1 CRIM 303 Gender, Crime and JusticeLecture 1: An Introduction and a Critique

2 Alice Mills Office hours – Mondays 10-12 Email: [email protected]esday.co.uk/sudexo/

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4 A new hub for critical, feminist and decolonizing Criminological knowledge – featuring commentaries, articles, essays, videos… from scholars and students across Aotearoa NZ and beyond Follow us: https://www.criminologycollective.nz/ https://www.facebook.com/CriminologyCollective/

5 Equity Students are urged to discuss privately any impairment-related requirements face-to-face and/or in written form with the course convenor/lecturer and/or tutor

6 Student Learning OutcomesBy the end of the course, students will be able to: Evaluate the contribution of feminism to the field of criminology and our understanding of crime Evaluate the importance of gender to our understanding of criminal behaviour and victimisation Critically analyse representations of men and women as offenders and victims in the media Critically assess the experiences of women and men in the criminal justice system as suspects, defendants, offenders, professionals and victims

7 Introduction to the courseTutorials – Tuesdays (from week 2) Come prepared to talk and having done the readings Housekeeping meetings ‘The Reader’ Emphasis on critical thinking

8 Course assessments 90 minute class test (week 5, 3rd April) 20%Essay title and 200 word abstract (week 6, 14th April by 4pm) 5% 2300 word course essay (week 9, 17th May by 4pm) 35% Final 2 hour examination 40% intimidate-or-academia-here-i-come/

9 Expectations Lecture recordings – available on request for one week only Intellectual property and privacy issues Beware Facebook!

10 What is gender?

11 Why ‘gender’? Substantial differences between men and women’s involvement in crime The most consistent and prominent fact about crime is the sex of the offender (Naffine 1996) ves/category/periods/5-studio/prize-5-studio-periods

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13 The failure of criminology‘Criminology, mainstream or tributary, has almost nothing to say of interest, or importance about women. This is as true of most major modern contributors as it was in the past’ (Heidensohn 1996) Female offenders portrayed in limited and distorted fashion according to biology/sexuality

14 The failure of criminologyMen treated as ‘ungendered’ subjects (Naffine 1996) What is it about men, not as working class, not as migrants, not as underprivileged individuals but as men, that induces them to “commit crime” (Grosz 1987:5) Why don’t women commit crime?

15 Neglected/ignored? AnomieRobert K Merton Crime occurs when people do not have institutionalised means to meet cultural goals Women are less likely to have means Goals of women and girls are relational rather than financial (Morris 1964) Can it explain lack of crime amongst women?

16 Subcultural theory Predominantly concerned with urban, working class male delinquency E.g. Status frustration (Cohen 1955) Female behaviour explained in sexualised terms monandkirby/archives/category/p eriods/5-studio/prize-5-studio- periods

17 Labelling theory Social reaction can affect self-perception – primary and secondary deviance Fascination with ‘nuts, sluts and perverts’ (Liazos 1972) Are women less likely to be labelled? Double deviance in CJS Labelling may deter women from further deviance offender-army-green-prison-t-shirt-with- admit-nothing-label-s-2xl/

18 Marxist approaches How does power affect the making and application of the law? Crime as resulting from contradictions in capitalism Does not ‘consider the sex variable any more systematically than traditional theoretical criminology’ (Leonard 1982:168) The New Criminology (Taylor, Walton and Young 1979) does not say a word about women Klein and Kress (1979)

19 Left realism Need to take crime seriously and recognise the impact of victimisation and fear of crime Supportive of feminism e.g. Localised victim surveys Assumes a consensual view of crime e.g. ‘All groups… abhor violence against women’ (Young 1992: 57) Rape as a ‘crime of passion’ which is concentrated ‘amongst poor and deprived and can be seen to arise from the dynamics of relative deprivation’ (Lea 1992:74) Nothing on men and masculinities

20 Traditional explanations of female offendingWomen as ‘morally superior’ Lombroso and Ferrero (1900) The Female Offender Female criminals – devoid of maternal affection – masculine When do turn to crime, cruel as self-control and moral responsibility are underdeveloped (Adam 1914) my/images/lombroso_plate.jpg

21 Otto Pollak (1950) ‘We have little choice but to accept the conclusion that the numerical sex differential in crime as visualized in the past is a myth’ Social roles of women provide excellent cover The_criminality_of_women.html?id=- 9siAAAAMAAJ&redir_esc=y

22 Biology as an explanationge&v=ZDC-raGiPwg How are such ideas present in the criminal justice system?

23 HMP Holloway

24 Critique of biology Determinism Denies women a sense of agencyLack of evidence Sexist assumptions Myth of ‘forever feminine’

25 Liberation hypothesisAs women become more emancipated, their involvement in crime increases Simon (1975) increase in white-collar and property crime Adler (1975) increase in violent crime Suggests that the mob ‘are not likely to ignore the increasing numbers of women who are using guns, knives, and wits to establish themselves as full human being, as capable of violence and aggression as any man’ (Adler 1975:15)

26 Critical Issues Assumptions of equality/liberationSlight increases can look dramatic Socio-economic position of women Box and Hale (1983) – importance of social labelling

27 Is female violent crime increasing?‘Girls get down and dirty’ (NZ Herald, 2011) ‘Cops get tough on she-crims’ (NZ Herald, 2011) ‘Girls behaving badly keep police busy’ (NZ Herald 2010) ‘Women lash out more readily: crime stats’ (NZ Herald 1999)

28 Number of assaults committed by women

29 Why don’t women commit crime?Sex role/socialisation E.g.. Klein (1973), Heidensohn (1968) Female crime as illegitimate expression of role expectations E.g. shoplifting Offers little understanding of female criminals Sense of agency?

30 Social control theory What causes conformity?Social bonds – more attached to others, less likely to commit crime Informal sanctions e.g. gossip Higher levels of informal social control/‘bedroom culture’ Blocked opportunities for crime

31 Feminist perspectivesHolding a feminist perspective means accepting the view that women experience subordination on the basis of their sex and working towards the elimination of the subordination (Gelsthorpe and Morris 1990). Feminist research does not have to be done on, by and for women Important contributions have been made by feminists outside the academic discipline of criminology

32 Conclusion Neglected by criminologyReliance on biology and traditional notions of femininity A ‘specialism’? Need for other disciplinary approaches Importance of gender for criminology