Feminist Criminology Implications

According to criminological beliefs, both men and women commit crimes equally. However, a number of feminist theories have been developed that push the idea that gender plays a significant role in crime, particularly when it comes to offending and the administration of justice. According to feminist views, women have particular demands that are distinct from those of men. Furthermore, given that women have distinct paths to crime that are distinct from men's, the theories provide a variety of explanations that are applicable to their criminal behavior. The needs of women specifically should be taken into account in any effective treatment for women in the criminal justice system. Further, I contemplate that the treatment of women should differ from men as advanced by the feminist theories of crime.

According to Elise (2014), the application of feminist theories brings out the gender specific needs that women have that are unique from those of men. Firstly, there is the need for trauma and abuse which plays an important role in women committing crime as well as their recovery. Elise notes that the number of women that report trauma and abuse is high than those of women making this a gender specific need. The other specific need that women have is mental illness particularly antisocial tendencies. There is also the specific need of self-esteem whereby women who are processed through the criminal justice system exhibit lower esteem unlike men. Dysfunctional relationships where women experience abuse lead them to commit crime. The other specific need that women have is parental responsibilities. In essence, these needs of women need to be addressed in criminology.

The needs of women differ from those of women in several ways. In terms of abuse, men are less likely to be experience abuse unlike women. For example, the rates of substance abuse are higher for men, but women will resort to drug abuse to cope with emotional and physical abuse (Elise, 2014). The societal gender role expectations for women are different from those of men making their needs different. It is therefore ideal that the difference between these needs is addressed by criminology (Tripathi, 2014). .Moreover, unlike men who may have mothers to take care of their children while in prison, the same cannot be said about women.

At the same time, several theoretical explanations are applicable to women’s offending. Perhaps the best explanation is Freda Adler’s “Sisters in Crime’ which marked the beginning of the emancipation theory. Adler advanced the view that women participate less in crime as they were confined to domestic roles. However, Adler also believed that the increased rate of women in violent crime could be traced to start of women’s movement which opened up the labor market for women. Women then started participating on white collar crimes such as embezzlement and larceny (Naegler & Salman, 2016). However, women who have not conformed to traditional stereotypes are dealt with severely in criminology.

Additionally, marginalization theory by Meda-Chesney Lind also offers significant explanations on women’s offending. Chesney argues that the marginalization that that women face in the society leads them to crime. For example, women who feel victimized by society are more likely to commit crime. However, the theory does not offer any rational explanation of women who commit white collar crimes as they are not marginalized (Islam, Banarjee, & Khatun, 2015). Additionally, there is also the opportunity theory conceptualized by Rita Simon who races women’s involvement in crime to the increased access to opportunities for women.

Women have several pathways to crime which include streets where by they flee their homes and go to the streets. They end up using drugs, and engage in prostitution which leads them to crime. Additionally, women who also have partners that engage in crimes such as drug trafficking are likely to join them. Another pathway for women is childhood abuse together with abuse by their intimate partners; such women tend to engage in crimes that enable them to cope with the crime. Furthermore, economic offending is also another pathway whereby women engage in crime in order to survive (Salisbury & Voorhis, 2009).

Effective treatment of women should encompass two aspects. Firstly, the treatment of women should address the specific needs of women identified in this paper. These include trauma, abuse, and parental responsibilities. Further, the effective treatment of women should also address the pathways of women to crime; these should be given consideration as a way of reducing the number of women that engage in crime.

In conclusion, I contemplate that women should be given different treatment from women as gender has been demonstrated to play an important role in crime. Women have specific needs that are different from those of women underscoring the need for difference in treatment. Additionally, the pathways of crime for women are different from those of men. It is essential for women to be treated different from men as seen in the aspects highlighted in this paper. In general, gender plays a significant part in crime hence should be taken into consideration in the justice system.



Reference

Banarjee, S., Islam, M. J., & Khatun, N. (2015). Theories of Female Criminality: A criminological analysis. International Journal of Criminology and Sociological Theory, 7(1), 1-8.

Barlow, E. (2014). Understanding Women in Prison: A Review of Gender Specific Needs and Risk Assessments and their Policy and Research Implications.

Naegler, L., & Salman, S. (2016). Cultural Criminology and Gender Consciousness: Moving Feminist Theory From Margin to Center. Feminist Criminology, 11(4), 354-374.

Salisbury, E. J., & Van Voorhis, P. (2009). Gendered pathways: A quantitative investigation of women probationers' paths to incarceration. Criminal justice and behavior, 36(6), 541-566.

Tripathi, B. (2014). Feminist criminology: some reflections. Vidhigya, 9(1), 1-7.