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Feminism on domestic violence and its cause
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Oxford dictionary defines intersectionality as “the interconnected nature of social categorizations such as race, class, and gender as they apply to a given individual or group, regarded as creating overlapping and interdependent systems of discrimination or disadvantage.” While intersectionality is a fairly new concept, looking at it can give a deeper insight into understanding crime and the types of offenders. Throughout this essay intersectionality will be discussed by a range of scholars and how it can influence different aspects of crime, such as the types of crime committed, the incarceration of offenders as well as the affects that incarceration can have on offenders and their families. It is important to look at intersectionality as …show more content…
Parker and M. Kristen Hefner write about how the intersectionality of class, race and gender affect homicide rates at a macro level of White and African American females between the years of 1990-2000. As well as using an intersectional framework, Parker and Hefner explore how the contemporary economic, social and policy changes can differently affect black and white female homicide rates. The study reveals many interesting facts and shows how intersectionality can change how we understand crime today. Firstly, it is found that an increase in resource deprivation saw a 27% increase in white female offending and a 39% increase in black female offending. Resource deprivation includes the declining number of domestic violence shelters available to women. Some feminist scholars have criticised these domestic violence services as being “based on white, middle-class, female standards” (Parker & Hefner, 2013, p. 247) as they do not take into account the structural difficulties that only minority women face. The fact that these services do not take into account the culturally specific difficulties that minority women face, some women may feel that their only option is to turn to crime. This can explain why the rate of black female offending is much higher than that of white female offending when they are deprived of
In the opening chapter of their book, Patricia Hill Collins and Sirma Bilge examine the meaning of intersectionality as they apply it to three distinct examples: the FIFA World Cup, a World Congress of Sociology, and the Brazilian festival of Latinidades. Intersectionality, as defined by the authors, refers to “a way of understanding and analyzing the complexity in the world, in people, and in human experiences.” Intersectionality is often used as an analytic tool to better understand the social and political needs of those whose lives are influenced by multiple intersecting identities (i.e. Black feminism is used to call attention to the specific needs of Black women). The idea of structural power is another key component of intersectionality discussed by Hill Collins and Bilge in the chapter. They argue that power is organized in four distinct, interconnected domains (interpersonal, disciplinary, cultural, and structural), and “operates by disciplining people in ways that put people’s lives on paths that makes some options seems viable and others out of reach.” This idea is outlined in the World Cup example as the authors discuss the “pay to play” ideology in soccer that disadvantages those with lower socioeconomic status. At the conclusion of their chapter, Hill Collins and Bilge outline six core ideas that tend to come up when using intersectionality as an analytic
The work by Victor M. Rios entitled Punished: Policing the Lives of Black and Latino Boys and Michelle Alexander’s The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness depict ways in which policing and incarceration affect inequalities that exist in society. In this body of work I will draw on specific examples from the works of Victor M. Rios and Michelle Alexander to fulfill the tasks of this project. Over the course of the semester and by means of supplemental readings, a few key points are highlighted: how race and gender inequalities correlate to policing and incarceration, how laws marginalize specific groups, and lastly how policing and incarceration perpetuate the very inequalities that exist within American society.
The majority of our prison population is made up of African Americans of low social and economic classes, who come from low income houses and have low levels of education. The chapter also discusses the amount of money the United States loses yearly due to white collar crime as compared to the cost of violent crime. Another main point was the factors that make it more likely for a poor person to be incarcerated, such as the difficulty they would have in accessing adequate legal counsel and their inability to pay bail. This chapter addresses the inequality of sentencing in regards to race, it supplies us with NCVS data that shows less than one-fourth of assailants are perceived as black even though they are arrested at a much higher rate. In addition to African Americans being more likely to be charged with a crime, they are also more likely to receive harsher punishments for the same crimes- which can be seen in the crack/cocaine disparities. These harsher punishments are also shown in the higher rates of African Americans sentenced to
Corporate crimes are largely omitted, while street crimes are emphasized (Morris, 2000). This disproportionately targets marginalized populations (homeless, drug addicted and the poor) (Tabibi, 2015c). The current system is immoral in that the caging of people is highly depersonalized and troubling (Tabibi, 2015c). This is considered to be a barbaric practice of the past, however it is still frequently used in North America (Morris, 2000). Another moral consideration is the labelling of youth as offenders in the criminal justice system (Morris, 2000).
