Official crime statistics show that males are four times more likely to commit crimes than females. Victim surveys show women to be more likely to be victims of sexual and violent assaults than males. It has also been suggested there are gender differences in punishments. And therefore different people have given their explanations for the reasoning behind this. The official crime statistics show that women commit less crime than men. Men are convicted of 80% of serious crimes, and women only make up about 5.7% of the prison population. There is also a difference in the types of crimes committed by men and women; most women are imprisoned for non-violent crimes such as theft or handling of stolen goods, which accounts for 57% of known female offenders in 2002
Radical feminists such as Heidensohn claim that women’s lower crime rates can be explained in terms of patriarchy. She claims that both in the family and at work men exert power and social control over women. Women who challenge the traditional roles of women within the family run the risk of having them imposed by force. In public, women are controlled by the male use of force and violence, by the idea of holding on to a ‘good’ reputation, and by the ‘ideology of separate roles’. Women often choose not to go out into public places because of the fear of being attacked or raped. Heidensohn argues that the consequence of this control is that women have fewer opportunities to commit crime and acts of deviance whereas men have more opportunity.
However, many of Heidensohn’s arguments are based upon generalisations, some of which don’t apply to all women. She doesn’t always support her claims with strong empirical evidence. Furthermore, she admits that many of the empirical tests of control theory have been carried out on juvenile offenders rather than adults, and that control theory does sometimes portray women as being passive victims. Yet, Heidensohn does present a plausible explanation of why such a gap remains between men’s and women’s crime rates. In doing so she highlights some of the inequalities that remain between men and women
Frances Heidensohn in 1989 suggested four reasons why sociology is, malestream, dominated by men. Firstly, males are the main and dominant offenders, so it seems unnecessary to study a small minority of female offenders. This is also combined with a largely male outlook and interest on the subject, as most sociologists who are academics are men. Due to this problem another arises, vicarious identification. This is where the male sociologists only study what interests them, the exciting and dangerous lives other, criminal males. Lastly this has culminated in theories on crime being 'gender blind' in that they ignore female viewpoints.
We can see from this information why sociologists ignore female crime, but why exactly do women show up little in the crime statistics? Some people argue that it is because women do actually commit less crime than men do. Steven Box in 1981 reviewed self-report studies in Britain and the USA and concluded that 'the relative contribution females make to serious crime is fairly accurately reflected in official statistics'. Observational studies have also back up the idea that women commit less crime. For example in 1981, Buckle and Farrington carried out a study in a department store and found that 2.8% of 142 males shoplifted compared to 1.4% of 361 women. Although these are crude measurements of crimes it hints at women being less criminal in behaviour than men.
McRobbie (1994) found that many young women were not involved in subcultures because of parental control. Instead, they stayed indoors with their friends, reading magazines and gossiping, creating a ‘bedroom culture’ of their own. Hagan (1987) studied child raising patterns in Canada and found that daughters had far more informal control exercised over them than sons. Heidensohn (1985) identified three areas where women were socially controlled, giving them fewer opportunities to commit crime. At home, women were still seen as the primary carers of children and the household
You May Also Find These Documents Helpful
-
Radical feminists help explain why abuse patterns are concentrated around women and why they are more likely to be victims of abuse by men. Kate Millett and Shulamith Firestone argue that all societies have been founded on patriarchy; men are seen as the oppressors and exploiters of women, for radical feminists widespread domestic violence is inevitable in a patriarchal society and serves to preserve the power men have over women, they see male dominance over institutions as the reason police and courts are reluctant to deal with cases of domestic violence efficiently. To explain why most domestic violence is committed by men radical feminists argue that…
- 870 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
The dominant feminist description for men’s violence towards women is that it is “essential to a system of gender subordination” (MacKinnon, 1989). Feminists argue that sexual violence is a man’s way of preserving male dominance and female subordination, which are fundamental to the patriarchal social order (Stanko 1985). It is argued that a range of sexual violence outlines the everyday lives of women (Kelly, 1988), and similarly Stanko (1985) establishes that the appreciation of physical and sexual security by women is so firmly merged with their concern for sexual integrity as to “render the concept of safety problematic for women” (Stanko, 1985). It is argued that the safety which women do actually have is not used to their advantage and…
- 236 Words
- 1 Page
Good Essays -
Patterns of offending by men and by women are notable both for their similarities and for their differences. Both men and women are more heavily involved in minor property and substance abuse offenses than in serious crimes like robbery or murder. However, men offend at much higher rates than women for all crime categories except prostitution. This gender gap in crime is greatest for serious crime and least for mild forms of law-breaking such as minor property crimes. You can also draw upon offender information from the National…
- 1076 Words
- 5 Pages
Good Essays -
Gender Patterns in Crime- This means that most of the crimes that are being committed are higher by males rather than females. Most of the serious violent crimes that are being committed are higher by males rather than females. This is…
- 480 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
More than 2 million juveniles are arrested each year with nearly 600,000 entering into juvenile incarceration. (Kapp, Petr, Robbins, & Choi, 2013) There has been a steady increase of youthful female offenders. From the early nineties up until about 2006, simple assault crimes have decreased “4% for male juveniles and it increased 19% for females” (Espinosa, Sorensen, & Lopez, 2013). “25 to 50 percent of antisocial girls commit crimes as adults (Pajer, 1998)”. "Similar risk factors may play a role in both girls' and boys' delinquency. Gender differences in underlying biological functions, psychological traits and social interpretation can result in different types and rates of delinquent behaviors for girls and boys (Moffitt,…
- 980 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
