Criminology - Women and Crime
- Created by: Shelly23
- Created on: 11-01-17 14:05
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There is no evidence that women are inherently (biologically) less violant than men yet all ten top serial killers are men.
Examples of Women and Crime:
- Nigella Lawson - domestic violance?
- Myra Hindley - with Ian Brady, the Moors Murders: between 1963 and 1965 killed five children and buried the bodies on Saddleworth Moor near Manchester. Brady was seen as the 'mastermind' behind the murders (fits 'pattern' of femal offending)
- Greenham Common Women's Peace Camp
Why Women and Crime?
- The rise and importance of gender perspectives and feminist criminology
- Tradditionaly criminology and the study of crime and crimminal justice was a male domai, males felt justified in ignoring women, science was a male domain 'men of science', many theories did not fit women
- "To say that you are adopting a feminist perspective in an academic disciplin...leads to puzzlement, claims there is no such thing" (Gelsthorope and Morris 1990 p2)
- The 'stag effect' (Rafter and Heidensohn, 1995)
Development of Feminist Criminology
- Uk the birthplace of feminist criminology (mid 1970's)
- Largely hostile and isolating enviroment
- Challenging male dominance
- Making female offenders visable
- Influence on theory, policy and practice - treatment of female defendents and victims, insitutionalised sexism
- Practice - **** crisis centres, refuges for abused women, understanding sex trafficking, prostitution, sex work
Key Issues
- Equality (feminist criminology is not just about women)
- Women are not waifs
- Percerptions about criminal behaviour and criminal justice processes are highly gendered
- Tradditionaly women subject ideas based on biological and physiologica determinism, reinforced by medical 'science' (women's 'deviant' behaviour linked to reproductive system, menstuation, inherent hysteria, promiscuity and madness)
- Gender ratio and 'generalizability'
- Gender ratio - why do women commit so little crime? on the feminest perspective, why do men commit so much crime?
- Generalizability - how do women fit into theories of offending? Most lack any recognition of partiarchy, gender stereotyping and bias which affect fundamentally women's lives
Two Issues:
- Women as victims of crime - violance against women
- Women as offenders - violant women
Importance of Womens Voice
- Victim blaming for **** and sexual assult. Is this fair and how do…
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