Crenshaw recognised the insufficient way in which the law addressed matters relating to both gender and race discrimination, and in her investigation of this, conceived the term ‘intersectionality’. The law was unwilling to create specific legislation to provide justice for women of colour, as they were afraid of creating an unfairly advantaged “superclass”. Instead, the law insisted upon treating sex and race discrimination as separate issues. Furthermore, Crenshaw addresses women of colour having the fastest growing incarceration rates of any group and family breakdown as a result of this. These matters that Crenshaw addresses are indisputable and are reflected in the discriminatory circumstances faced by Charnesia Corley. Corley experienced discrimination based on her minority status as an African American woman, potentially of a lower socio-economic status. In her unjust encounter with police, she was charged unusually harshly, and treated without respect to the point where her rights were breached. This article reiterates Crenshaw’s conception of intersectional discrimination and highlights a serious problem in terms of prejudice and the ‘invisibility of the black
Lloyd and Emory’s analysis has been noted to uniquely focus on the interpersonal dyad, instead of strictly the victim or perpetrator. My personal preference for this body of work would have been to expand into the degree of dependence these women had on their partners. In an interest to facilitate a consistent sample, the women interviewed were all white, young, and predominantly middle-class with college educations. It is a sad presumption, but I would guess much higher levels of abuse are experienced in minority, lower class, struggling households. In this case, the dependence on a male may greatly increase the amount of physical and sexual aggression a victim is willing to tolerate. Lloyd and Emory do an exemplary job in exposing the sad truths of real life abuse, however I don’t think the imbalance of external factors plays enough of a role in explanation. The focus is greatly on the internal dynamic of the
Williams Crenshaw’s “Mapping the Margins: Intersectionality, Identity Politics, and Violence Against Women of Color” aided me in understanding the importance of intersectionality. Intersectionality is a framework that is critical in helping us position ourselves to others and not individually. While in “Heteropatriarchy and the Three Pillars of White Supremacy,” Dr. Smith begins her paper by discussing the division that lies within the community of color. My presentation on Dr. Williams Crenshaw’s article and Dr. Smith’s arguments reminded me that there is no greater power against an oppressive system than a conglomeration of people working together to fight
Criminology is the study of crime and criminals; a branch of sociology. More accurately, it is the study of crime as a social trend, and its overall origins, its many manifestations and its impact upon society as a whole. That makes it more a form of sociology than a law enforcement tool. But the trends it studies have a huge impact on the way the police do their jobs, the way society treats its criminals, and the way a given community goes about maintaining law and order. The writer will describe and give examples of the three perspectives of viewing crimes. The perspectives that will be highlighted are the consensus view, the conflict view or the interactionist view. Each perspective maintain its own interpretation of what constitutes criminal activities and what causes people to engage in criminal behaviors (Siegel, p.12).