Heidensohn, F., 2002. Gender and Crime. In: M. Maguire, Morgan, R and Reiner, R., eds. The Oxford handbook of criminology. 3rd ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press.…
- 3183 Words
- 13 Pages
Best Essays -
Graham and bowling (1995) did a self-report study on 14-25 year olds and found that 55% of males and 35% of females admitted to offences in the last twelve months. This suggests that males commit more crime than women in general although this self-report study is based on the younger generations of males and females. Women are also more likely to admit to their offences, which concludes this figure is an accurate one and may suggest that the male figure could also be even higher.…
- 1180 Words
- 5 Pages
Good Essays -
Most crime appears to be committed by men. According to recent national statistics men are four times more likely to commit a crime than woman. For example official statistics suggests there are gender differences in the types of crimes committed such as men committee violent crime and woman committee shoplifting.…
- 926 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
Heidensohn argues that womens behaviour is conformist. They commit fewer crimes than men because patriarchal society imposes greater control over women which reduces their opportunities to commit crime. It was said that women are controlled at home, in public and at work. Womens domestic role includes housework and child care which imposes severe restrictions on their time, often keeping them at home for long…
- 631 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
Radical feminists would say that this is how men rule over women and they think that all males benefit from the abuse of women and enjoy it. Kate Millett and Shulamith Firestone both argue that “men are the enemy” and “they are the oppressors and exploiters of women”. Yet what they fail to see it that most men are against domestic abuse (Faith Robertson Elliot, 1996); and seeing as they fail to come up with a reasonable argument for that it can be presumed that they ignore the evidence presented to them. Another thing Radical feminists ignore is the clear data presented by Mirrlees-Black, that one in seven men are abused by women once in their lifetime, possibly more, due to the fact that many men would see it as an…
- 689 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
Radical feminists such as Heidensohn claim that women’s lower crime rates can be explained in terms of patriarchy. She claims that both in the private sphere (family) and public sphere (work and leisure) men exert power and social control over women. Heidensohn describes domesticity as ‘a form of detention’; the endless hours spent on housework and the constant monitoring of young children in the family leave little time for illegal activities. Women who challenge the traditional roles of women within the family run the risk of having them imposed by force. In public, women are controlled by the male use of force and violence, by the idea of holding on to a ‘good’ reputation, and by the ‘ideology of separate spheres’. Women often choose not to go out into public places because of the fear of being attacked or raped. Heidensohn argues that the consequence of this control is that women have fewer opportunities to commit crime and acts of deviance whereas men have more opportunity.…
- 1223 Words
- 5 Pages
Better Essays -
Other argument is that women are subject to more social control. Females are more controlled during childhood and later in life have more responsibility as a mother. McRobbie researched what she called ‘bedroom culture’ seen in female teenagers, where they wasting time with friends under adult control in their bedrooms, when males were in the streets possibly carried out crimes. However this ‘bedroom culture’ replaced ‘street corner culture’ where females are no longer so seriously supervised, this could give an explanation for growing crime indicators in females also noted by Adler to be caused by the loosening of social bonds. A partial explanation for overall lower female crime rates is also explained. It also coheres with phenomenologist…
- 194 Words
- 1 Page
Good Essays -
In this essay I have chosen to study and discuss an article about domestic violence in Britain. The aspects I have chosen to concentrate on are the police response to domestic abuse, recent government initiatives and the financial and logistical problems faced by women who are trying to escape from violent domestic situations. The statistics relating to domestic violence are very disturbing. According to the Women’s Aid website, one incident of domestic violence per minute is reported, with an alarming two deaths a week perpetrated by a current or former partner. In addition to this, they report that one in four women have suffered some kind of violence in the home. The statistics, from the British Crime Survey 2012, only represent reported violence, and associations who support women that have suffered violence, suspect that many more incidents go unreported(Walby & Allen, 2004). So what the definition of domestic violence? The government definition of domestic violence is “Any incident of threatening behaviour, violence or abuse (psychological, physical, sexual, financial or emotional), between adults who are or have been intimate partners or family members, regardless of gender or sexuality”. Domestic violence is not a new phenomenon. Before the 1970’s it was something that happened, but was kept firmly behind closed doors and treated as a private matter. The rise of feminism in the 1970’s and the work done with battered women in refuges at that time, led to a heightened awareness of the problem. Studies completed by feminists at the time claimed to have found a link between the dominance of men in society and the way that incidences of domestic violence were ignored or denied. Conservatives at that time debated the findings and claimed that violence towards women had more to do with the fragmentation of family life and “dysfunctional families”. They also claimed that the statistics were flawed…
- 1585 Words
- 7 Pages
Powerful Essays -
Stereotypes. We've all used them when talking about someone and have all hear someone use the when describing us. But how deep do stereotypical cuts run? How do stereotypes contribute to violence and oppression?…
- 324 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
Such feminists as Frances Heidensohn have criticised ‘malestream’ criminology for ignoring female victimisation in studies and statistics on crime. Official statistics show that men are more likely to be street crime offenders than women; however it has been highlighted by feminists that the British Crime Survey (BCS) data indicates that women are prone to be victims of domestic abuse and sexual violence, statistics show that 85% of domestic violence victims were women. Despite this, these assaults are generally committed in private and have generated a great fear towards these crimes, they are however reported significantly less often to the police than assaults against males are as it seems that victims are more disinclined to avoid reporting their assault for fear of being found out by their abusive partner. Heidensohn goes onto explain how women commit less crimes due to the patriarchal society as it imposes…
- 1493 Words
- 6 Pages
Good Essays