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Relationship Between Crime And Gender
Strengths and limitations of feminist theory
Strengths and limitations of feminist theory
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Recommended: Relationship Between Crime And Gender
Feminist Criminology and Integrated Theory
Women have had a profound influence within our world since the beginning of time. From the time women entered the world, they have struggled vigorously to maintain and abide by a view in which society has set forth as one of a predominately male. Men as a whole hold a higher dominance over women in the work place and in many areas of society. This factor, while being biblically, does not hold a very high standing with women today. Women want to be just as equal as men and when women want something, they tend to get it. When women wanted their right to vote they sought after it and eventually got that right. Feminism, especially in America, has started a revolutionary change in how our society is run.
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This is excellently shown in books written by Freda Adler and Rita Simon as they generally state that once female emancipation became a large part of society, it allowed for women to create many opportunities for themselves that made them just as likely to be subject to crime as men. It was also predicted that men and women would ultimately be treated equally within the criminal justice system based on this fact. However history shows that men and women commit different crimes allowing for them to receive different punishments in regards to those crimes. Often when a man commits theft he is seen as greedy; however, when a women commits theft she is seen as needy. This allows sentencing to follow many different variables based on the interpretation of the crime and the criminal. Females often get away with crime because they often victimize themselves to the criminal justice system. Often women are viewed as fragile or even child-like and are often protected by the criminal justice system and backed up by the community. For example, when a women claims rape. It can be theorized that the man is ultimately at fault often when there is no evidence to back it up. Women in some cases take advantage of this role and use it in a way to get out of criminal …show more content…
Theft is one of the most commonly occurring crimes in both men and women. However it is the women who take the dominance in this category by committing crimes such as that of fraud and theft. In fact, over 80% of crimes pertaining to shoplifting are performed by women. When stealing items, women often shoplift items that are of necessity such as clothing and beauty product, as opposed to off the wall items. When women deal with drugs within the criminal justice system it is often seen that women are more likely to be charged with the possession of the drug rather than the distribution of the drug. Females tend to use their justify the use of drugs based on their emotional state as well as their overall health, claiming it will help
These women have been increasingly going to jail for longer periods of time for minor crimes, the most frequent crimes that are being convicted are mostly related to drug and alcohol related crimes as well as theft (Mental Health Coordinating Council, 2010). A survey conducted in New South Wales of female inmates had concluded that; 80% are current smokers, 78% have used an illicit drug(s), 67% were unemployed in the six months prior to incarceration, and 66% of these women had also been in a violent/abusive relationship (Mental Health Coordinating Council, 2010). It has been argued that the risk factors for offenders are derived from that of genetic theories of crime and that they are an adequate guide for correctional supervision and treatment-planning decisions for females, however others argue that this approach is highly flawed and does not take into account gender differences (Rettinger & Andrews 2010). This is an issue in the CJS and its importance cannot be undervalued, the assessment for the risk and need has implications for the assignment of female offenders to a correction option that is the least restrictive, the assignment to an appropriate intervention dosage, appropriate targeting of criminogenic needs, and an understanding of female offending (Rettinger & Andrews 2010). Due to the increasingly large number
Classical and contemporary theory helps to explain gendered crime patterns. The feminist school of criminology argue criminology and criminal theory is very masculine, all studies into criminal behaviour, have been developed from male statistics and tested on males. Very little research is conducted into female criminality, this may be because women who commit crime are more likely to be seen as evil or mentally ill rather than criminal, this is because women are labe...
Decades ago, the women did not have a voice in any matter, may it be about the family, work or even your lifestyle. In this generation, countless women have fought so that other women can freely express themselves unlike back in the old days. Many feminist activists (from generations ago and in this generation) are fighting so that women can have more voice just as the men do. For example, in the 1960s-70s feminist movement many women joined in movement so they fight for job equality and eradicate the discrimination towards women. In the article The 1960s-70s American Feminist Movement: Breaking Down Barriers For Women it stated that "In 1964, Representative Howard Smith of Virginia proposed to add a prohibition on gender discrimination into the Civil Rights Act that was under consideration. He was greeted by laughter from the other Congressmen..." (Tavaana, P4). This means that many other good people had tried to give rights to women, but now that the society has changed a little. Women now have a voice meaning, they can choose what job, their career and how they would want their life to be. Just because that is how that past is, that does not mean that the future cannot change. The past will always stay as the past, but the future can change to how the actions, you caused can either affect you or other people around
Whereas the women’s suffrage movements focused mainly on overturning legal obstacles to equality, the feminist movements successfully addressed a broad range of other feminist issues. The first dealt primarily with voting rights and the latter dealt with inequalities such as equal pay and reproductive rights. Both movements made vast gains to the social and legal status of women. One reached its goals while the other continues to fight for women’s rights.
