Gender and crime and deviance

Gender Patterns in Crime
As Heidensohn and Silvestri (2012) observe, gender differences are the most significant feature of recorded crime. For example OS show that:
-4/5 convicted in England and Wales are male
-By age 40, 9% of females have a criminal conviction, as against 32% of males.

Do women commit more crime?
Some sociologists and criminologists argue that the statistics underestimate the amount of female as against male offending. Two arguments have been put forward in support of this view.
_Typically 'female' crimes are less likely to be reported
-Even when women's crimes are detected or reported they are less likely to be prosecuted or, if prosecuted, more likely to be let off relatively lightly.

The Chivalry Thesis
E.g Pollak (1950) argues that men have a protective attitude towards women and that 'men hate to accuse women and thus send them to their punishments, police officers dislike to arrest them, district attorneys to prosecute them, judges and juries to find them guilty and so on.;

The Chivalry Thesis
For example, Graham and Bowling's (1995) research on a sample of 1,721 14-25- year-olds found that although males were more likely to offend, the difference was smaller than that recorded in the OS.
They found that males were 2.33 times more likely to admit to having committed an offence in the previous 12 months - whereas the OS shows males as 4x more likely to offend.

The Chivalry Thesis
For example
- ♀ are more likely than ♂ to be released on bail rather than remanded in custody
- ♀ are more likely than ♂ to receive a fine or a community sentence, and less likely to be sent to prison.
- ♀ on average receive shorter prison sentences
-Only 1/9 ♀ offenders receive a prison sentence for shoplifting, but 1/5 ♂.
Similarly Hood's (1992) study of over 3000 defendants found that ♀ were about 1/3 less likely to be jailed in similar cases.

Evidence against the chivalry thesis
Similarly, Buckle and Farrington's (1984) observational study of shoplifting in a department store witnessed twice as many ♂ shoplifting as ♀ - despite the fact that the numbers of ♂ and ♀ offenders in the OS are more or less equal. This small-scale study thus suggests ♀ shoplifters may be more likely to be prosecuted than their ♂ counterpart.

Evidence against the chivalry thesis
Under-reporting of ♂ crimes against ♀. The CT also ignores the fact that many ♂ crimes do not get reported. E.g, in 2012, only 8% of ♀ who had been victims of a serious sexual assault reported it to the police, while Yearnshire (1997) found that ♀ typically suffers 35 assaults before reporting DV.

Bias against women
Many feminists argue that, far from the CJS being biased in favor of ♀, as the CT claims, it is biased against them. As Heidensohn (1996) argues, the courts treat ♀ more harshly than ♂ when they deviate from the gender norms. For example:
-Double standards- Sharpe found from her analysis of 55 youth workers , that 7/11 ♀ were referred for support because they were sexually active, but none out of the 44 boys.
-♀ who do not conform to accepted standards of monogamous heterosexuality and motherhood punished more harshly. As Stewart (2006) found, magistrates' perceptions of ♀ defendants' characters were based on stereotypical gender roles.

Bias Against Women
Feminists argue that these double standards exist because the CJS is patriarchal. Nowhere is this more evident than in the way the system deals with rape cases. There have been numerous cases of male judges making sexist, victim blaming remarks.

Explaining Female Crime
Functionalist Sex Role Theory
Early sociological explanations of gender differences in crime focused on differences in the socialisation of ♂ and ♀. For example, ♂ are encouraged to be be tough, aggressive and risk taking, and this can mean they are more disposed to commit acts of violence or take advantage of criminal opportunities when they present themselves.

Functionalist Sex Role Theory
While this gives ♀ access to an adult role model, it tends to mean that ♂ reject feminine models of behaviour that express tenderness, gentleness and emotion. Instead, ♂ seek to distance themselves from such models by engaging in 'compensatory compulsory masculinity' through aggression and anti-social behaviour, which can slip over into acts of delinquency.

Functionalist Sex Role Theory
Similarly New Right theorists argue that the absence of ♂ role model in matrifocal lone parent families leads to boys turning to criminal street gangs as a source of status and identity.
Walklate (2003) criticises SRT for its biological assumptions. According to Walklate, Parsons assumes that because ♀ have the biological capacity to bear children, they are best suited to the expressive role.

Heidensohn: Patriarchal Control
Heidensohn argues that the most striking thing about ♀ behaviour is how conformist it is- they commit fewer and less serious crimes than ♂. In her view, this is because patriarchal society imposes greater control over ♀ and this reduces their opportunities to offend. This patriarchal control operates at home, in public spaces and at work.

Heidensohn: Patriarchal control
Daughters too are subject to patriarchal control. Girls are less likely to be allowed to come and go as they please or to stay out late. As a result, they develop a 'bedroom culture', socialising at home with friends rather than in public spaces. ♀ are also required to do more housework than ♂. As a result, they have less opportunity to engage in deviant behaviour on the street.

Heidensohn patriarchal Control
♀ are also controlled in public by their fear of being defined as not respectable. Dress, make-up, demeanor and ways of speaking and acting that are defined as inappropriate can gain a girl or woman a 'reputation'. For example, ♀ on their own may avoid going into pubs - which are sites of criminal behaviour - for fear of being regarded as sexually 'loose' or even as prostitutes.

Heidensohn: Patriarchal Control
Control At Work
♀ behaviour at work is controlled by ♂ supervisors and manager. Sexual harassment is widespread and helps keep ♀ 'in their place'. Furthermore, ♀ subordinate position reduces their opportunities to engage in major criminal activity at work. For example, the 'glass ceiling'

Carlen: Class and Gender Deals