Chapter 6 Notes – Feminism and Criminology PDF

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Chapter 6 – Feminism and Criminology Criminology has traditionally been male-centered 

Criminology has been mostly concerned about what men do

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Women have been rendered invisible in much criminological inquiry

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This is due in part to relative minor role women play as criminal offenders

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Violence against women has not been seen as a crime concern

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Criminologists have not looked at men as men (that is, they have not considered the “maleness” of their subjects)

The Invisibility of Women 

Sexism – attributing to women socially undesirable characteristics that are assumed to be intrinsic characteristics of that sex.

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The goal of feminist criminology is to move women and an analysis of gender to the centre of criminological inquiry.

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Initial feminist contributions were a critique of existing theories and took two paths: 1. A focus on the sexism of theories use to explain women’s crime, and 2. An explanation of the invisibility of women in the mainstream theories of criminology

Theories of Women’s Crime The Conservative Approach 

Lombroso and Ferrero (1895) 

Women were thought to be less intelligent, less sensitive to pain, more passive, and more conservative than men.

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It was an adaptation of atavism theory:

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Women were not as evolved as men

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Thus, atavistically degenerate (boen criminal) women don’t stand out as much

Female criminals were vile and cruel, lacking in “maternal instincts” and “ladylike qualities”

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Pollak (1950) 

Women’s crimes were equal in severity and scope to those of men

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Women are inherently deceptive and vengeful -

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Caused by anger, vengefulness, irritability, and depression, which stems from generative phases

Critiques of Conservative Theories: 

These theories lent intellectual respectability to myths and folk tales about women and their behaviour (Heidensohn, 1985)

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They also reflected assumptions about the dual nature of women

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This approach also fails to consider the gendered roles of men vs. women

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Most recent, these have included biologically determinist theories -

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For example, the idea that PMS is a cause of violent behaviour and criminality

This ignores broader structural factors that impinge on women’s lives and influence their criminal offending

The Liberal Approach 

Liberal Approach – Distinguishes sex (biological) from gender (cultural) and sees differences between men and women as resulting from gender roles and socialization patterns

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Role Theory

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Hoffman-Bustmante (1973): -

The lower rate of delinquency of girls is the result of differential socialization and childrearing practices

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Males are socialized to be aggressive and outgoing and are allowed greater freedom vs. girls, who are socialized to be passive and domesticated and are closely supervised

This explains women’s lesser involvement in violence and heavier involvement in shoplifting (because women are traditionally consumers in society)

The libral approach developed in the 1970s It used a more sociological analysis and shifted focus from biology to culture Differences between men and women were seen as due to gender roles and socialization Culture creates differences between men and women by proscibing certain roles behaviours as "male appropriates" and "female appropriate" The Mainstream Theories of Crime 

Mainstream theorists rely on stereotypical constructions of masculinity and femininity

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Mainstream theories have been criticized for failing to account for women’s crime

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Merton’s strain theory: 

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Sutherland’s differential association theory: 

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Reflected a sensitivity to class inequalities, but not gender inequalities

Women were seen as culturally homogenous – as more altruistic and compliant than men

Hirshi’s Social Bond Theory: 

Completely ignored women in his analysis

The Generalizability Problem 

Generalizability problem – Raises the issue of whether mainstream theories of crime, which have largely been developed with men in mind, can be made to “fit” women.

The Gender-Ratio Problem 

Poses the question of why there are sex differences in rates of arrest and types of criminal between men and women

The Women’s Liberation Thesis 

Female criminality will more closely resemble men’s as gender differences are diminished by women’s greater participation in the workforces

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Simon (1975): increased employment opportunities for women will increase crime opportunities (for example, embezzlement from employers)

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Adler (1975): linked influence of women’s movement to increasing female criminality

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Critique: women’s liberation thesis took males to be the norm; they did not look at women separately

Criminalized Women   

A feminist approach starts from outside mainstream criminology Understanding women’s involvement in crime should not take typical crime categories as the starting point The feminist thesis vires the lives of criminalized women in a broader social context characterized by inequalities of class, race, and gender

Class   

Criminalized women tend to be young, poor, undereducated, unskilled They are most likely to be involved in property crimes The increase in female criminality is the product of feminization of poverty (not women’s liberation)

Racial Inequality 

In Canada, the focus in on inequalities affecting Indigenous women - They are overrepresented in crime statistics, incarceration, and offences involving alcohol - Colonization, marginalization and dependence on the state are casual factors in violence, alcoholism and drug use

Violence Against Women The Law’s Role in Condemning Violence Against Women

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Historically, women were viewed as the property of men Until 1983, husbands could not be charged for raping wives; women needed corroborating evidence to have charges laid The doctrine of recent complaint gave less credibility to a woman who complained some time after result The moral character of the woman was questioned in regard to whether she provided consent The law historically gave husbands the right to use (moderate) force against their wives The CJS viewed domestic violence as a private matter and not a criminal one

Breaking the Silence  

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Growing awareness of male violence led to legislative reform in Canada 1983 amendments to Criminal Code included the following:  Husbands could be charged  Limits were placed on questions about a woman’s past sexual history from being used to discredit her testimony (“rape shield” law)  The corroboration requirement was dropped  The doctrine of recent complaint was dropped  A publication ban on identity of complainant was instituted  The police were instructed to law charged in wife assault cases The result was that more criminal charges were laid by the police

The Cultural Construction of Rape 

Myths and misconceptions and stereotypes include the following:  Women ask to be raped by their dress or behaviour  Rape is brought on by a man’s sexual urges, which cannot be halted once a woman had “turned him on”  When women say “no”, they really mean “yes”  “Loose women” deserve to be raped  Women cannot be trusted  Rape had little long-term effect women  Men who commit “real rape” are abnormal

Blurred Boundaries: Women as Victims and Offenders Women as Victims and Offenders 

Most criminalized women had been physically abused or sexually assaulted as children or adults

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Indigenous women were much more likely to experience the above

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“Pathways” research shows the connection between such victimization and subsequent criminal activity

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The criminalized woman became the “woman in trouble” – more deserving of help than punishment and violent in self-defence

The Violent Woman 

Women are seldom charged with murder

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When they are, is often self-defence (against a partner)

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The scope and severity of spousal violence is more severe for women than men

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This the “woman as evil” image is rejected 

They are not men’s equals when it comes to violence

Montford Reading Creating Choices v. Roadmap 

Creating Choices report: 

Looked as the way women were treated in deferral corrections

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Consulted with women under federal sentence, members of women’s, Aboriginal, and other community groups, government officials and agency representatives who were experts...