Gender Differences in the Crime Rate - Essay Example

Introduction Studies in criminology have continued to find theories and explanations as to what causes crime. Gender difference has been identified as one of the major aspects of predicting and explaining criminal behavior. According to research, it has been established that males are more capable of committing crimes than females, regardless of the fact that they live under the same socio political environments (Flavin & Barrack 9). However, this assertion has attracted various contentions, with some studying it from a biological point of view while others viewing it from socio cultural perspective. This essay is a critical evaluation of the various reasons which contribute to this disparity, laying emphasis on the two different perspectives. Gender Differences in the Crime Rate As mentioned earlier, the rate of crime perpetrated by males is perceived to be higher as opposed to that of the females. In the US for example, it is estimated that women offenders and arrests constitute approximately 20% whereas the higher majority of offenses are perpetrated by males (Flavin & Barrack 15). In addition, research indicates that these women mostly commit crimes that are of less masculinity such as fraud, prostitution, embezzlement among others, which does not involve much physical confrontation. It is also pointed out that where they commit more serious offenses such as murder and homicide, there is always a high possibility that the victims are well known to them, either by the virtue of being their friends or ex lovers (Flavin & Barrack 25). Male criminals on the other hand are stated to be more likely to commit armed and violent crimes, to people who are strange to them. The gap between the prevalence of crime in the two sexes can be explained in various terms. To begin with, the society has always defined and perceived women as inferior to men. For this purpose, women have always been denied the right and equal opportunity to establish themselves as leaders and managers in the corporate world and the political arena. Instead, they are groomed throughout their childhood and adolescence to become loyal wives and family managers, with the role of domestic work and child rearing being stressed as most significant (Hester 26). As a result, most of them end up becoming solely dependent on their male partners for economical, physical and social protection. The male child on the other hand is exposed to hardships at early stages of growth due to the notion that they are more superior and responsible and therefore, should take the role of establishing themselves as so, by displaying their masculinity and protecting what is perceived by many as the weaker sex (Hester 62). In most families, parents allow a lot of freedom for their male children as opposed to female ones, especially due to their perceivable vulnerability, which makes them less defensive and more prone to crimes such as rape and abduction. Indeed, not many parents will allow their daughters to visit places such as cinemas, night entertainment joints among others without being accompanied or supervised by a male figure. This has contributed to women perceiving themselves generally as victims of crime, rather than perpetrators therefore, restricting their activities to fulfill what is expected of them. In fact, reports indicate that most of the female criminals, especially juvenile delinquents, come to be as a result of poor parentage whereby one form of abuse, such as sexual harassment by males in the family, is suffered (Siegel 41). These females go out into the streets where they suffer more sexual abuse from the street males thereby denying them the chance to get into hardcore crime. Women have been noted as being tolerant to their surroundings and due to this they result to crimes such as prostitution and drug use as it is the only crime which can attract men to them without necessarily getting hurt. On the other hand, the male child will walk or drive at any hour of the day without much supervision. This gives them the opportunity to experience the various aspects of life such as drugs, terror, violence, gang life among other diverse lifestyles. These build a sense of rebellion in them thereby raising their chances of experiencing confrontations with the law custodians (Siegel 59). Furthermore, men in the society are perceived to be the sole bread winners such that it is normal for them to bring home stolen property or money without having to answer to their mates as to where the property is from. Females on the other hand are under the authority of their husbands and therefore, they would fear going out at late hours to break into other people houses or mugging people across the streets, unless both the wife and husband are accomplices, which is not common (Morash 22). In this perspective, women are said to display Oedipus complex, which is their urge to attract male attraction such that they would not participate in criminal activities else they lose their men (Hester 43). In addition, it is unlikely for a woman to succeed in robbing a man violently based on the fact that men are known to be brutal in nature and therefore, the thought of being robbed by a woman while alert may not be a pondering issue. This is why for example it has been established that most of the serious crimes that are