Male vs Female Crime Rates Essay Example
Who Commits Crime?
Statistics indicate that men are more likely to commit crime than women. For example, in 2002 80% of known offenders (481,000+) were men. As there are a number of problems with the reliability and validity of statistics, an alternative to information are self-report studies. These are anonymous and some believe because they all but guarantee anonymity they encourage respondents to be more truthful than if they were involved in an interview. In the past, sociologists tended to pay attention to only males committing crimes and ignored gender differences. This began to change in the 1970’s when feminists such as Carol Smart looked into woman and crime and began to ask questions such as: • Why do woman commit fewer crimes than men? • Why are woman more likely to commit to social norms compared to men? • Is there anything distinctive about a woman's experience as an offenders and as victims of crime? • Are woman treated differently than men in the justice system? There is now an agreement within sociology that when studying crime and deviance we must take into account gender. This means we must also ask questions about men. • What is the relationship between crime and masculinity? Sex role theory: this theory argues that boys and girls are socialized differently, therefore resulting in boys becoming more delinquent. There are different versions of this theory. Edwin Sutherland (1949) stated that there are clear gender differences when it comes to socialization. Firstly, girls are more supervised and more strictly controlled. Secondly, boys are encouraged to take risks and to be tough and aggressive. Therefore, boys have more of an opportunity and an inclination to commit crime. Talcott Parsons (1995) believes that there are clear and obvious gender roles within the nuclear family. The father performs roles which show him to be more of the leader and provider, whilst the mother performs the
Statistics indicate that men are more likely to commit crime than women. For example, in 2002 80% of known offenders (481,000+) were men. As there are a number of problems with the reliability and validity of statistics, an alternative to information are self-report studies. These are anonymous and some believe because they all but guarantee anonymity they encourage respondents to be more truthful than if they were involved in an interview. In the past, sociologists tended to pay attention to only males committing crimes and ignored gender differences. This began to change in the 1970’s when feminists such as Carol Smart looked into woman and crime and began to ask questions such as: • Why do woman commit fewer crimes than men? • Why are woman more likely to commit to social norms compared to men? • Is there anything distinctive about a woman's experience as an offenders and as victims of crime? • Are woman treated differently than men in the justice system? There is now an agreement within sociology that when studying crime and deviance we must take into account gender. This means we must also ask questions about men. • What is the relationship between crime and masculinity? Sex role theory: this theory argues that boys and girls are socialized differently, therefore resulting in boys becoming more delinquent. There are different versions of this theory. Edwin Sutherland (1949) stated that there are clear gender differences when it comes to socialization. Firstly, girls are more supervised and more strictly controlled. Secondly, boys are encouraged to take risks and to be tough and aggressive. Therefore, boys have more of an opportunity and an inclination to commit crime. Talcott Parsons (1995) believes that there are clear and obvious gender roles within the nuclear family. The father performs roles which show him to be more of the leader and provider, whilst the mother performs the