Gender as a Determinant of Crime Victimization - Research Paper Example

Running Head: GENDER AND CRIME Gender as a Determinant of Crime Victimization Name Institution Date Research question Many women have become the target of criminals owing to their inability to defend themselves, a factor that has instilled fear in them. Men on the other hand are in a position to defend themselves and their main fear has been losing their material wealth to criminals. Though men experience crime incidences as women do, the impact such crimes have on women has been found to be long lasting. Unlike women, men are less likely to experience rape which is one of the most traumatizing criminal experiences. The question is therefore “Are females more afraid of being attacked by strangers than their male counter parts?” There are indications that male partners have skills that enable them to defend themselves when faced by a threatening situation. On the other hand, females are quick to prevent such occurrences and avoid places that place them at a risk of facing threatening situations. This research investigates the risk factors that make women vulnerable to crime as well as comparing victimization of men and women in different forms of crime. It also investigates the sources of such fears and the difference in age and financial status. Assumption The study assumes that the data collected by British crime survey is objective and that personal attitudes were not reflected in the data. It also assumes that the data collected was representative to allow space for generalization to a wider population. Accuracy and precision in data during collection and recording of the data is a very important factor of consideration. This research assumes that the researchers who collected and recorded the data were precise and accurate. It also assumes that there was uniformity in data recording which makes the data scientific. Objectives To identify the relationship between victimization and gender To identify the different types of crimes committed To determine the defense mechanism applied To identify the trends in crime To determine the relationship between past experience of victimization, fear and job performance Significance of the study Increased crime rate has been identified as one of the main problems that delay the development of any place. It initiates fear in people limiting their performance as they fear to use some roots that would have otherwise enabled them to save on time. In worst cases, it can result to inability to perform in work hence resulting to a family losing its source of income. This research is important as it will identify the gaps that exist between the already carried researches hence giving researchers ideas on what to engage in. It will also be useful to the government bodies in identifying the changing trends in crime and the factors that contribute to gender discrimination and biasness. The research will include the reports by British crime survey for individuals to identify actions that can make the victims of a crime. The research will offer different suggestions on defense mechanism and actions that will result to lowered gender based crime rate. Literature review Gender has for a long time been indicated as one of the determinants of crime. According to past researches, women are more susceptible to crime as compared to their male counter parts. While most males have been found to account for the number of offenders, many are the times when women have been their targets. The fear of crime does not only vary by gender and age, but also by race. In 2002, there were more Blacks and Asians that feared being raped, physically attacked, mugged, Burglary and car theft as compared to whites (Raine, 2001)). This indicates that there were more Asians and Blacks participation or being victimized in case of a crime. According to a report by the office for the National statistics, 80% of the offenders in Whales and England in 2006 were found to be males. The total number of offenders was estimated to be 1.42M. Only 7% +.of the total number of offenders was found to be less than 18 years of age (The Stella Project, 2004). Among females, those aged 15 were found to be the highest offending age group as they were estimated to be 2 168 in every 100 000 population. Among the males, those aged 17 were the highest with 6 116 offenders per 100 000population (Simmons and Dodd, 2003). The criminal offences identified included sexual offences, fraud and murder, victimless crimes such as drug dealing, wounding, common assaults, robbery and theft from individuals, burglary and vandalism. Women who take alcol and other drugs are more vulnerable to crime due to insecurity found in the drinking places (Ettorre, 1997). In addition, women under drug influence are not in a position to resist crime. In some cases, such women are victims of rape and only realize these later when they are sober. According to the 1998 crime survey, only 4 595 300 crimes of all the 16 437 000 crimes committed were reported to the police (Barron, 2004). Burglaries and motor vehicle thefts were the most reported at a rate of 85% and 97% respectively since this was required by the insurance company (Leeds Inter-Agency Project, 2005). The least reported were vandalisms, wounding and thefts from individuals with the reporting rate being 26%, 45% and 35% respectively. The reasons for not reporting included; crime not very serious 44%, police would not offer much help 33%, police would be disinterested 22%, assumed ability to deal with the case at a personal level 11% and reporting would result to other inconveniencies 4% (Upson, 2004). However, there is an increase in the number of individuals who are reporting crimes fostered by the increase in number of police, increase sensitization and people’s understanding of their rights and the law, widened coverage by the insurance companies requiring one to produce a police report for compensation and the newly identified forms of crime that have resulted from improved technology. Most of the criminal offences are committed by men and women are most