Gender, Crime and Deviance

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses the position of women in crime statistics using sociological theory and studies. It examines the social, economic and other factors that may contribute to the increasing numbers representing women in crime statistics. Consideration is also given to the problems of official statistics and the influence of 'male-stream' sociology on such a subject with reference to studies by Heidensohn, Pollak, Campbell and Box.

From the Paper:

"When most people consider women and crime they normally do so according to the general consensus of women being the victims. In the same way as old and frail ladies, women, perhaps particularly young women, are viewed as a "high-danger" group and are generally thought to be more vulnerable and therefore more likely victims of crime. However when we consider the statistics, research, sociological theory and studies we realize that this is not necessarily the case; women are not always the victims and furthermore they are sometimes the actual perpetrators in criminal activity. Unlike topics such as the family, for which the preponderance of sociological research has been conducted by females, the sociological theories of crime are typically carried out by males, who, it could be argued, tend to focus more on the male experience of crime in their research. Male assumptions have therefore become rooted in the subject, which as Frances Heidensohn and other feminist sociologists argue, leads to a "gender blind" approach to sociology."

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