The term feminist is seen with a negative connotation because people use it as an insult against women in an effort to make them seem irrational and unfair, but in reality it is the exact opposite of that. Feminism is defined as the “belief in or advocacy of women’s social, political, and economic rights, especially with regard to equality of the sexes.” (Feminism). There is no reason that there should be a negative connotation to this belief or participation in advancing this belief, yet there is. This battle and struggle for equal rights has been going on for a very long time, but it really took off in the 1920s. The 19th amendment and The New Woman really helps to show how quickly women and their rights progressed in the United States. Many
Imagine Kirsty and Marc, a young couple who resort to robbing a house in a desperate attempt to make money. They are caught, charged with the same crime and given the same sentence, except for one thing: the male dominant world we live in does not stop at the courtroom door. Marc is sent to a medium security prison one hour from his family with every opportunity to earn his way into a minimum-security facility. He spends his days learning to cook in the kitchenette and has access to basic necessities like aftershave or hairspray. Meanwhile, Kirsty walks into her frigid six-by-ten foot cell with bars for a door, a toilet in plain view and not a trace of sunlight. She is twelve hours from home with no hope of changing location since there is nowhere else to go. The stories of rapes, beatings and riots told by her new neighbours are endless. Kirsty realizes that the only way for her to survive this place is to oppose nature and forget what it is to feel. This is discrimination against women as they are penalized more severely than men for committing less crime. How can women strive for equality when they cannot attain justice in the justice system itself? The controversy over the gender bias goes beyond the "too-few-to-count" syndrome as Sally Armstrong calls it, it is a question of women's constitutional right to be treated equally.
Statistically, the male population in jail/prisons are much higher than the female population. This is not necessarily because females are less inclined to criminal tendencies than males, but more because society views them more as victims and/or innocent. (Men Sentenced To Long…2012 p.2) From the time women are small until they grow up, they are told that they are fragile, kind, they should not curse, or fight, etc. There are countless sexist roles and behaviors that are pushed on women, and so society views women along side the typical view. In a statistical graph by the of Bureau of Justice Statistics states that the number of people incarcerated per 100,000 people of that sex is as follows: 126 women and 1,352 males. (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2010. p.1) That is an incredible difference in the number of incarcerated individuals per jail/prison. Societal view with women is becoming more level headed today, and sentencing disparity on the gender platform is coming to a more equal level; however, it is still a long way away from being equal. According to an article in the Huffington
The criminal justice system main focus has always been shifted towards male offenders and their responses to male crimes. Women and girls offending lacked attention simply because most crimes were known to be committed by males and not females. Nevertheless, towards the end of the 20th century, female incarceration tremendously took a turn for the worst, leading to more study on women/girls, women and crime offending, crimes, and the criminal justice system in regard to feminist. This increase rate of women incarceration was led in regard to “war on drugs”. It was explained that women’s and girl’s crime and deviance is trigger often by biological factors than by social or economic forces (Daly & Chesney-Lind, 1988). In the late 1960s, Bertrand
Throughout the years it has recorded that woman now have definitely been doing crimes as much as what men have done in the past years. In an article about The Criminal Justice System and Woman both Freda Alder and Rita Simons talk about theories and facts about the woman committing crimes that we see on TV’s, newspapers, and interviews. They discuss in depth about the reasoning on why woman are now starting to do crimes and murders as bad as men have done over the past years.
Why do females commit crimes? Female’s percentages in jails and prisons have increase in the recent years. This has led to our society being concern of female crimes and how they affect us. This paper will discuss female inmates and some of the legal and social problems they face in the criminal justice system.
Women have been discriminated against since the beginning of time, as early as the first people, Adam and Eve. Eve was called the evil one, who ate fruit from the tree of knowledge. Once she had the knowledge to know right from wrong, she chose to do wrong and give the fruit to Adam. Examples like these can be shown all over history books, in stories, tales and legends across the entire world. Women have been subordinate to men in virtually all societies throughout history.
“The history of the past is but one long struggle upward to equality,” this was stated by Elizabeth Cady Stanton, a very crucial women’s suffragist. Over time, women’s history has evolved due to the fact that women were pushing for equal rights. Women were treated as less than men. They had little to no rights. The Women’s Rights Movement in the 1800’s lead up to the change in women’s rights today. This movement began in 1848 with the Seneca Falls Convention. For the next 72 years, women continually fought for equal rights. In 1920, they gained the right to vote which ended the movement and opened the opportunity for more change in women’s lives. Because of the Women’s Rights Movement, women today are able to vote, receive
Throughout history, women have remained subordinate to men. Subjected to the patriarchal system that favored male perspectives, women struggled against having considerably less freedom, rights, and having the burdens society placed on them that had been so ingrained the culture. This is the standpoint the feminists took, and for almost 160 years they have been challenging the “unjust distribution of power in all human relations” starting with the struggle for equality between men and women, and linking that to “struggles for social, racial, political, environmental, and economic justice”(Besel 530 and 531). Feminism, as a complex movement with many different branches, has and will continue to be incredibly influential in changing lives.
Feminism has been an important aspect to change the world. Whether it is in academics, where more women are tilting towards their education and career, then just focusing on their social life. Or in the labor and economic market, where women are managing leadership positions well. Or in politics, where there were more women voter then men in the last presidential election. Even though women have a come a long way to achieve this, there are still some ways to go in order to protect the dignity of all
Throughout the 19th century, feminism played a huge role in society and women’s everyday lifestyle. Women had been living in a very restrictive society, and soon became tired of being told how they could and couldn’t live their lives. Soon, they all realized that they didn’t have to take it anymore, and as a whole, they had enough power to make a change. That is when feminism started to change women’s roles in society. Before, women had little to no rights, while men, on the other hand, had all the rights.