1. True or False Activity False True False True False True False True
(Click the little blue boxes to indicate your answer)
Over 50% of women in prison have experienced domestic violence
True
84% of those arrested for serious offences are men
On average, two women a week die at the hands of a partner
There are equal numbers of male and female solicitors
False
There are more male than female probation officers
Men are rarely the victims of domestic violence
Over 90% of the prison population is male
Women have lower arrest rates than men for all crimes except prostitution
Men are three times more likely than women to develop problems with alcohol
Men are more likely to be the victims of crime than women
False
True
False
True
False
True
False
True
False
True
False
True
False
True
False
True
False
True
False
True
(Click here to reveal the answers)
Answers

2. What do feminists say about criminality?
Unit 1 – Assessment Criteria 1.3.1
Describe sociological theories of criminality

3. What do you learn from the following graph?
(Click the graph key to show/hide the graph lines)
Males
Females
Thousands
Theft and handling stolen goods
Violence against the person
Drug offences
Burglary
Criminal damage
Robbery
Sexual offences
Other offences
Offenders found guilty of, or cautioned for indictable offences, 2006

4. Differences in gender patterns of crime
Men accounted for around 80 per cent of all offenders convicted or cautioned for indictable offences.
Men accounted for approximately 94 per cent of the prison population in the UK.
These patterns are similar for almost all societies and also over time in the UK.

5. Does the way that society is organised cause men to be criminal?
Men are more likely to be criminal than women. Why might this be the case?
Discussion

6. What is feminism?

7. What is feminism?
It is a whole range of different opinions about the relationship between the sexes.
All feminisms share the view that women are oppressed in our society and that the genders should be treated equally, with the same political, legal and social rights.

8. “ I have never been able to find out precisely what feminism is:
I only know that people call me a feminist whenever I express sentiments that differentiate me from a doormat.”
Rebecca West, 1913

9. Assumptions of feminist theories of crime
Crime is caused by the structure of society; men control society so women and men are not treated equally.
There are dynamics in the relationship between the genders that mean that men are more likely to commit crime than women.
Masculinity is a problem for society.

10. What do you think are the reasons for gender differences in crime figures?

11. Reasons for gender differences in crime figures
Crime is seen as unnatural for women
Men commit crime to assert their masculinity and power
More women are committing crime nowadays
Women have less opportunity to commit crime than men
Women are driven to commit crime by poverty and care for children
The law tends to favour women
The criminal justice system is controlled by men

12. How could you explain the fact that 34% of women receive a jail sentence for their first offence, compared with 10% of men?

13. Gender related crime
Find out more about domestic violence and gender by looking at this website:
Find out more about rape by looking at this website:
Website:
Website:

14. The Stern Report (March 2010)
This report focussed on myths and realities of rape and made recommendations for changes in procedure and policy.
Read more at:
Website:

15. Female offenders and sentencing policy
The number of women in prison has risen.
More than half claim to have been the victims of abuse or violence
Sarah Campbell took a drugs overdose whilst in prison
See more at:
Website:

16. Names to research Frances Heidensohn Freda Adler
Elizabeth (Betsy) Stanko
Pat Carlen

17. Discussion questions
Should female offenders be treated differently from male offenders?
Is female crime a problem for society?
Does the judicial system do enough to recognise the differences between males and females?

18. Personal Research
Find out more about famous female criminals. Names include:
Ruth Ellis
Rosemary West
Aileen Wournos
Myra Hindley

19. Famous female criminals
In what ways were their cases typical of female crime?
Ruth Ellis
Rosemary West
Aileen Wournos
Myra Hindley
Famous female criminals
Ruth Ellis
Rosemary West
Aileen Wournos
Myra Hindley
In what ways were they different from other criminals?

20. Independent Study before the next topic
Do further reading and research on the social approach.
Make revision lists of arguments in favour or rejecting feminist approaches to the origins of crime.
Independent Study before the next topic

21. Scenario
A young woman has accused a group of men of sexual assault. She was provocatively dressed and drunk when the incident occurred at night.
She was walking down a dimly lit area of town because there were no taxis available at that time.
She was alone, because her boyfriend and she had quarrelled.

22. Assessment skill
Write a short report (one side of A4) applying one social theory of the origins of crime to the scenario.
Make a reasonable suggestion as to how issues of women’s safety might be addressed using any one social theory.
Do not copy and paste from any website or textbook. Refer to the sources that you used.

23. Final self review
How has your understanding of feminist approaches affected or changed your opinions towards criminals or criminal behaviour?