committed by women revolve around their homes. These are for example domestic violence, which recent statistics indicate that men are becoming more and more vulnerable to violence but interestingly, most of the harm done to them is as a result of defense mechanisms, which women are forced to undertake to protect themselves from physical abuse (Morash 32). The fact that men in the society are entrusted with the responsibility of providing for their families may be considered as a viable explanation as to why there is difference in crime rates between males and females. In this aspect, successful and wealthy men are always used as role models by parents and guardians when providing guidance to their children. A male child will therefore set high goals based on material wealth and influence among other extrinsic things, as opposed to females, who are mostly identified with building meaningful relationships and social networks in the society (Hester 91). As a result, the chances of male children suffering disillusionment later in life due to lack of goal realization and the possibility of becoming failures in the society acts as strains, which research has termed as possible causes of high male criminality. A man will do anything to provide for his family and when faced with such stress, he becomes more prone to poor anger management and crime becomes a possible solution. Generally, women will use trickery as opposed to violence to realize her goals. For example, a prostitute may subdue her victim by drugging him or her in the process of having conversation. She may also use her beautiful looks to seduce and subdue a man to do her monetary favors. Whereas this may be a common occurrence in our societies, few of these cases are reported or documented. The same case with female perpetrated domestic violence. This is due to the fact that it affects the male’s ego such that he fears losing his social status especially in a male chauvinistic society, which does not recognize the strength of a woman (Flavin & Barrack 81). In addition, this notion that women are insignificant in the society has affected the minds of researchers and other professionals in criminology such that much significance is accorded to male’s dominance in crime, thereby forgetting to study women’s contribution in the sector (Hester 40). As a result, people will continue to say and believe that men are committing more crimes whereas there could only be a little variation, between the two sexes involvement in crime, than is perceivable. For this purpose, more research should be conducted by people who are ready to face the facts without having preconceived minds in order to come up with proper statistics representing the main issues on the ground. However, the modern population has witnessed a rise in female criminality, which researchers have dabbed new female criminal (Adler 4). As discussed earlier, women in the society have continued to remain under economic oppression as a result of discrimination in the work place and denial of access to major decision making organs. On the other hand, the contemporary society has experienced an upsurge in women based organizations, demanding equal rights and opportunities as those accorded to men, at work place and in the society at large. As a result, more women have continued to access and hold political and corporate power thereby gaining economic independence (Adler 12). Even though not all societies have embraced this change, majority of women are now catering for their own needs unlike the traditional woman whose place was in the homestead. Consequently, this has leveled the ground for women to access company and private finances and be able to commit crimes such as fraud. They have also had the chance to interact with males in the work places thereby enhancing their survival tricks. Some women have taken this as an opportunity to call for equality in all aspects of life including violence and the society embracing it and this may explain why the rate of female violent crimes has continued to increase at a rate almost equal to that of males (Adler 21). Conclusion Males have always ranked higher than females in the crime rate index. This is due to various reasons such as poor anger and strain management in males where as the opposite is true in females, masculinity in males, which gives them an upper hand in committing violent crimes whereas femininity in women lowers their ability to succeed in doing so. Gender discrimination also denied women the opportunity to commit crime as they depended on their men to provide for them. Female children were brought up to become loyal wives and efficient child raisers and thus had no time to commit crime apart from prostitution for the dejected and domestic violence for the wounded. However, the emancipation of women from this dependence has resulted to a new female criminal, due to equality which has opened more opportunities for them to grab. Works Cited 1. Adler, F. Sisters in Crime: The Rise of the New Female Criminal, 1976 2. Flavin, J., Barrack, G. Class, Race, Gender, and Crime: The Social Realities of Justice in America, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2008 3. Hester, S. Sociology of Crime, Routledge, 2001 4. Morash, M. Understanding Gender, Crime, and Justice, Sage, 2006 5. Siegel, L. Criminology, Wadsworth Publishing, 2008 Read More