Gender - levels of female offending

Question 1

Patriarchal control - Heidensohn (1996)

Answer 1

E - Heidensohn argues women, lower crime rates can be attributed to the patriarchal, social structure that limit women’s freedom - identify 3 key areas where women controlled: home, work, public. Who is domestic rolls socialist house work prevent him from going out and being exposed to crime. And one woman, aloha, and have less of a chance involving in fraud, and in public they are scared of sexual assault.
E - This limits women’s autonomy prevented from crime that are more associated with men. The surveillance and expectation placed on women by society result in women, less likely to engage in criminal activity
E - Matza argues theories like this are too deterministic and most people have portential to commit crime, using techniques of neutralisation to justify.

Question 2

Class & gender deal - Carlen (1988)

Answer 2

E - Carlen study of 39, 15-16 year olds wc women who have been convicted of range of crimes including theft, fraud, drugs etc - 20 in prison at time of interview - most convicted are WC.
E - Uses Hirsch’s control theory - humans act rationally and are controlled by being offered a ‘deal’ of rewards in return for conforming to norms e.g. Women in poverty, with limited access to legitimate work, may result of theft or prostitution to survive.
E - Critics argue it rejects the role individual agency or cultural factors in female offending and there’s not account for rising rates of MC female criminality.

Question 3

Sex role theory - Parsons (1955)

Answer 3

E - Parsons argues traditional gender roles encourage women to adopt expressive roles within the family, prioritising caregiving and emotional support that socialises them into conformity and discourages deviance.
E - This gives girls and adult role model boys town reject feminine role, models of behavior that express gentleness leading them to seek masculine identity through deviant behavior - low levels of female crime.
E - Walklate (2003) biological assumptions - because half the biological capacity to bed children, they are best suited to expressive role.

Question 4

Chivalry thesis - Pollack (1950)

Answer 4

E - Pollack argues police officers are more lenient towards women because they are seen as less threatening or more deserving of protection, e.g., woman, maybe more likely to receive cautions instead of convictions.
E - Creates a distorted picture of crime, underestimating the extend of female offending. This reinforces traditional gender norms, making women as passive or morally superior, influencing judicial decisions.
E - Farrington & Morris (1983) study of sentencing of 408 offences of theft in a magistrates court found women were not sentenced more leniently for comparable offences.

Question 5

Liberation thesis - Adler (1975)

Answer 5

E - Adler argues as women achieve greater quality in education and employment, opportunities to commit crimes, particularly white-collar crime increase. This is useful explaining the rise on female offending.
E - Liberation theory suggests that woman’s growing presence in public and professionals spheres enables them to engage in criminal behavior, traditionally dominated by men such as fraud or embezzlement.
E - Chesney-Lind (1997) in USA marginalized women are more likely liberated MC women to be criminals.

Question 6

Official statistics

Answer 6

E - OS consistently shows that men commit majority of crimes particular violent and serious offenses while women are more likely to commit petty crimes, like shoplifting.
E - These statistics highlight both the structural and cultural barriers that shape female offending patterns such as economic inequality and patriarchal control. However, they also raise of questions about how crime is defined, and measured in relation to woman’s experience.
E - Statistics alone cannot explain the underlying cause of female offending they just show the truth.