Explaining female crime

Parsons (1955) traces diffs in crime + deviance to gender roles in nuclear family. Men - instrumental role, performed outside home, women - expressive, inside home. Gives girls access to adult role model, boys rejectfem models of behaviour - distance themselves, engage in 'compensatory compulsory masculinity' - aggression, anti-social behaviour -> delinquency. 

Men less socialising role, socialisation more difficult for boys - Cohen - lack of adult role model - boys more likley to turn to all-male street gangs.

Walklate (2003) criticises sex role theory for bio assumptions - P assumes b/c women have bio capacity to bear children, they're best suited to expressive role.

Argues women's behaviour conformit - commit fewer + less serious crimes than men - her view, b/c patriarchal control reduces opps - operates at home, work + public.

Home - domestic role, restrictions on time + movement, confined to house. If try to reject domestic role, may -> domestic violence.

Public - threat/fear of male violence agaisnt them. Sensationalist media reporting of **** adds to fear. Fear of being defined as not respectable - dictates how act, dress, make up etc.

Work - male supervisors/managers. Sexual harassment widespread, helps keep women 'in their place'. Reduces opps eg 'glass ceiling' prevents from higher jobs, so can't commit corporate crime.

Study 15-46 y/o w/c women convicted of range of crimes. 20 in prison/youth custody. Argues most serious female criminals w/c. Argues w/c women led to conform through promise of 2 types of rewards/'deals':
 - class deal - if work, offered material rewards, decent standard of living + leisure opps
 - gender deal - patriarchal ideology promises women material + emotional rewards from family life by conforming to norms of conventional domestic gender role.

If rewards not available/worth it, crime more likely. In terms of class, deal, women had failed to find legit way of earning decent living, felt powerless - 32 had been in poverty. As gained no rewards from class deal, felt nothing to lose by using crime.

Gender deal - most women either not had opp to make deal, or saw few rewards - some abused by fathers/domestic violence from partnets - over half spent time in care, broke bonds w/ family+ friends.

C concludes for these women, poverty + being in care 2 main causes of criminality.

H + C approach based on combo of fem + control theory - can be accused of seeking women's behaviour as determined by external forces eg partiarchal controls/class + gender deal - critics argue underplays importance of free will + choice in offending.

If patriarchal society control over women to prevent from deviating, logical to assume if society less patriarchal, women's crime rates similar to men - lib thesis - Alder (1975).

Argues changes in structure of society -> changes in women's offending behaviour. Patriarchal control + discrimination lessened, opps in education + work more equel, women adopt 'male' roles - more crime. No longer just commit 'female' crimes - b/c of greater self confidence + more opps.

Supporting evidence:
 - overall rate of female offending + female share of offences rose in 2nd half 20th century.
 - media talk growth of 'girl gangs' - Denscombe (2001) Midlands teenagers' self-images - females as likely as males to engage in risk-taking behaviour.

Female crime rate began rising in 1950s - before lib movement.

Most female criminals w/c - least likely to be influenced by liberation.

Official stats - increase in female arrest + conviction rates for violent crime.

If police stats accurate, suggests females increasingly committing typically 'male' crimes - violent offending.

Other sources show opp to official stats. Steffensmeier + Schwartz (2009) - female share of arrests for violence 1/5 -> 1/3, rise police stats not mayched by victim surveys or self-report studies.

Net widening - S + S - reality, no chnage in women's involvement, rise in arrests due to justice system 'widening net' - arresting + prosecuting females for less serious forms of violence than before.

Sharpe + Gelsthorpe (2009) - support NW.

Burman + Batchelor (2009) - media depictions of young women 'drunk + disorderly' -> moral panic. Reports featuring binge drinking may be affecting CJS - found professionals eg judges, probation officers influenced by media stereotypes of violent 'ladettes', believed girls' behaviour getting wrose.

Overall effect - self-fulfilling prophecy, amplification spiral - media peaks interest of police, tougher stance, more convisions, more neg media.

Homicide victims: 70% male. Female more likely to know their killer, 60% in these cases parter/ex partner. Males most likel to be killed by friend/acquaintance.

Victims of violence: fewer women victims. Women most likley to be victimised by acquaintance, men by stranger. 10x more women reported sexually assaulted.

Mismatch b/ween fear + risk?: women greater fear of cirme, but CSEW shows at less risk of victimisation. Victim surveys don't necessarily convey freq/severity of victimisation.