likely to be the victims. In 2000, most identified crimes were committed by males aged 17 to 22 (Barron, 2004). Women feel less safe in their everyday life due to their low economic status, inability to defend themselves and the vulnerability to such crimes as rape. There has been a significant increase in the crime rate since in the twentieth century (Gislason, 1997). This could have been attributed to increased poverty rates at the global level resulting from increased population and a reduction in available as well as potential resources. Hypothesis and propositions Past researches referred to have indicated that gender is one of the key determinants of crime victimization. This has resulted to the hypothesis that women are at a high risk of victimization as compared to men. There is a clear indication from other propositions that the vulnerability of women to crime is not only as a result of their gender defined position in the society but also poverty and poor defense mechanisms. Methodology Research design Descriptive research design will be applied in collecting the data for this study. This is owed to the fact that the sample population is quite large and the need to study the natural behavior of samples. The research is aimed at investigating the relationship that exists between different variables and descriptive research is very useful when investigating social factors. Both qualitative and quantitative data will be collected to ensure comprehensiveness in the study. Qualitative data collected will be coded so as to enhance production of scientific results after analysis. Sampling The sample will be determined through random sampling of individuals living above the age of 18. These will be collected from past researches conducted by British crime survey reports. Data on children will not be collected as susceptibility of children in crime victimization is not mainly determined by sex but a combination of factors. The study will completely rely on past researches. First hand data will not be collected. Description of the study population The study population will include persons above the age of 18 living in Britain. The inclusion of individuals will not be based on race, nationality, social status or level of education. This means that the study population will include people from different races and nationalities as these may be a contributing factor to susceptibility of women to crime. The population will be drawn from the studies conducted from 2007 to 2009 although other researchers conducted earlier will also be used to draw comparisons and to understand the change in trends. Data collection Instruments This study will completely rely on second hand data. The data collection instruments will therefore include reports from past surveys. The reports will be collected from government offices. It is assumed that these instruments were accurate and precise in collection and recording of data collected. Data Analysis After all necessary information is gathered, it will be analyses through the application of SPSS. This will enhance accuracy in reporting (Bohrnstedt and David, 1982). Qualitative data will be coded and then analyzed using this software. The hypothesis will then be tested from the results obtained after analyzing selected data. Findings Fear of crime has been found to vary with age. The main explanation for this is the increased vulnerability to crime as one gets older (Cohen and Marcus, 1979). Various stages of life attach or detach one from the society. For instance, during the early ages to middle age, there are strong ties between individuals and the community as he/she contributes in social activities (Gordon and Stephanie, 1989). However, these ties weaken as one grows older and participation in social activities decreases. Crime constrains social relations by instilling fear of violation in individuals especially the vulnerable groups (Budd, 2001). It is this fear that causes people to withdraw from social groups and community life. In addition, this fear affects social ties negatively as people withdraw from social activities. Fear of victimization varies with prevalence of crime in an area (Raine, 2001). For instance, those living in areas where poverty levels are high are likely to experience more crimes (double the rate) as compared to those living in rural areas and affluent suburban. In 2003, out of all the crimes committed, 585 were not reported, 11 were reported and recorded while 31 % were reported and recorded. Theft vehicles were the highest (Home office, 2003). There were 3.6% female victims in 2006. A variation was identified in regard to age group and victimization of these females. Those aged 18 to 24 years were the most at risk accounting for 6.4% of the total number of people in the age group (Nicholas et al, 2007). The percentages per group were 1.6% for those above 65 years, 2.6% for those between 45 and 64 years, 4.1 for those aged 25 to 44 and 6.4% for those between the age of 18 and 24. Females are thus more susceptible to crime than their male counterparts (Stark and Flitcraft, 1996). According to the 2006 survey, more males than females were found to be afraid of their property being stolen or damaged (Mohan and Twigg, 2007). The males worried of this were 4.4% while there only 3.1%. females were more worried about personal injury accounting for 16.1% while males accounted for only 13.0% of people worried abour personal injury (Moley, 2008). However, personal injury was found to be the main cause of worry. Those worried about both personal and property damage among males and females were 29.9% and 38.6% respectively. Most of the males had no fear of being injured or their property being destroyed (Myhill and Allen, 2002). The report from British crime survey indicates that there is a possibility of certain people in high risk areas experiencing repeated cases of victimizaton while crime is evenly distributed in areas that experience low crime rate (Ferraro, 1995). Areas of highest deprivation such as urban centre are the areas found to have the highest crime rates. In 2008/2009, there was a variation in percentages of crimes taking place in different areas. For instance 49% of the crimes happened outside homes, 10% in homes, 1% in garage and 12% near the person’s work place (Myhill, and Allen, 2002). The rest took place either in a pub, relative’s/friend’s place or while travelling. Males are strong and in a position to defend themselves (Department of Health, 2004). When these males are the offenders in cases where the victim is a woman, there is a high likelyhood of the woman not being in a position to defend herself effectively (Straus and Gelles, 1990). According to the survey carried out in 2008/2009, 67% of the offenders were males, 22% were both males and females and 11% were female. 