below is crap
Claims that's official statistic seriously underestimate the extent of female criminality. Claims that almost all shoplifting is carried out by women, but such crimes go unreported.
Many Unreported crimes done by female domestic servants.
Women's domestic role gave them the chance of hiding crimes such as sexually abusing children. Police, Courts are more lenient to women (chivalry factor).
Women are good at hiding their crimes. They are used to hiding pain of menstruation.
Heidensohn
Shows the flaws of Pollock's argument's; much shoplifting is committed by men, men are more likely to commit violent and sexual offences in their own home.
Some Self Report Studies have supported
Pollack's claim that women are more likely to be cautioned rather than prosecuted, compared to men.
Box
Argues that women do not receive more favourable treatment on serious offences.
Buckle and Farrington
In an observational study found that 2.8% of 142 men shoplifted compared to 1.4% of 361 women.
[note the differences in amount of men and women]
Dobash and Dobash
Found that Police are unlikely to arrest a male offender who had use violence against his wife.
Farrington and Morris
Found that although men received more sentences than women, the differences disappeared when the severity of offences was taken into account.
R.Hood (1989)
Found that white women were given custodial sentences 34% less often than men and black women 37% less often than men. In the last few years the ruse in the female prison population is due to women who do not pay fines being imprisoned.
Causes of Female Crime.
Lombroso
Argues that biology prevents women being criminal. Few women that were 'born criminal' had enormous wickedness.
Heidensohn claims such findings are unscientific.
Adler
Claims that Women's Liberation Movement has led to more female crime.
Between 1960-72 women's arrest rates, robberies and embezzlement's rose. Women were taking on crimes such as robbing banks, loan sharking etc.
Box and Hale
Found little evident that Women's Liberation was causing crime. Instead they found that as more women Police officers were employed women so the Police were more sensitive to female crime, thus more was recorded.
Also found that as women became less well off due to unemployment, inadequate levels of welfare and economic marginalisation, female crime increased.
However, Box and Hale use unreliable official statistic.
Carlen
Used unstructured interviews with W/C female convicted offenders. Found that women's liberation did not increase crime.
Claims that W/C woman are more likely to be criminalised than M/C. Uses control theory- that people turn to crime when its advantages outweigh the disadvantages.
Believes that W/C women have been controlled by the Class Deal (material reward for W/C women who work) and a Gender Deal (psychological and material rewards from husband's wage).
When women do not have these rewards available to them (for example, due to poverty) then they can turn to crime.
The women themselves attributed criminality to drug addiction, quest for enjoyment, being brought up in care and poverty.
Heidensohn
Claims that women commit less crime because;
1- Male dominated patriarchal society controls women
2- Being a housewife limits the opportunities to commit crime
3- Men use financial powers to control women
4- Women are controlled in public by holding on to a good reputation
5- Women confined in the private sphere
6- Control of males at work
She concludes that crime occurs as some women see the system as patriarchal and push against it. Others resort to crime because they are vulnerable, and being economically exploited.
If women loose their protection then they turn to crime.
Criticism-
Heidensohn's study is based on generalisations that do not apply to many women.
Masculinities and Crime.
Miller
Did relate crime to W/C, male dominated culture of toughness.
Lombroso and Ferrero
Related gender differences in crime to biological differences.
Messerschmidt
Dismissed biological accounts on the link between masculinity and crime. There are societies were men are not aggressive.
Claims that sex-role theories are flawed because men and women are active in their role relations.
Believes that different masculinity's lead to different crimes.
Claims there are 2 types of masculinity;
1- Hegemonic Masculinities- (White M/C)
Dominant and highly value consciouses, based on the subordination of women.
2- Subordinated Masculinities (homosexual and African-American)
Less powerful and have less status. These men find it more difficult to get benefits from power over women. Crime is a means for such groups of asserting masculinity.
White M/C males enjoy educational success, this involves emasculation. School pranks, vandalism, drinking assert masculinity.
White and Black Lower W/C males adopt oppositional masculinity both inside and outside of school. Unable to access the advantages of hegemonic masculinity through legitimate means, so they turn to street crime, violence over women.
He discuss how different masculinities can be expressed by different men in different contexts. Eg the cool ose of the bad ass street pimp, corporate executive at work, W/C man in traditional home.
Criticisms-
Fails to explain why only a small minority of African-American males commit rape. Based on negative stereotypes of men. What about Political motivated crimes?
Sociology discussion, revision and homework help.
Useful Resources:
Crime & Deviance notes :)
