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This essay will explore reasons why females such as Vanessa George turn to the crime of sex offending. Demonstrating my knowledge and understanding of classical criminological theory, exploring biological theories such as penis envy and more contemporary views such as liberation theory within feminism. The essay will then go on to look at the inequalities female sex offenders face within the criminal justice system in comparison with males, using chivalry theory and evil woman theory to explain this. Vanessa George is a convicted female sex offender ‘’a person who commits a crime involving a sexual act’’. A wife for more than 20 years, a devoted mother to her two daughters, and a loving nursery nurse to all staff and children was convicted in 2009 of sexually assaulting and taking indecent images of the toddlers in her care at the Plymouth nursery little teds where she worked as a nursery nurse. Once seen as a lovely bubbly character and now as an evil monster. It all started from her obsession with the internet, where she discovered her co offender who she used to share and swap indecent images with. Vanessa George’s job and previous reputation helped to conceal her sexual offences for so long. But why would a loving passive female turn into such an evil monster? 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... ... middle of paper ... ...sa-george-admits-crimes-were-vile/#.UqONvWOJLD5. Last accessed 4th December 2013 6. Steven Morris and Helen Carter. (2009). Vanessa George: from angel to paedophile. Available: Vanessa George: from angel to paedophile. Last accessed 4th December 2013 7. Paul Harris, Colin Fernandez and Rebecca Camber. (2009). Nursery monster Vanessa George to enjoy life of anonymity at taxpayers' expense as furious parents call for her 'to be skinned and rolled in salt’.Available: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1217415/Nursery-worker-Vanessa-George-internet-accomplices-plead-guilty-sexually-assaulting-young-children.html. Last accessed 4th December 2009. 8. Steven Morris. (2010). Little Ted's nursery was 'ideal environment' for Vanessa George child abuse. Available: http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2010/nov/04/vanessa-george-serious-case-review. Last accessed 3rd December 2013.
Parton, N., Thorpe, D. and Wattam, C. (1997) Child Protection Risk and Moral Order, London: Macmillan
On June 20, 2001, a terrible tragedy occurred, as Andrea Yates drowned all five of her children in the bath. After drowning each child child, she picked them up, tucked them in her bed and called in her next victim until all 5 children were deceased. After she had successfully drowned each child, she calmly called her husband and notified local police that she was in need of an officer. As this case reached international news, many pondered what would make the mother of five do such an abysmal thing. Once the investigation began, it became acknowledged that Andrea Yates was influenced by several psychological perspectives and was not in her right mind when she committed the heinous crime.
Throughout this essay, the health, safety and welfare policy and practise that came about after the Victoria Climbie case will be reviewed and evaluated. After arriving in England in November 1991 from the Ivory Coast, eight-year old Victoria Climbie suffered abuse from her great-aunt, Marie-Therese Kouao, and her great-aunts partner. The anguish and eventual murder of Victoria in 2000 from hypothermia, caused by malnourishment and damp conditions, provoked ‘the most extensive investigation into the child protection system in British history’ as described by Batty (Macleod-Brudenell, 2004). The high media profiled incident exposed a clear lack of precision and communication between all professionals and agencies involved. This is shown by the fact that the mistreatment Victoria was suffering had gone unnoticed by the social services, police and NHS staff, who failed to make each other aware of the clear danger signs. Within the Lord Laming Inquiry into Victoria Climbie’s death (2003), it can be seen that some features recur time after time in child abuse cases; inadequate resources to meet demands, inexperience and lack of skill of individual social workers. In addition, it can also be seen that crucial procedures were evidently not being followed. The procedure that was established after this case included the recommendations made by Lord Laming such as the Green Paper of Every Child Matters (DfES, 2003) and the Children Act (DfES, 2004). These ensure that all children have the fundamental right to be protected from harm and abuse. In addition to this, it also certifies all adults who come into contact with children and families have a duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of children.
are presented as rational actors who intentionally commit crimes while women are viewed as mentally unfit victims who are vulnerable to risky men and poor relationship choices. The author reports that many prison
Many people might think that sex offenders are repugnant to society and that people who commit sex crimes should be removed from our society. The reality is that many people do not know that most people who commit sex offenses are normal people. In most cases, they are hardworking people who got caught doing something our society ‘thinks’ is wrong and get labelled sex offenders. This is where Labeling Theory comes into places, because it focus on social and institutional responses to an individual. The book PERVERTS and PREDATORS: The Making of Sexual Offending Laws talks about the emerging of Perverts and Predators, and which types of people society labels “Pervert and Predators.”
