Female Crime and ViolenceFemale Crime and Violence

Presenting GroupPresenting Group ‘A’‘A’

Obaidur Rahaman Ovi,Obaidur Rahaman Ovi,Undergraduate Undergraduate Student,Student,Dept. of Geography & Dept. of Geography & Environment.Environment.

IntroductionIntroduction

Trends in female crime relative to male crime are more complex. Some writers claim that female crime has been increasing faster than male crime, as measured by the percentage of female arrests. This has clearly been true in the case of minor property crimes, where the percentage of female arrests had about doubled between 1960 and 1975 (from around 15 to 30 percent or more), with slight additional increases since then. Smaller but fairly consistent increases are also found for substance abuse categories, but they remain less than 20 percent for all categories.

Women and CrimeWomen and Crime3 questions we need to address in order to ascertain if women are less criminal than men:

Are there differences in the amount of crime

committed by men and women?

Are there differences in the

kinds of crime committed by men

and women?

Is there any evidence that

women’s crime has changed in either

amount or kind ?

Female and CrimeWomen were less likely than men to have offended and committed a crime in the last year (11% compared with 26%). Women ‘grow out of crime’ – they are most likely to desist from offending in their late teens. The peak age of reported offending for girls was 14. (The peak age of recorded offending for girls was 15, compared to 19 for men). Criminal statistics show that, in 2002, only 19% of known offenders were women. Theft and handling is the most common indictable offence for women accounting for 57% of known female offenders in 2002. Female arrestees identified as having drug problems are more likely than men to have received drug treatment, spend more money on drugs, report recent use of more harmful drugs and are more often referred to a drug rehabilitation unit

Crime and violenceViolent crimes include crimes where intentional harm is inflicted against another individual during the commission of the crime. Additionally, violent crimes can include the threat of intentional harm. The infliction of the harm can include the use of weapons, poison, bodily contact, and more. Most violent crimes are felony crimes. These are considered the most serious crimes and carry a sentence of one year or more in prison.

Female crime and violenceMost efforts to understand crime have focused on male crime, since men have greater involvement in criminal behavior. Yet it is equally important to understand female crime. For example, learning why women commit less crime than men can help illuminate the underlying causes of crime and how it might better be controlled. Women crime is now increasing day by day worldwide and they are trained and used by the men criminals. Men criminal taking the best benefits by completing the mission by the help of female criminal.

Types of Female crime of Female crime•Murder•Manslaughter•Rape•Arson•Terrorism•Domestic violence•Gang violence•Kidnapping•Robbery

Crime and Deviance Chapter 13 702/05/23

Women are in prison for the following crimes Women are in prison for the following crimes (in percentage) :(in percentage) :

Causes of Female CrimeCauses of Female Crime

Personal causes1. Compared with male offenders, female offenders are on a low level of

education. 2. They haven’t social knowledge and experience. 3. They lack analytical skills in dealing with problems, and they are not

sensible to deal with things.4. They are instigated or enticed by others, they are easy to be coerced

or deceived,going astray.5. They do not know how to use the law to protect them.  In addition, psychological factors such as vanity, unrealistically compare,

hedonism, narrow-minded, vindictive and so on also contributes to an important cause of female crime.

 

The family causesDomestic violence

1.Women do not work and have no source of income and has no place in the family, they often subject to her husband's beatings.2.Husband has a macho idea that husband is superior to his wife and he beats his wife frequently.3.Wife has the mentality of "not wash your dirty linen in public" and endures domestic violence repeatedly4.The relief mechanism is not perfect. According to the survey, 23.6% of women sought help from her family or friends or the organizations, however, 15.6% of the people who were been sought for ignored their request or persuaded them not to make public.

The imbalance of the family structure 

The imbalance of the family structure means that the main structural component of the family is not complete which include the fault family and deformity family. These kinds of families are prone to family tensions, and lead to the occurrence of crimes.

Lack of OpportunitiesLack of OpportunitiesThere was an assumption that because women were confined to the private world with limited access to the public world they lacked opportunity for crime.

However, this situation is changing, with women occupying roles in the workplace and public life.

Women still have less opportunity for crimes but Wilkinson found in California that where women were (arguably) equal to men, they were engaged in similar levels of white-collar crime. What does this suggest?

Social causes1. The imperfect of legal system2. The influence of unhealthy social phenomenon3. The spread of junk culture

Policies and practices: There are factors like negative policy environment, gender insensitive policies .Institutional causes: lack of or inadequate victim support services and distances from courts, health facilities, police services, etc. which does not provide enabling atmosphere.Legal causes: inadequate legal provisions, inaccessibility of legal services, and ignorance of rights and responsibilities

Other causes

Female Crime StatisticsFemale Crime StatisticsWhilst they commit less than men, women commit all types of offences.

Women’s property crime is motivated by economic factors (just like men).

Women fear and feel the impact of the stigma of the ‘criminal’ label.

Women offenders are seen as 'doubly deviant' - for breaking social rules, and being viewed as ‘unfeminine’.

Quantitative and qualitative evidence suggests:

Types of crimes committed by men and women in 2009 in the US, England and Wales, and Italy using data on men and women in prison shows that women, on average, tend to commit mostly property crimes, in particular theft, fraud, and drug offences

Crime comparison between men and womenCrime comparison between men and women

Homicide rates (worldwide) :Homicide rates (worldwide) :

Will Women’s Crime Rise?Will Women’s Crime Rise?Freda Adler (1975) believes that women’s liberation will increase women’s participation in criminal activity.

Her evidence is partly based on a growth of juvenile crime by (liberated) girls.

Just as they are penetrating the labour market, so they are moving also into ‘criminal careers’.

However, Carol Smart (1979) criticises Adler on the grounds that she (wrongly) sees juvenile delinquency as reflective of future adult crime

Rise in Women’s CrimeRise in Women’s Crime

Stephen Box feels that any increase in women’s property crime has more to do with poverty (especially as lone-parents) than their liberation.

He also found a relationship between the increasing employment of women police officers and the recording of violent crime by women.

He suggests the authorities have also been ‘sensitized’, resulting in female crimes of violence becoming more likely to be recorded.

Meanings of Domestic ViolenceMeanings of Domestic Violence

Public admission of the violence present in their family can make women feel a strong sense of failure.

Support for battered partners is not always forthcoming from police, family, friends, or the welfare services.

The police traditionally regarded ‘domestics’ as private matters and reluctant to intervene.

From 1990s the Home Office have instructed the police to treat domestic violence the same as any form of violence.

Domestic ViolenceDomestic Violence

Betsy Stanko (2000) found an act of domestic violence is committed every 6 seconds in Britain.

It is estimated that a quarter of all violent crimes committed are "domestics“.

In 45-70% of cases, the father inflicts violence on the children as well as the mother (BMA Report, 1998).

Women crime: Minimizing wayWomen crime: Minimizing wayTreat violence as a public health concern

Localize programmes

Focus on hotspots

Create well-targeted programmes

Focus on prevention

Avoid repressive policies

Treat male and female violence as the same issueMove away from the focus on poverty

Keep in mind the impact of drugs

Women crime: Minimizing wayWomen crime: Minimizing wayBe aware of the link between organized crime and terrorismSee violence as a priority

Use non-violent language

Practicing social norms

Stopping sexual harassment

Give the priority and opportunity

ConclusionConclusion

Women crime is less than men’s crime, but women crime is more irritating and harmful for the society.The understanding of women and crime must be broadened to include general position of women within a given social context. This concern not abstract or simply of academic interest. Criminology developed as a policy-oriented discipline.

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