Gender, Crime and Justice
- Created by: chocolateflavouredmilk
- Created on: 01-03-20 17:42
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- Gender, Crime and Justice
- Do Women Commit More Crime?
- Some sociologists and criminologists argue that the statistics underestimate the amount of female as against male offending
- Two arguments been put forward in support of this view
- Typically 'female' crimes are less likely to be reported, for example, prostitution is unlikely to be reported by either the male or female party.
- They are less likely to be prosecuted or, if prosecuted, more likely to be let of relatively lightly.
- The Chivalry Thesis
- The thesis argues that most criminal justice agents are men, and men are socialised to act in a 'chivalrous' way towards women.
- Pollak argues that men have a protective attitude towards women and that they hate to accuse women and dislike to arrest them.
- Therefore, the criminal justice system is more lenient with women and so their crimes are less likely to end up in the official statistics.
- Hood's study of over 3000 defendants found that women were about one-third less likely to be jailed in similar cases.
- Evidence Against the Chivalry Thesis
- Box review of British and America self-report studies concluded that women who commit serious offences are not treated more favourably than men.
- Self-report Studies: provide evidence that males commit more offences, young men are more likely to drink, take illegal drugs or engage in disorderly conduct.
- Crimes of the powerful are also under-represented and these are more likely to be committed by men.
- Bias Against Women
- Many feminists feel that the criminal justice system is bias against women
- Heidensohn argues that courts treat females more harshly than males when they deviate form their gender norms.
- Double standards: court punish girls but not boys for premature or promiscuous sexual activity.
- Women who do not conform to accepted standards of monogamous heterosexuality and motherhood are punished more harshly.
- Carlen argues that when women are jailed it is less for the seriousness of their crimes and more according to the ourt's assessment of them as wives, mothers and daighters.
- Feminists argue that double standards exist because the criminal justice system is patriarchal.
- Many feminists feel that the criminal justice system is bias against women
- Do Women Commit More Crime?
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