Women in the Criminal Justice System - Research Paper Example

To what extent are some feminist justified in asserting that criminology is a discipline which has little to say about the experience of women There is some truth to the assertion of some feminist writers that criminology, as a discipline, has little to say about the experience of women. Criminology, with its aim in understanding crime and justice whilst embraces numerous topics, fails to have theories based on the studies of female subjects. Most of the main theories in criminology were created with the use of male subjects only. Moreover, criminology focuses more on the study of 'male victimisation'. but the principal theories of criminality have been developed from male subjects, have been validated on male subjects, and focus on male victimisation. Although this studies are not a problem with itself, these theories have been generalized and applied to all sort of criminals, defendants, and prisoners without regards to the sexual orientation to the subject (Wikipedia, 2006). Previous theories that were created with the use of males subjects that were eventually applied to females have been use for research on female criminals. For example, theories of differential association (Sutherland, 1939), neutralization of behavior (Sykes & Matza, 1957), and the theories of containment (Reckless, 1967), control (Hirschi, 1969), and labeling (Cooley, 1902; Mead, 1934) were developed using male samples. Recent research on those theories used female samples (e.g., Browne, 1987; Chesney-Lind, 1989; Chesney-Lind & Sheldon, 1992; Silbert & Pines, 1981; Walker & Browne, 1985, and, most recently, the gendered theory of crime (Steffensmeier & Allan, 1995, 1996) incorporated the earlier male sample theories and these more recent theories. The goal was to understanding differences in crime patterns for females and males (cited by Collins et al, 2001). Voigt et al, in their recent book called Criminology and Justice, also pointed out some incompleteness of criminology texts suggesting that 'criminology is nothing more than specialised theories of male delinquency and crime' (1994: 238-249, cited by Kelta Web Concepts, 2003). Moreover, 'the facts about crime tend to be based on the sex of the offender and not the crime itself'. This discrimination in criminology is more in keeping with Gelsthorpe's critique of 'accumulated wisdom' about female offenders. She pointed out that women are discriminated against in areas such as crime because of their sex and this gender further affects their 'sentencing, punishment and incarceration of women' (1986: 138-149). Gelsthorpe further pointed out that law enforcement agencies, social welfare institutions as well as the judicial and amongst others are presumptuous about 'sweeping generalisations' about crime as behaviours that men are projected to do, simply because they are men' (Gelsthorpe, 1986: 149). Whilst women who commit crimes are considered to be 'mad not bad' (Lloyd, 1995: xvii, cited by Kelta Web Concepts, 2003). These concepts in gender role further draw the expectation for 'acceptable behaviours and attitudes' of men and women. Failing to conform to these set of expectations will lead to a wide variety of punishment from the society itself such as verbal abuse or even violence. This scenario made it a significant factor of social control being 'maintained through informal and formal mechanisms'. "Heidensohn (1992, 2000) suggests a male-biased control theory: "a woman's place is in the home": a woman has fewer opportunities for criminal activity because the routine of domesticity keeps her in the home. In any event, women are more afraid to go out of the home after dark because they fear aggressive male behaviour. At work, men have a supervisory or managerial role (often characterised by women as harassment), which makes it more difficult for women to commit major crimes" (cited by Kelta Web Concepts, 2003). Moreover, men, being the controlling group and the 'standard of normality', have maintained disparity by defining the 'deviance and of the institutions of social control'. Women being known to distinct from men and more weaker and inferior, created a stigma that deprive them of their full human rights and access to the resources of the society (Naffine: 1996, cited by Wikipedia, 2006). Custom and traditions in most nations appear to perceive women who commit crime to be 'mad' who go against their very nature, as expected by society, 'to be pure, obedient daughters, wives and mothers' who should benefit men and the community (Feinman, 1994: 16, cited by Kelta Web Concepts, 2003). Women are thought to be less intelligent and weaker than men, therefore they should seek the protection men with further being judged to be having 'uncontrollable sexuality' as evident in the number of 'prostitutes and delinquent teen age girls' (Bottoms, 1996: 1, cited by Kelta Web Concepts, 2003). Studies by Gelsthorpe reveals that 'sexual promiscuity' of women leads them to be labeled as not normal behavior whilst such behavior amongst men are somehow not discouraged and sometimes considered to be normal behavior for men (Gelsthorpe1989: 34, cited by Kelta Web Concepts, 2003). These 'androcentric' studies encouraged many feminist writers to create theories that involve in 'negative and/or reactive projects and/or criticised social, theoretical, and political relations', in order to confront crime theories that exist in the society. Such endeavours were essential for the advancement of the feminist cause as without such movements, problems of the past could have re-occurred in modern (Grosz1990: 59, cited by Kelta Web Concept, 2003). Over the last few decades, many feminist writers have put new subjects beneath the criminology discipline and further confront the theories, beliefs, processes that the society as a whole have put on criminology. For many feminist writers, criminology has become more of a 'constraining' rather than 'productive' factor of influence (Kelta Web Concepts, 2003). As a reaction to the 'gender distortions and stereotyping' amongst the theories in criminology, the Feminist School of criminology was created in the late 1960s and into the 1970s. The Feminist School of criminology was tightly-knitted with the development of the 'Second Wave of feminism'. However, the movements spawn various different points of views created by different feminist writers. On the political side, 'there is a range from Marxist and Socialist to Liberal feminism addressing the "gender ratio" problem (i.e. why women are less likely than men to commit crime) or the generalisability problem (i.e. "adding" women to male knowledge, whereby the findings from research on men are generalised to women)' (Wikipedia, 2006). Feminist criminology includes various branches. Amongst them, Liberal, radical, Marxist, and socialist feminism are greatly recognised, although other types exist such as 'postmodernism and ecofeminism'. Many feminist criminology pointed out that most female offenders are being ignored, distorted, or stereotyped within the old concepts in criminology. However, various modifications or distinct of existing criminal theories have been developed. Mostly of these feminist writers have argued the issue on 'gender ratio problem (why women are less likely, and men more likely, to commit crime)'. Whilst some of them studied the more generalised issues such as 'whether traditional male theories can modified to explain female offending'. 