Sociology- key ideas of every topic
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- Created by: Tamsin Scott
- Created on: 24-03-15 10:39
Do women commit more crime?
- Less likely to be reported
- 'Female crimes' less likely to me noticed or reported eg property crime
- Prostitution- not likely to be reported by either party
- More likely to be let off lightly
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The Chivalry Thesis
- Most criminal justice agents are male and socialised to act in a 'chivalrous' way towards women
- Pollak- Men have a protective attitude towards women- 'hate to accuse women and send them to their punishment'
- Criminal justice system is more lenient with women
- Graham and Bowling- IRL males 2.33x more likely to commit crime, official statistics 4x
- Flood Page et al - 1 in 11 women had been cautioned, 1 in 7 men
- Women are more likely to be cautioned
- Ministry of justice - 49% female cautions, 30% male cautions
- Hood - Women are 1/3 less likely to be jailed in similar cases
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Evidence against Chivalry Thesis
- Women show more remorse, meaning they get a caution, not a prosecution
- Box - Women who commit crimes aren' punished more leniently
- Female crimes are less serious, meaning they don't get prosecuted
- Buckle and Farrington - 2x as many males shoplifting as females, official statistics say it's equal
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Bias Against Women
- Double standards- Courts punish girls for sexual behaviour
- Women who do not conform are punished more harshly
- Stewart - Magistrated perceptions of female defendants were based on stereotypical gender roles
- Carlen - Women are jailed less for the seriousness of their crimes but more what kind of mother, daughter or wife they are
- Scottish judges are more likel to jail women whose childen were in care than women who they saw as good mothers
- **** cases show the system is patriarchal
- Women have to work to show they are respectable enough to be believed- women who aren't find it difficult to have their testimony believed by the court
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Functionalist Sex Role Theory
- Boys are socialised to be tough and risk taking, meaning they are more disposed to find criminal opportunities
- Parsons- Boys reject feminine models of behaviour, and distance themselves by finding 'compensatory compulsory masculinity' through aggression and anti social behaviour
- Cohen- lack of male role model means boys will turn to all male street gangs as a source of masculine identity
- Tries to explain gender differences through socialisation based on biological assumptions about gender differences
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Heidensohn- Patriarchal control
- Women are controlled at home with restrictions on their time due to housework and childcare
- Women are scared of domestic abuse so conform to these chores
- Mne control women with financial power- refuse to give them money to perform activities that may lead to crime
- Daughters aren't allowed out late, so can't commit crimes outside of the home
- Women are controlled in public by the fear of crimes against them
- 54% of women avoided going out after dark for fear of being victims of crime
- Sensationalist reports of **** add to women's fear
- Women are controlled by the fear of not being respectable- don't want to gain a reputation
- Controlled at school by being called sluts etc
- Sexual harassment at work keeps women 'in their place'
- Glass ceiling etc prevents women from rising to senior positions where they can commit crimes such as fraud
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Carlen - Class and Gender Deals
- Women are offered rewards for conforming to social norms. Sometimes people turn to crime if they think the rewards of crime are better, or if they can't achieve regular rewards
- Women in study hadn't got rewards from class deal - 32 had been in poverty, found qualifications from jail didn't help. and found humiliation in trying to gain benefits. Felt they had nothing to lose from crime.
- Women in study hadn't got rewards from gender deal - hadn't had opportunity, spent time in care breaking bonds with family and friends, or been physically/sexually abused by men in their life. 'Had nothing to lose and everything to gain'
- Underplays role of free will in crime. Only focuses on w.c. women.
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Liberation Thesis
- As women become more equal, their crimes become more frequent and as serious as mens
- Structural changes in society have changed women's offending behaviour- women being relatively equal in the workplace means they can commit the same crimes.
- Rate of female offending and female share of offences have gone up- risen from 1 in 7 to 1 in 6.
- Rising female participation in male crimes
- Growth of 'girl gangs'
- Crime rate started rising before women's liberation movement
- Most female criminals are working class, the group least likely to be influenced by women's liberation
- Women going into drugs may be a side affect of prostitution
- Female gang members are expected to conform to trad. gender roles the same way as non deviant girls, showing that the illegitimate opportunity hasn't really opened up
- Overestimates the extent to wich women are liberated, and how much they can participate in serious crime.
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