Criticisms (Feminists)

Question 1

Carol Smart (1976)

Answer 1

(i) the ‘maleness’ of crime
(ii) The Failure to address female criminality

1. Smart presents a critique of the association of women’s criminal behaviour with ideas of mental instability.
2. Smart notes the invisibility of women in traditional criminology, and importance of the economic determinants of female crime.
3. She argues simply not good enough to categorise women (as criminology had done) alongside ‘children and lunatics’ …

Question 2

Crime Controls Women
Causes of Crime
Nature of the Offender

Answer 2

1. Challenge how crime controls women (Smart 1976)

” [NOTE - these arguments are challenging the scope of criminology itself - e.g. feminist work questioning gender in criminology is here also beginning to explore the links between men, masculinity and crime - ie what are the connections between ‘gender’ (normative ideas about masculinity) and men’s criminality? … * (this has become the focus of much work in recent years…)

2. Causes of Crime
   “ Sees crime as inseparable from consideration of power relations (i.e. this tells us something about social relations between men and women - contemporary feminism)
   “ Raises Issues of social oppression - (historically) e.g. Seeks to challenge women’s dependence on men - to empower women
   “ And:
   “ Explores how Crime is Historically Variable and changes in crime link to social, economic shifts (e.g. in Women’s employment, economic security).
3. The Nature of the Offender (Important!)
   “ Challenges the tendency within criminology (see Jones) to sexualise female crime - and link it to her biology (e.g. criminal woman as ‘mad’: Lombroso)
   “ Challenges tendency to irrationalise female crime - rather, women do act with sense of purpose (so, see prostitution as economic driven, violence as ‘last resort’ in abusive relationship)
   “ Questions ‘stereotyping’ of women’s offending (as mad, bad, deceitful, passive) - note how this links to social roles/assumptions e.g. Prostitution, shoplifting…
   “ A question arises: so if we think of representations of women’s offending in 2018 what kinds of crimes come to mind?
   “ How is it still reported in the press for example? Do you detect (gender) differences in how the crimes of women and men are understood?

Question 3

Nature of the victim

Feminist responses to these problems with criminology

Answer 3

4. Nature of the Victim

” Questions the division of women into ‘deserving’ and ‘undeserving’ victims (note here influence on some judicial statements as in NCCL document) (and note as theme in media reporting of victim status….)
“ Challenges the judging of women based on her sexuality/relationship to men (idea of ‘respectable’ women - and those who are not…)
“ HINT: As you read around the subject note also discussion in Jones etc of how the media report women’s victim status (e.g. what are the characteristics of victim who is more likely to be reported?)
“ Work explores how women’s status can be linked to their (gendered) social roles e.g. the ‘Good mother’ (work by Mary Eaton, Pat Carlen)
“ Challenges explanations of crime as result of gendered (questionable) assumptions e.g. which sees rape/prostitution as result of ‘male biological drives’

5. Feminist Responses to these problems with Criminology
   “ To ‘give criminal women a voice’ (e.g. Pat Carlen work on prisons - link to ‘standpoint feminism’ - listen to women themselves!)
   “ To challenge legal /criminal justice institutions and ‘benchmarking’ of women against a male norm e.g. Prison medical service (recognise that women can have specific needs….)

” So - to provide gender specific services and support systems to women e.g. prisons, provision of refuges/responses to domestic violence/rape
“ We can note here e.g. Major changes in police responses to DV and sexual violence since the 1970s …

” To change historical (and current?) sexism’ of policing cultures/practices and impact on women who are victims of crime
“ To challenge (and reveal extent of) male violence / sex-specific victimisation - what it can mean for women
“ To recognise the social vulnerability of many women
“ To recognise that women do act with sense of agency (but distinctive one: cannot collapse into male accounts: i.e. Women’s crime not irrational but purposive (e.g. Of domestic violence/’battered women who kill’)

” To recognise importance of prior status of women offenders who can often be victims of crime themselves
“ e.g. as victims of abuse, economic dependency (case of prostitution)
“ To highlight the different social opportunities of men/women historically, and how these link to male dominance of institutions/cultures (so, male dominance of corporate crime as example)