'Most feminists are quick to point out where stereotypical thinking and theoretical dead ends exist, although the main problem complained about in most criminology is the simple fact that gender matters and should not be ignored' (French, 2005). The main purpose of feminist writers and the feminist criminology as a whole is to 'demonstrate to the more traditional members of the discipline that the conventional view of women is inaccurate'. They pointed out that it is most likely that criminal theories are the deficient and not the women themselves. Such concepts do more to disagree with the idea of the inert and submissive female within numerous theories of crime. As an example, 'the complex hypothesis that white-collar female crime is expanding because of improved occupational opportunities for women is undermined by crime statistics which show that women are still principally shop-lifters' (Kelta Web Concepts, 2003). One of the crime theories that are being criticised by most feminist writers is the Strain theory. Feminist writers consider it a biased theory. As an example, whenever 'male offenders commit a crime under certain conditions of opportunity blockage, their commission of crime is somehow seen as a "normal" or functional response'. However, when the offender is female, Strain Theory considers a bad behaviour or simply a weakness. 'Naffine (1987, cited by Wikipedia, 2006) probably represents the best example of this critique, but there are other critiques, such as the characterisation of females as "helpmates" or facilitators of crime in the Strain Theories of Cohen, and Cloward and Ohlin' (Wikipedia, 2006). The research methodology in Social Learning Theories, such as Edwin Sutherland's Differential Association Theory, is also criticised for relying more on male examples, and making use of males only in studies, and being a male-dominated concepts that somehow praises the male criminal, 'or at least the sociable, gregarious, active, and athletic characteristics of the male criminal' . Furthermore, Social Control Theories, such as Hirschi's Social Bond Theory, focuses almost wholly on social class disregarding race and gender component. Thus, most feminist writers that the failure of criminology to focus its studies on female offenders, either demonstrated 'a male-dominated discourse in which men primarily research male issues, or betrayed the rigidity of male stereotypes which allowed men to justify their prejudices with pseudoscience' (Wikipedia, 2006). Thus, many feminist writers come into conclusions that criminology, as a discipline, has little to say about women experiences. 'When a woman is seen to be physically, sexually or psychologically dominant, even violently aggressive, she tends to be treated as unusual, a freak of female nature or as mentioned previously, 'mad'. Many women appear to be encouraged to fear men and to circumscribe their public behaviour' (Kelta Web Concepts, 2003). Moreover, the usual connection of men with strength and power is not limited to the criminal issues alone. 'Female susceptibility is often invoked to strengthen both the senses of male power and the need for its considered use, that is, to protect women' (Kelta Web Concepts, 2003). Furthermore, the theories of criminology usually are founded on the sexual orientation of the offender rather than the cause of the crime itself. This problems in theories of criminology further affects the punishment, sentencing, and the length of imprisonment of women offenders who in the first place are not expected to commit crimes. Women who commit crimes are not being considered as bad but rather 'mad' or having psychological or sociological disorder. The labeling of madness to women developed from the belief that women should be pure and serve men and the community as a whole (Wikipedia, 2006). However, these are not true. As some statistics have shown, female offenders are increasing. 'It is widely known, for example, that females usually account for about 15% or 17% of all violent crime and 28% of all property crime. However, there has been about a 140% increase in the number of crimes committed by women since 1970, and the upward trend is steady' (French, 2005). Feminist writers assertion that criminology fails to address issues of female offender are justifies. However, some feminists writers such as Freda Adler, have not helped the female struggle for equal opportunity and individual circumstance; instead they seem to further fueled common concepts of 'women and the women's movement'. The feminist movement has created more criticism and eventually led to an increase in crime against women. 'In contrast to Adler's theory of female liberation as the cause, it appears from other studies to be a case whereby women are forced to commit offences as a result of poverty and subjugated conditions due to being without a job, a lack of educational opportunities, domestic violence, and divorce or separation. This may explain the obvious increase in minor theft, robbery and homicide' (Kelta Web Concepts, 2003). Reference List Adler, Freda. (1975). Sisters in Crime. Bottoms, A. (1996) Sexism and the Female Offender, Gower Publishing, Sydney Browne, A. (1987). When battered women kill. New York: Free Press. Carlen, Pat. (1985). Criminal Women Chesney-Lind, M. (1989). Girs' crime and woman's place: Toward a feminist model of female delinquency. Crime & Delinquency, 35, 5-29. Chesney-Lind, M., & Shelden, R. (1992). Girls, delinquency, and juvenile justice. Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole Publishing. Cooley, C. H. (1902). Human nature and the social order. New York: Scribner. 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