Spade argues that legal equality highlights the difference between racial neutrality introduced in law and the realities of white supremacy. He introduces arguments that further prove that “colour blindness is the rationale for this approach” (Spade, 2013). Drawing on the experiences of black people, women and other minority groups, Spade reaches the conclusion that in order for prosecution, in a discriminatory case, to occur one has to understand intersectionality in order to understand that discrimination is more complex than it appears. Spade uses population control to highlight how intersectionality can be used in connection with the population to study certain harms by including the population instead of the individual. He uses Ruth Wilson Gilmore’s definition of racism which states “group-differentiated vulnerability to premature death” to reinforce that the condition of the population should be focused on the group instead of the individual (Spade, 2013). Spade also discusses reproductive justice in connection with population control as it moves away from the individual rights and discusses the relationship between “multiple vectors of harm and how systems of control affect the population.” (Spade, 2013) Spade presents a counter argument that states that population control perpetuates norms that divide the population into those who must be protected and those who are seen as a threat. Thus, in this argument, population control can be seen as a narrow measure instead of intersectional. Liberal intersectional movements have supported increased criminalization in order to address law enforcements response to violence. Spade introduces arguments which argue that increased criminalization leads to increased violence and vulnerability for those involved (Spade, 2013). In reinforcing his main argument, Spade discusses disability justice which moves
Sadly, there is some reasoning as to why society perceives young black males as stereotypically violent people. Alvin Thomas, a psychologist in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Michigan, elucidates that “high arrest rates are used as an indicator for defining African American males as more aggressive and more violent than males from any other ethnic group” (Thomas). However, explanations for this higher percentage in arrest rates include “environmental factors, such as the industrial shift of the 1980s, the dynamic blending of race, the legal system, the community and the individual, and the influence of family structure”. These influencing components are possible variables that account for either direct or indirect causes of the disproportional representation of African Americans in crime statistics and a rationale as to why they can be considered invalid. Additional possible reasons as to why black males are perceived as violent individuals lie within the ways in which they are killed. Black males and females are “six times more likely than whites to die by homicide”. To account for this statistic, Racine Renee Henry and Senem Zeytinoglu, couple and family therapists at Drexel
Disparity in criminal justice alludes to the imbalance of arrests and sentencing for specific individuals; it nearly always refers to racial and ethnic disparity (Amnesty International, 2003). Racial disparity has been definitively confirmed, however it may not generally be identified to intentional discrimination. Legitimate legal factors involved in racial disparity incorporate seriousness of the offense and past criminal record (Amnesty International, 2003). Theorists believe racial disparity begins with arrests and continues through the sentencing and parole
Collins’ work is also known for stressing the importance of including sexuality as an identity (and social location) that, in combination with gender, race, and class, shapes individuals lived experiences (Moore 2012). In short, Collins has had a major influence on scholars in the sociology of gender, and other disciplines, who continue to explore new ways to practice intersectionality in research (Choo and Ferree 2010; McCall 2005) and broaden its conceptualizations and uses (Bose 2012; Carbado 2013; Purkayastha 2012). Criminology, however, is still one area that would benefit from the integration of intersectional
I do not agree with King that racial and class privilege played a role in the sentencing of a person. This is a great criminal justice question, because we learn that judges do perform stereotypes on people. Though they do not mean to, it just a habit, because they really do not know the offender life story, they use past cases to sentence a person. Also, many young black offenders cannot afford a lawyer, so they use a public defender, who only speaks to the person for 3-5 minutes, because he is over worked. Just like the video’s some black people do not fully know their rights, either be of education or fear of the police, they take a plea bargain, even if they did not commit the acts. Plus, just like in Turner’s case, the judge saw himself in Turner’s shoes. Then looking at Judge Monte Wilkins, a black judge who presided over Cory Batey did not see himself in Batey’s shoes. Same could be stated about Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. Many black people dislike him, because he distanced himself from other black groups, because he is seemed as a Uncle Tom or betrayed his race, just as Judge Wilkins did to Batey given him a harsher sentence. See the problem I saw about these two cases, Judge Wilkins was fair and justice, as Judge Aaron Persky used his emotions to
This is one area that is a constant problem and will be a problem most likely for the rest of our lives and our many future generations to come. With colored people usually having more problems than whites. Such as Black Americans are more likely to have their cars searched than whites. Whites receive less stops from police officers than both Blacks and Hispanics. Not just that both Blacks and Hispanics are more likely to be arrested for drug use then whites as well. Black and Hispanic Americans are more likely to be jailed while awaiting trial for all sorts of crimes. The outcomes of race-based inequality in criminal justice system isn’t always fair, and people of all sorts of racial backgrounds are targeted based on that individuals preferences on those individuals.
Violent offenders are readily one of the most interesting topics of criminal justice. Research on violent offenders focuses primarily on violent male offenders, however, emerging research has focused on violent female offenders. A small amount of studies that have examined violent offenders using an intersectional approach find that offenders often differ in their acts based on gender, race, class, and other structural factors (Bernard, 2013; Potter, 2013; Baskin & Sommers, 1993; Miller, 1998 add more). These differences could be due to various elements; however, it is something to further explore as they can relate back to systems of inequality.