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Unlock This CourseFeminist perspectives on crime look at how gender shapes our understanding of crime, who commits it and how society responds to it. These approaches challenge traditional criminology, which has often focused on male offenders while ignoring or misrepresenting women's experiences with crime.
Key Definitions:
Traditional criminology was developed by men, about men and for men. Feminist perspectives challenge this by asking: Where are the women in criminology? Why are women's experiences ignored? How does gender affect crime patterns? These questions help us understand crime more fully and create fairer justice systems.
Official statistics show women commit far fewer crimes than men. In the UK, women make up about 5% of the prison population. Feminist criminologists ask whether this reflects real differences in offending or problems with how we measure, define and respond to crime.
There isn't just one feminist view of crime. Different feminist approaches highlight various aspects of gender inequality and its relationship to crime.
Focus: Equal opportunities and rights
View on crime: Women commit fewer crimes because they have fewer opportunities. As gender equality increases, female crime rates may rise.
Key theorist: Freda Adler - "Sisters in Crime" (1975)
Focus: Patriarchal control and male violence
View on crime: Crime is a way men control women. The justice system reflects and reinforces male power.
Key theorist: Carol Smart - "Women, Crime and Criminology" (1977)
Focus: Class and gender oppression
View on crime: Women's criminality is shaped by both capitalism and patriarchy. Female criminals are doubly oppressed.
Key theorist: Pat Carlen - "Women, Crime and Poverty" (1988)
Feminist perspectives have been crucial in highlighting how women experience crime as victims, particularly in relation to male violence.
Feminists have drawn attention to crimes that were previously ignored or minimised:
These crimes often go unreported due to shame, fear, or lack of confidence in the justice system. Feminist researchers use methods like interviews and surveys to uncover the true extent of these "hidden" crimes.
The #MeToo movement, which gained global attention in 2017, demonstrates feminist perspectives in action. Women shared their experiences of sexual harassment and assault, revealing how widespread these issues are. This movement:
This shows how feminist perspectives can move from theory to social change.
Feminist criminologists have also studied female offenders, challenging stereotypes and exploring how gender shapes women's pathways to crime.
Traditional theories often explained female crime in sexist ways, focusing on biology or psychology rather than social factors. Feminist approaches instead look at:
Feminists argue that women face contradictory treatment in the justice system:
Feminist perspectives examine how the criminal justice system treats women differently at every stage.
Feminists have identified several ways the justice system reflects patriarchal values:
Police may not take female victims seriously, especially in domestic or sexual violence cases. Women's complaints may be trivialised or dismissed.
Women's behaviour in court is judged against feminine stereotypes. Their appearance, sexual history and conformity to gender roles can influence outcomes.
Women's prisons are often designed based on male models. They rarely address women's specific needs, such as childcare responsibilities or histories of abuse.
Research by feminist criminologist Pat Carlen found that women in prison often share similar backgrounds:
This suggests that women's pathways to crime are often linked to victimisation, poverty and caring responsibilities - factors that traditional criminology often overlooks.
While feminist perspectives have greatly enriched our understanding of crime, they face some criticisms:
Feminist perspectives continue to be relevant in understanding modern crime issues:
Feminist approaches help us understand gender dimensions of newer crimes like online harassment, revenge porn and human trafficking. These often reflect existing gender inequalities in new contexts.
Modern feminist criminology increasingly considers how gender intersects with race, class, sexuality and disability. This helps explain why some women are more vulnerable to both victimisation and criminalisation than others.
Feminist perspectives have transformed criminology by:
By understanding these feminist insights, we can develop more effective and fair approaches to crime prevention and criminal justice.