Sign up to access the complete lesson and track your progress!
Unlock This CoursePat Carlen is a leading feminist criminologist whose work since the 1980s has significantly shaped our understanding of women's pathways into crime. Unlike traditional criminological theories that were developed based on male offending, Carlen specifically examines how poverty and economic marginalisation push women into criminal behaviour.
Key Definitions:
Pat Carlen began her work in the 1980s when feminist criminology was emerging. She conducted groundbreaking research with women in prison, focusing on their life stories and pathways to crime. Her approach was radical for its time as it centred women's voices and experiences rather than applying male-centred theories to women.
Carlen's most influential works include "Women's Imprisonment" (1983) and "Women, Crime and Poverty" (1988). These texts challenged mainstream criminology by highlighting how women's criminalisation is often linked to their economic survival rather than inherent criminality.
Carlen argues that women's criminality must be understood within the context of their economic and social position. Her research shows that many women who commit crimes do so as a response to poverty and limited economic opportunities.
Carlen identified several interconnected factors that push women into criminal behaviour:
Many women commit crimes like shoplifting or benefit fraud simply to survive or provide for their children when legitimate income is insufficient.
Homelessness or insecure housing pushes women into street-level crimes and makes them more visible to police surveillance.
Women face harsher judgement when they fail to meet societal expectations of femininity, motherhood and domesticity.
A central concept in Carlen's work is that women face "double deviance" when they commit crimes. This means they are punished not only for breaking the law but also for violating gender norms about how women should behave.
Carlen found that women who appeared before courts were often judged on their family status and sexual behaviour rather than just their offence. "Respectable" women with families might receive lighter sentences, while those seen as failing in traditional female roles faced harsher treatment.
Women from poor backgrounds face significant barriers to legitimate employment, including lack of qualifications, childcare responsibilities and discrimination. These barriers can make illegal income sources seem like the only viable option.
Carlen emphasises that we cannot understand women's criminality by looking at gender alone. Class position creates different experiences for women, with working-class and poor women facing much greater risk of criminalisation.
Carlen's work connects to the broader concept of the "feminisation of poverty" - the fact that women are more likely than men to live in poverty, especially single mothers and older women. This economic vulnerability creates pathways into crime that are specific to women's experiences.
Carlen's interviews with women prisoners revealed that many had experienced:
Common crimes committed by women in Carlen's studies included:
In her landmark study, Carlen interviewed 39 women in Scottish prisons. One participant, "Mary", exemplified the pathway from poverty to prison:
Mary grew up in poverty and entered the care system at age 12. With no qualifications and nowhere to live after leaving care, she turned to shoplifting and prostitution to survive. When she became a mother, she continued offending to provide for her child. The courts viewed her as a "bad mother" and gave her a custodial sentence, separating her from her child and making her situation even worse upon release.
This case demonstrates how economic necessity, rather than criminal intent, drove offending behaviour and how the justice system's response often deepened rather than addressed the underlying problems.
Carlen argues that the state controls poor women through both welfare systems and criminal justice. Women who don't conform to expectations may find themselves pushed from welfare dependency into criminality.
The welfare system often places strict conditions on women, requiring them to be "deserving" recipients who conform to traditional family roles. When women can't meet these expectations, they may turn to unofficial income sources that are criminalised.
Women who come into contact with the criminal justice system often receive inappropriate sentences that fail to address their needs. Prison typically worsens their economic situation by disrupting housing, employment and family relationships.
While Carlen's work has been hugely influential, it's important to consider both its strengths and limitations:
Despite being developed in the 1980s, Carlen's theories remain highly relevant today. Recent research continues to show strong links between women's economic marginalisation and their pathways into crime.
Current UK prison statistics support Carlen's theories:
These patterns suggest that Carlen's analysis of the relationship between poverty and women's criminalisation remains accurate decades after her original research.