In Her Own Words: Women Offenders' View on Crime and Victmization by Alarid and Cromwell - Book Report/Review Example

Manoj George - Thomas Pulikkan Brief - 01 30 April 2009 In the book, In Her Own Words: Women Offenders' Views on Crime and Victimization Alarid and Cromwell have reduced the literature use of words and phrases in order to make it more meaningful to the students. They Editors edited in such a way that its thoroughly acceptable from primary reading itself. The book describes on the socio-mental life of women in the society. The life of women is edited in the book by conducting face-to-face interviews and seminars from those women who had personally experienced such hardships in their life.. Moreover the fact that makes this book more peculiar is that, interviews are taken more from women those are presently under conviction and in Jail. The book is carefully divided into 21sections or articles, each describing about various crimes and victimizations, women faces in the society. The author observes and interviews women who are involved in law breaking and those themselves be victimized. Seminars on sex-work, drugs, violent crime, property crime, civil crimes, desistance from crime and where women were made victims of crime, were conducted in order to get a perfect graph on the subject. The authors were shocked to reveal that most of the women criminals are the later victims in the crime. The face-to-face interviews made by the editors reveals that the most of the women are victims from the offences committed by themselves. They reveal the fact with the example of Sex - workers and women drug dealers in Mexican and African Cities. They are involved in law breaking acts and later on made as victims of crime. Women are vulnerable to the aftermaths of drugs and thus they become the victims of crimes, more often they were put in jail for their crime and thereby result in lack of proper medical attention. Reports states that, most of the women se-workers in the Mexican city dies of due to Sexually Transmitted Diseases [STD] and in most cases they were unknown of their diseases. Through his book, students can encounter women who were engaged in prostitution, murder, drug dealing and such other crimes. Discussions are well made on their motives, perceptions etc. Their decision-making strategies and rationalizations for crime are well explained by the Editors. These studies made by the authors give us an abundant description and detail about the personal experiences of the offenders and thereby the students and readers can understand the similarities of both the criminalized and victimizes women. The book points out the need of intervention of the government authorities and also about the illegal and immoral parts in law that stood before women. The book is well described on the basis of interviews in a theoretical and socio- scientific context that enables the students to understand better on female offending behavior. And linking the same to the prior victimization to its rational side and the impact on society. The book is well divided into five sections for proper explanation, Pathway to Crime- Similarities in Women Victimization and Crime, Women Criminal behavior and Family influences, Effect of Gang Networks, Economic factor and Survival Crimes and finally Women's crime as a Rational Choice. Women who are victimized suffer a series of hazards as a result of crime either conducted by themselves or by others. Criminalized women may share similarities with victimized women in a crime, especially when they are again exposed to the society, in most of the cases both criminalized and victimized women are found helpless after the course of crime. But the face-to-face interview report says that the victimized women were more exploited than the criminalized women. This is because in order to cover their crime, those victims were further exploited by the criminals. Reports are there on victims later emerging as violent criminals, the key factor in these are the harassments suffered by the victims. Being a Victim is said to be the beginning of a cycle of Victim to a Survivor and finally to an Offender. Through this Woman gets the way to enter to Street Crimes. This will produce new victims and the cycle goes on. The presence of family and culture of the family is a key ingredient that influences the Women. Here arises the importance of other family members, being a victim in some offences, the society stays away from the women and the need of family takes over. But in most of the cases most women lack such a comfort from the family, and they were left deserted. The influence of kingship and being a family can upraise even Criminal women. The failure of bond between the family can also result in both victimization and criminalization in Women. There are even instances reported of mother committing murder of her family including her own kids. A women with a Criminal behavior can primarily been identified only by the family members. Instead of deserting them, by carefully involving in the acts of family can return her to life without being a criminal. Studies shows that, Crime partnerships and small and negligent crimes by girls were the primary steps to gang networks and like such. The question is not whether women play a primary or secondary role in felony offences, once an offence is done they are getting the gateway to gang networks. Interviews reveals that women were often victimized than being criminalized under gang networks. Most of the young women from America and Africa were members of local gang networks. The editor says that women staying only on home can also be victims of crimes like residential burglary etc. Besides being a member of a gang network, there are female Gangs itself, in cities of Mexico and in African continent. Women are often victims of Gang rivalries that break up in city streets. Economic marginality and Crimes done for Survival are the next impulses that promote Victimization and Criminalization on women. The raising economic margin sets off women to commit a series of offences like that of, Sex-work, drug dealing and a series of other illegal acts. Street Sex workers are often victims of deadly disease like that of HIV Aids and other Sexually Transmitted Diseases [STD]. The local people itself often harass them. The interview reveals the fact that young women were engaged in sex- working in order to maintain an economic stability. Victimization in women happens when young girls are sold to mafia for sex working and for other criminal activities. Studies say that their decision-making strategy is based on the economic margin and most of the crimes committed for survival. Feminists terms Women's crimes as a rational choice, and they explains it with life histories of convicted women. The editor points out that the work site and society is the key ingredient that drags women to crime or in being a victim. Women were the victims of most of street robberies, as they are powerless and the government fails to ensure their security in the city streets. Women drug dealing is another crime that faced by the women in our society. Women were exploited in drug dealing as they can be used as a screen for the illegal drug trade. Mafias and other Illegal gangs are using young women to conduct drug delivery, in order to escape from the hands of law. Interviews and studies made on women reveal that most of them were victims of such drug dealing and the gangs escaped from the hands of law. IN HER OWN WORDS: Women Offenders' Views on Crime and Victimization, by Alarid and Cromwell have well explained to give an inside vies on how female law breaking behaviour overlaps with victimization in some cases and how law breaking is a rational choice in others. The book is edited on the basis of life history, studies and interviews made on a woman who suffers victimization and criminalization in crimes. The book reveals through separate sections and sub-sections about the similarities and differences in Victimization and Criminalization of Women in Crimes. The book reveals through interview about the first hand accounts of women's experience with crime and victimization and provides the readers to view the female offender from the perspective world. The book shows out the cycle of women turning from Victim to a Survivor and finally to an Offender. Each chapter of the five sections is well divided to be explained and to raise questions and discussions. Heather Melton commented on the book that "the authors highlighted the diversity of experiences of female offenders, particularly related to race and class." Works Cited 1. //http://www.amazon.com// Read More