Gender and Crime (1)

Question 1

Offer a brief suggestion as to why female crime might be on the rise

Answer 1

• result of women becoming more independent and able to create identities for themselves

Question 2

Why might women be less likely to be convicted of violent or sexual crimes?

Answer 2

• as a society we think they’re motherly

- they’re not getting caught

Question 3

What is the ratio of male to female crime?

Answer 3

• 4:1

Question 4

Why has male-dominated criminology neglected female crime?

Answer 4

• women were seen as less likely to commit crime
• seen as less likely to be in need of controlling
• want to focus on larger, more interesting crimes and women tend to commit petty crimes

Question 5

How have sociologists linked male criminality and masculinity?

Answer 5

• males are thought to achieve and express their masculinity through crime
• they feel they need to make money to provide
• masculinity can be proved via what crime promises eg. toughness

Question 6

Why might official statistics show that a higher proportion of female than male offenders are convicted of property offences, except for burglary?

Answer 6

• women aren’t as physically strong which doesn’t make a very good burglar
• women may not be able to leave children

Question 7

Which gender has the higher proportion convicted of violence or sexual offences?

Answer 7

• male

Question 8

Why are males more likely to be repeat offenders, career criminals for a longer time, and commit more serious offences?

Answer 8

• may be hooked on drugs/ drink
• might be homeless and looking for a bed etc
• they may fall into harder or more serious crimes

Question 9

Give a brief outline of the two arguments that some sociologists use to argue that statistics underestimate the amount of female crime

Answer 9

1) typically ‘female’ crimes are less likely to be reported
2) even when women’s crimes are detected or reported they are less likely to be prosecuted/ will receive a lighter sentence

Question 10

Give two examples of ‘female’ crimes that are less likely to be reported

Answer 10

• shoplifting is less likely to be noticed/ reported than violent crimes/ sexual crime which are mostly committed by men
• prostitution unlikely to be reported by client or offender because they’re considered victimless

Question 11

How would women be able to get away more easily without a prosecution?

Answer 11

• their crimes are less serious
• women are more likely to be remorseful
• women can ‘turn on the water-works’
• courts try to keep families together

Question 12

Give a summary of the chivalry thesis argument

Answer 12

• most judges, magistrates, police etc are men and men are socialised to act in a ‘chivalrous’ way towards women

Question 13

What does Pollak argue as part of the chivalry thesis?

Answer 13

• that men were protective towards women and hate to accuse them
• police don’t like arresting/ prosecuting them
• judges don’t like to punish them

Question 14

Why might judges not want to punish a woman?

Answer 14

• might end her career

- might break up a family

Question 15

Give an example of crime that may be under-reported that then gives an invalid picture of their offending and exaggerates the extent of gender difference in offending

Answer 15

• domestic abuse of men

Question 16

What have self-report studies revealed about the chivalry thesis?

Answer 16

• provided evidence showing females are treated more leniently

Question 17

Graham and Bowling looked at over 1700 14-25-year-olds, what did they find?

Answer 17

• that men were more likely to offend but the gender difference was smaller than OS - 2.3x more likely than 4x

Question 18

Evidence FOR the chivalry thesis: what do OS reveal about females and bail?

Answer 18

• females are more likely to be released on bail instead of remanded in custody

Question 19

Evidence FOR the chivalry thesis: what are some reasons that OS reveal females are more likely than males to receive a fine/ community sentence and less likely to go to prison?

Answer 19

• they tend to commit petty crimes
• they’re better at showing remorse
• they’re less likely to have a criminal conviction

Question 20

Evidence FOR the chivalry thesis: how do OS for prison sentences and shoplifting for different genders compare?

Answer 20

• 1 in 9 female offenders get a prison sentence

- 1 in 5 male offenders get a prison sentence for shoplifting

Question 21

Evidence AGAINST the chivalry thesis: when sociologists looked at the sentencing of 400+ offenders of theft cases in a magistrates court, what did they find?

Answer 21

• women weren’t sentenced more leniently

Question 22

Evidence AGAINST the chivalry thesis: what did US and UK self-report studies reveal?

Answer 22

• women who commit serious offences are not treated more leniently

Question 23

Evidence AGAINST the chivalry thesis: what did Farrington and Buckle do and what did it reveal?

Answer 23

• observational study of shoplifting
• saw twice as many male shoplifters as female despite offending rates in OS being roughly equal
• believe women are more likely to be prosecuted

Question 24

Evidence AGAINST the chivalry thesis: what do self-report studies reveal about male crime?

Answer 24

• males do genuinely commit more crime

- young men are more likely to binge drink, take drugs, engage in disorderly conduct

Question 25

Evidence AGAINST the chivalry thesis: what happens to the gender gap as the crime becomes more serious?

Answer 25

• it grows

Question 26

Evidence AGAINST the chivalry thesis: give an example of how male crime may actually be being under-reported?

Answer 26

• Yearnshire: found a woman on average will suffer 35 assaults before reporting domestic abuse

Question 27

Evidence AGAINST the chivalry thesis: why are the crimes of the powerful more likely to committed by men and under-reported?

Answer 27

• they are more likely to be in positions of influence in the job market and other areas

Question 28

Evidence AGAINST the chivalry thesis: why might women appear to be treated more leniently?

Answer 28

• their offences are less serious so less likely to go on trial
• more likely to show remorse
• more likely to be cautioned

Question 29

What do many feminists argue about the CJS?

Answer 29

• it is biased against women

Question 30

How does Heidensohn believe the CJS shows it is biased against women?

Answer 30

• the courts treat females more harshly than males when they deviate from gender norms

Question 31

Give an example of a female deviating from gender norms which might lead to a harsher sentence from a court? What did Sharpe find?

Answer 31

• when girls and not boys are promiscuous
• (in an analysis of youth worker records) - 7/ 11 girls were referred to support for sexual activity but none out of 44 boys

Question 32

What types of women are likely to be treated more harshly?

Answer 32

• women who don’t conform to accepted standards of monogamous heterosexuality/ motherhood
• eg. if they’re perceived as promiscuous, adulterous, bad mothers

Question 33

What did Carlen find about judges in Scotland?

Answer 33

• they’re more likely to jail women whose children were in care rather than those seen as good mothers

Question 34

What evidence do feminists use to argue that these double standards exist because the CJS is patriarchal

Answer 34

• rape cases

- judges have made victim blaming remarks

Question 35

What types of women did Adler comment were perceived to have low respectability and so were less likely to have their evidence believed in court?

Answer 35

• single mothers
• punks
• peace protestors