Gender Based Violence, Police Behavior and the Court System - Research Paper Example

Name : xxxxxxxxxxx Institution : xxxxxxxxxxx Title : xxxxxxxxxxx Tutor : xxxxxxxxxxx Course : xxxxxxxxxxx @2010 Introduction In several ways, crime has commonly taken the dimension of gender whether openly or silently. This is confirmed by the dominant fact that one gender is majorly known to be the perpetrators of certain crimes while another is on the receiving end. Gender can be described as a social construction which shapes human behavior in every arena of life, and crime evidently is no exception. This particular paper therefore seeks to evaluate notion of how crime in gendered. Furthermore the paper will analyze how gender influences better understanding of various theoretical lenses and the implications of the notion to the dimension and scope of criminology. Gabbidon & Taylor (2005) highlight that crime has for many years been gendered, this has been advanced by numerous findings and theoretical insights and yet numerous gaps still exist. When taking a look at gender based violence for instance, an emerging area of study in the domain of human security. What is evident is that it has been given a limited perspective with much concentration on violence against women and girls and majorly sexual violence (Morash, 2006). Taking a broader view, we realize that men are also victims of gender –based crimes. They face gender based violence such as sexual assaults, forced recruitment into armies and gender selective massacre. Morsh,(2006) argues that agencies responsible for human security should realize that men equally need protection from such violence meted on them, just because they are of the masculine gender, does not mean that they can entirely defend themselves from such crimes. For instance, officially most research findings reveal that women are underrepresented in violent crimes. On the other hand sexual violence and abuse of men by women is usually overlooked and not given much attention. A considerably large number of men abused by women generally fail to report their ordeals due several personal factors and the shame that stems from the fact that the society deems it as ‘a mockery’ to manhood(Zaplin,2007).A personal safety survey curried out by the (ABS) Australian Bureau of Statistics (2009) estimated that 19/100 females subject to sexual assault managed to report their misfortune to the police, while men sexually assaulted by women rarely report the cases. It can also be argued that violent crime has also been gendered due to police behavior. Crutchfield (2000) argues that police decisions to arrest are in most cases influenced by factors that are extralegal, gender being one of the major factors. It is however unclear how gender alone or in conjunction with other factors may consciously influences police behavior to arrest, however the crime type essentially violent crimes directs the police to one particular gender; the male offender. A study undertaken by Tibbetts and Hemmens (2009) to make a comparison of the probability of juvenile male and female arrests by police after a reported incident indicated that police arrests and contact of the male offenders is more likely as opposed to the female. Also, a survey by the Australian Bureau of Statistics in three states between the years 1995-2005, indicated that male offenders were highly arrested for violent crimes as opposed to the female. Figure I below highlights arrests in terms of gender 1995-96 to 2004-05 Figure 1 Arrests In terms of Gender Between 1995-96 to 2004-05 In Queensland, Victoria, and South Australia there was a total of 162,055 offenders, whereby 126,776 were male and 35,279 were female. 21% of all offenders were female while the rest were male. Walklate (2004) argues that the organization of gender which entails differences between men and women in terms of physically differences and differences in terms of norms are major factors that influence more male police arrests as opposed to female arrests. The Police level is not the only juncture in the process of criminal justice that gender considerations are not enforced. Also at the courts level, crime is usually influenced by the aspect of gender. Crutchfield (2000) brings to light the fact that women have been given treatment that is more lenient in the early stages of court proceedings, for instance women are offered cash alternatives as opposed to bail .Furthermore variations in sentencing also occur in circumstances whereby women are given lighter sentences as opposed to the men even when both parties are involved in the same violent crimes. In most cases women are mostly given harsh sentences when they take part in non-traditional female crimes like assault or when they violate female sexual norms. When making an evaluation of the arguments raised above, an outstanding factor arises that indeed the concept of gender does matter in criminology. Various theoretical lenses have over the years being constructed for the basic purpose of explaining the integration of the concept of gender into criminology. Gender therefore greatly matters in the understanding of the various theoretical lenses. Feminism is one of the recent theoretical lenses grounded on the fact that gender is a social construction that is produced and further reproduced due to social interaction (Rafter & Heidensohn, 1995) .The Feminist view points propose two factors that influence the integration of the concept of gender into crime. One of the aspects is female nurturance and expectations which describes socially constructed attributes of the female gender. Women are naturally constructed to maintain relationships and build the family as a result illicit endeavors such as engaging in criminal activities are not part of their gender constructed