Linking Crime and Gender

Gender and Crime

 

Should gender be taking into consideration when convicting a criminal?

 

 

Heidensohn (1985) suggests that women are treated more harshly when they deviate from societal norms of female sexuality. In Heidensohn’s own words; “The majority of British born women who go to prison in England, Wales and Scotland are less likely to be sentenced for the seriousness of their crimes and more according to the court’s assessment of them as wives, mothers and daughters” (Heidensohn, 1997 as cited in Haralambos and Holborn, 2004, pg 386).

 

Another feminist Otto Pollak (1950) would agree highlighting how the police and other law enforcement officials tend to be men therefore are usually more lenient with women so this is why less women appear in crime statistics. Pollak also argues that some women are more deviant than they appear but are protected by a 'chivalry factor'.

 

Hillary Allen (1987) argues that court officials are more likely to ask for psychological reports to carried out on female offenders in the search for and underlying psychological problem. As Allen points out this is only disadvantaging women more and encouraging society to continue to reinforce sexist ideologies. However in contrast to these points Eileen Leonard (1982) argues that women are sometimes treated more harshly compared to some men due to society portraying them as 'doubly deviant'.

 

Official statistics from 2011/12 show that women commit far fewer crimes than men, with only 468 females being in prison which is 5.7 % of the prison population, these figures have increased since 2002/03. Heidensohn suggests then that the question we should be asking is not why some women commit crime but rather why women are not so criminal? The three aspects that Heidensohn looks at are: biological theory, sex-role theory and transgression. Furthermore Heidensohn suggests that the reason women commit less crimes is because of the way in which they are ideologically controlled. In other words society expects women to behave of a loving and caring nature therefore most women try and live up to this expectation.

 

 

 

For further reading:

Investigating Crime and Deviance by Stephen Moore

Sociology Themes and Perspectives by Haralambos and Holborn

http://www.sociology.org.uk/pblsdcg.pdf

Linking Crime and Social Environment

This blog is going to focus on the causation of crime from a social and environmental perspective which takes the blame away from the individual.

Sociologists believe that people's behaviour can be influenced by the social structure and social groups in which they live in. The Chicago School Theory highlights how the issue of space in a city can result in overcrowding and therefore poverty and delinquency. The theory concluded that the neighbourhoods that experienced high delinquency rates also experienced social disorganisation. In other words there was a lack of control over the behaviour in that area and actually delinquent behaviour is sometimes approved by the people in the neighbourhood. The psychologist Bandura would link this type of learnt behaviour to his Social Learning Theory suggesting children will learn delinquent behaviour from their immediate family and friends and copy it. (A link to Bandura's experiment is below for further reading).

Robert Merton (1938) also suggests that deviant behaviour can result from the culture and structure of society. He looks at how in the USA people strive for the 'American Dream' which is largely measured in terms of peoples wealth and material possessions.

Merton argues how the American Dream has to be achieved through effort and talent however in reality there is an inequality of opportunity for people from working class and poorer backgrounds. This can therefore result in an unbalanced society where people may respond in different ways: conformity, innovation, ritualism, retreatism and rebellion. Crime and deviance happens therefore as a way of the poorer people rejecting the 'American Dream.

Although Merton's study focused on America many sociologists such as Reiner (1994) have suggested his theory can be adapted to explain crime in other meritocratic countries. However Taylor (1971) argues that Merton fails to consider wider power relations in society. Cohen (1955) adapted Merton's work adding that lower working class boys adopt a delinquent subculture because they failed their education and are stuck in dead end jobs therefore they strive for high status elsewhere like becoming a member of a gang. Therefore I can be suggested that social environment can be a result of deviant behaviour.


For further reading:
http://www.simplypsychology.org/bobo-doll.html
https://misssrobinson.wordpress.com/2010/02/19/merton-and-the-americal-dream/