46% of the male offenders were aged between 16 and 24 years. Though women fear passing through certain paths or walking at night for fear that they might be attacked by strangers, the data collected in 2008/2009 indicates that most of the offenders are well known to the victim. This is especially incases such as rape and may be attributed to the fact that there exist trust between the individuuals (Kennedy and Vincent, 1988). For instance, 33% of the offenders were neighbours, 15% people from the surrounding area, 22% friends and 20% a spouse (Moley, 2008). Drug abuse was identified as one of the risk factors of crime (Koss, 1996). Most of the offenders were found to be under the influence of a given drug or alcohol at the time of commiting the crime. Women were more succeptible to such crimes probably owing to their inability to defend themselves and to the aggressive behaviour of the offender (Royal College of Midwives, 1999). 58% of the offenders acted under the influence of alcohol while 26% were under the influence of other drugs. This indicates that the consumption of alcohol is a major factor to consider when looking at the prevalence rate of crime (Bolling et al, 2002). The remaining 16% were sober at the time they commited the crime. This table indicates the state of the offender at the time of the attack. Crime against women was evident in the work place as well as in the homes. One main contributing to this factor could have been the gender defined roles and the place of a woman in the society (Walby and Myhill, 2001a). In areas where the prevalence of violence against women was found to be high, poverty levels were also high. This means that gender violence is directly proportional to poverty levels (Walby and Myhill, 2001b). Limitations of the study 1. The research is limited in that not all crimes committed are reported for investigation. 2. The research also relies on secondary data from British crime survey and not primary data. Since these are past researches, the trend may have changes and thus may not fully indicate the current situation. The reliance on secondary data may limit one in determining some factors such as the attitude of the respondent (Holcombe et al, 1995). 3. The materials used are reports by the British Crime Survey and are limited to the developed countries hence limiting generalization of the findings. 4. Analysis is done from already tabulated data and not from the questionnaires used in conducting the research and this increases the probability of errors hence lowering the accuracy and precision of the results. 5. Since the data collected in the British Crime Survey evaluated multiple factors, some information in regard to gender was not clearly reflected resulting to the researcher concentrating on areas for which data was available. Hypothesis testing The hypothesis made before carrying out the research stated that women are at a higher risk of being victimized in case of a crime. This hypothesis was accepted as true since most of the victims were female while most of the offenders were male. Those who had been victimized before were afraid of the reoccurrence of the same. Conclusion Women have freequently been identified as a vulnerable group incase of a crime. The fact that women are weaker than men due to the nature of their biological makeup makes them suceptible to these crimes. In addition, women lack the skills neecessary to defend themselves against a criminal. Sometimes this has been attributed t traumatisation and past experiences where one may have suffered from rape. Such kind of a crime not only lowers one’s esteem but also limits his or her performance in the job market. This means that women are likely to continue being poor unless a solution is developed to intervene in their situation. According to this research, the risk factors to crime include drug abuse, poverty and increased population. It has been identified that urban centers and other highly populated areas have indicated high crime rates as compared to rural areas and the estates lived by high class people. Fear of being attacked reduces one’s performance hence enslaving one in poverty. In addition, this fear lowers ones esteem and limits their ability even in a class situation. Though crime rate has been found to lower over the past years, more need to be done so as to promote gender equality and tighten the preventive measures. This will in turn result to reduced incidences of crime. Every measure should be put in place to reduce crime incidencies especially where there is gender violence. If this is achieved, an overall improvement would be realised in all sectors translating to the achievement of the millenium development goals. Recommendations Women should be trained on self defence mechanisms incase they were faced by a crime situation hence reducing the number of successful crimes. More efforts should be directed torwards fighting against drug abuse and those found guilty of commiting a crime under the influence of drugs shuld be severly punished. Information regarding crime rate should be disseminated to ensure that people are aware of possible crimes, vulnerable places as well as supportive services incase one is victimised. Priotisation of those with greatest need for protection such as women while formulating policies and establishing public services. 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