roles. Also women are always required to be beautiful and to maintain sexual virtue thus engaging in crime becomes a rare attribute for the female gender. On the other hand the hegemonic roles given to men of caring for the family and enhancing family security , exposes men to higher chances of criminal activity (Gabbidon & Taylor 2005). Feminist view points have greatly influenced the development of criminology as a discipline. Feminists argue that criminology just like other social sciences is shaped by male experiences. This is essentially because the study of criminology is grounded on core general theories of crime which do not take in to account of female experiences. For instance radical feminist have reconstructed the way in which rape is perceived, whereby rather then being seen as a violent sexual crime it is viewed as male control, power and domination (Tibbetts & Hemmens 2009). Critics of feminism however argue that criminology as discipline and area of practice has been to a great extent indifferent to the role of women in crime. Many assumptions using feministic view points are made based on a biased belief that men are autonomous, intelligent and with a force in character hence are more likely to engage in crime, while women are weak, passive and compliant hence less likely to engage in crime. This has been responsible for the lack of detailed study into women’s role in crime (Tibbetts & Hemmens 2009). Masculinity is another theoretical lens that proposes that the criminal behavior of men is purported by their masculine nature. Messerschmidt (1993) argues that masculine attributes such as aggressiveness, violence and roughness were internalized in boys even during adolescence, which basically leads them to being more diligent as opposed to girls. Common masculine characteristics such as dominance and toughness are perceived as vital in order for a man to possess a strong masculine reputation (Connell1995). Messerschmidt, (1993) further argues that for a man, violent situations boost their masculinity; men are considered violent if they fight for themselves as a result the practice of violent crime is just a measure of how masculine a man is. The Masculinity view point has contributed to the development of criminology as a discipline in the sense that criminologists have attempted to utilize the concept of hegemonic masculinity to give explanations concerning the criminal behavior of men and also to give reasons why men are in most cases victimized by the criminal justice system. Kersten (1993) highlights that; at one level criminology as a discipline has been developed through a conceptual framework, which mostly describes the hegemony of men .The issue of masculinity, therefore forms the center stage in the academia of criminology, resulting to a situation whereby everything concerning crime is explicable by reference to the aspect of masculinity. Intersectionality is another approach that provides understanding of how gender is related to crime. The approach recognizes the fact that systems of power such as gender, class and race do not act alone to shape peoples experiences but rather they are simultaneous experienced and multiplicatively linked. Tibbetts and Hemmens (2009) observe that the use of the Intersectionality approach to study crime basically explores how the three attributes of inequality class, race and gender put certain members of society at risk to be rendered deviant or rather to engage in activities that result to breaking the law. The discourse of Intersectionality has had an effect on the development criminology as a discipline. The fact that Intersectionality exists across varies themes such as race , gender and class, assists the study of criminology to develop a broad approach, through making the assumption that crime is not entirely gendered, and that other factors such as race and class also influence criminal activity. It is also essential to take note of the fact that feminist criminologists also acknowledge the need for intersectionalaity in the study of criminology. Conclusion From the analysis above what is evident is that crime is basically an aspect that is influenced by gender in a variety of ways. The paper has highlighted three arenas; gender based violence, police behavior and the court system. Gender as a socially constructed phenomenon has also influenced various theoretical lenses that are used in the discipline of criminology. Theoretical lenses such as feminism, masculinity and Intersectionality, do acknowledge the fact that gender does influence the criminology and crime in general. It is however essential to take note of the fact that further research should be undertaken in order to fully verify this particular notion. References Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2009, 2002-2005. Population by age and sex, Australian states and territories (various issues). ABS cat. no. 3201.0. Canberra: ABS Retrieved Crutchfield, D, 2000,Crime, Pine Forge Press, 2000 Connell, R.W. (1995) Masculinities, Sydney: Allen and Unwin. Kersten, J, 1993. “Crime and Masculinities in Australia, Germany and Japan.” International Sociology 8:461-478 Gabbidon, S & Taylor,G,2005,Race, crime, gender and justice, Routledge Morash,M,2006, Understanding gender, crime, and justice, SAGE. Messerschmidt, J. 1993,Masculinities and Crime: Critique and Reconceptuatlization of Theory: Rowan & Littlefield Publishers, I Rafter, N. & Heidensohn, F, 1995, International Feminist Perspectives in Criminology Open Uni Press, Buckingham. Tibbetts , S & Hemmens,C,2009, Criminological Theory, SAGE. Walklate, S (2004) Gender, Crime and Criminal Justice Willan, Cullompton, UK. Zaplin,T,2007, The female offenders: critical perspective and effective interventions, Jones & Bartlett Learning. Read More