The Potential Causes of Female Violence - Essay Example

The Potential Causes of Female Violence The increasing number of the female offenders in the world is quite alarming and one can find various reasonsattributed to it. Many recent studies, conducted by governmental as well as non-governmental organizations, including the U.S. Department of Justice have proposed statistical evidences showing the considerable growth rate in the female offenders and crimes. These studies have also identified the various factors such as, social, environmental, psychological, and/or biological factors contributing significantly to the growth rate of the female violence.

However, one can see that ‘Women are more likely to commit crimes now than in the past, although women who commit crimes are more likely to be arrested for nonviolent property crimes compared to male criminals whose crimes are more likely to involve violence’ (The White House). But an overview of some of the female offenders in America proves that there were women who engaged in violent crimes like men. One of such examples can be cited with Aileen Wuornos, a very notorious female serial killer and prostitute who took the life of seven men in Florida from 1989 to 1990 (Criminal Justice Degrees Guide, 2013).

The way she committed the crimes are more aggressive than the male offenders and she won in her attempts to escape from trial till she commits the seventh murder. Analyzing the social factors that contributed her criminal behavior, one can see that Wuornos had a rocky upbringing that led her into prostitution at a young age. The improper guidance she received from the tender age itself had channelized her into criminal activities such as disorderly conduct, assault, armed robbery and theft. Considering the psychological reasons for her criminal behavior, it is evident that her social background is the main culprit.

She committed all these crimes to make money in order to help support Tyria Moore, a hotel maid, to whom she had established an intimate relationship (Criminal Justice Degrees Guide, 2013). When Wuornos felt that her prostitution earnings are insufficient to help the maid she turned to criminal activities by robbing her customers and shooting them. Regarding the biological factors, one is sure that naturally a woman cannot overpower a man physically. Therefore, Wuornos engaged in sexual contact with her customers and after making them physically weak, she shot them to death.

Among violent female offenders, 53% committed the offense while alone, and 40% were with others, all of whom were female (Greenfeld, L.A., Snell, T. L., 1999). The given statistical evidences show that majority of the females committed murders alone, either by seducing the male or by engaging in sexual contact with him. Not all the crimes the female offenders committed were for money, but some for psychological reasons. It is visible with Genene Jones, another serial killer who killed somewhere between 11 and 46 infants and children while working as a pediatric nurse in San Antonio and Kerrville, Texas (Criminal Justice Degrees Guide, 2013).

The police say that she injected children with the kind of medicines that caused heart paralysis, breathing complications and often led to death. Here in her case, she committed all these crimes not for money but with some psychological reasons. Her intention was to put children in an emergency state and revive them to receive praise and attention from parents, doctors and the public (Criminal Justice Degrees Guide, 2013). The American Department of Justice has identified that majority of the female offenders are subjected to grave psychological problems.

Justice Department study finds one in four women in jails have serious mental illness, with co-occurring posttraumatic stress and substance use disorders (Department of Justice, 2013). To conclude, one can infer that there are many factors that lead females to criminal activities and those reasons are somewhat different from the causes of the males to commit crimes. Some of these causes include social, environmental, psychological, and/or biological factors. Among these, one can find the psychological reason as the dominating factor.

Reference ListCriminal Justice Degrees Guide. (2013). 10 Most Infamous Female Criminals. Criminal Justice Degrees Guide.com. Retrieved November 6, 2013, from http://www.criminaljusticedegreesguide.com/features/10-most-infamous-female-criminals.html Department of Justice. (2013). Justice Department study finds one in four women in jails have serious mental illness, with co-occurring posttraumatic stress and substance use disorders. Department of Justice, Office of the Justice Programs. Retrieved November 6, 2013, from http://www.ojp.usdoj.

gov/newsroom/pressreleases/2013/ojppr010913.pdfGreenfeld, L.A., Snell, T. L. (1999). Women Offenders. U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs. Retrieved November 6, 2013, from http://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/wo.pdfThe White House. (n.d.). Women in America: Crime and Violence. The White House, Washington. Retrieved November 6, 2013, from http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/rss_viewer/WomenInAmerica_CrimeViolenceFactsheet.pdf