Generally, the public views women as nurturers, motherly and incapable of harming a child. Research indicates that female sex offenders capable of committing such acts have serious psychiatric and psychological problems. In comparison, research indicates male sex offenders are more callous, more antisocial, and promiscuous, involved in the criminal justice system, and have more victims (Miccio-Fenseca, 2012, slide 7). The consensus is that men commit their acts for sexual pleasure while women commit their acts due to psychiatric and psychological problems. Law enforcement, juries, and judges tend to empathize more when there are additional mitigating factors, such as emotional or psychological problems.
There are many heinous crimes that have saturated our society; news reports of a woman being attacked while walking to her car late at night, a child being abducted and his frantic mother pleading with the assailant to let her child go. There is a common theme threaded into the reports we frequently see plastered on our television screens and that theme is masculinity in crime. It seems almost unfathomable that a woman could commit murder, least of all a sex crime. Due to this distorted thinking of the masses, society has shaped judicial systems worldwide to panelize women less frequently and even less harshly than their male counterparts. When a jury of peers sits in judgment of little Susie Q, wife and mother of 4, on counts of child molestation the initial opinion is that of disbelief. If this was a man sitting in Susie’s place, that man is likely considered a pervert, well before any facts or evidence is even mentioned.
Child abuse is an extremely sensitive subject to many people. But to many people from McMartin Preschool, it is something that will stick with them forever. According to The World Book Encyclopedia, child abuse is “a term that generally refers to mistreatment of a child by a parent of another adult” (Zigler). It could also be “limited to life-threatening physical violence, including severe beating, burns, and strangulation” (Zigler). The horrific McMartin Preschool Trial was crazy and disgusting, leaving children scarred, parents angry, and the accused wronged.
Victoria’s early childhood was a very sheltered and reserved one, her best friends growing up was her nanny’s a...
Lakhani, N (2008) Nasty, Brutish and Short: The Horrific Life of Baby P. [Internet], UK, The Independent. Available from: [Accessed 2nd January 2012]
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.
The way Victoria hurts and the indifference of her captors and spectators is brutally tough to watch. We see the cycle repeat and Victoria suffer with her tormented screams as her memory is wiped each time. We can’t help but sympathize, but at the same time, we’re being asked to sympathize with someone whose crime was unforgivable. It adds to the problem with the public being way too invested in other people 's struggles. This can be tied to the Casey Anthony case that happened in 2008. Casey Anthony was the mother of a two year old girl, Caylee Anthony, who mysteriously disappeared in Florida. When the case finally went to trial, the prosecution painted a picture of Casey Anthony as a promiscuous party girl, unconcerned with her missing daughter and responsible for her murder. This drew much attention to the young mother. Casey Anthony is now an extremely well-known name around the United States, when it should not be. Even though Casey was found not guilty, she still is almost a celebrity for committing a horrendous crime. Along with Victoria, these two women should not be seen as popular.
While all feminist theorists share a common focus on gender inequality, there are differing views on the source of the problem and the ultimate solution. Liberal Feminists Freda Adler and Rita argued that sociological factors, not physiology, best explain women’s criminality. There is a strong relationship between women’s emancipation and the increase in female crime rates. As women become more liberated and become more involved in full time jobs, they are more likely to engage in the types of crime that men commit. Thrasher, a leading exponent of the social disorganization perspective, felt that girls and women committed less crime because they were more closely supervised by boys and men. These arguments lacked any factual support.
Since these articles were written, Sarah Payne has been found murdered close to where she lived. The kidnapper is still at large and the search for him has commenced. Tougher legislation on paedophiles has been discussed as riots broke out. However, nothing affective
Since the Enlightenment, there have been many different theories attempting to explain why crime and criminal behaviour occurs in society. Focusing upon Lombroso’s biological positivism and his work on gendered criminology, Feminist criminology and Subcultural theorists, this essay will compare and contrast the three different theories, finding where they overlap and where they differ in their explanations of crime, how they define the typical ‘criminal’ and how they describe the extent of human behaviour and how that links to criminality.