Contemporary Issues: Correspondence between Criminality and Gender Based on Chivalry Thesis

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Contemporary Issues: Correspondence between Criminality and Gender Based on Chivalry Thesis

This essay is going to apply a number of theories on two practical issues in todays society first of all in this essay it will evaluate the correspondence between criminality and gender by utilizing the analysis of crime statistics along with applying a series of theoretical approaches namely the chivalry thesis in conjunction with double deviance to show erudition on these practical issues in todays society. Secondly, this essay will then perpetuate onto evaluate the application of a range of criminological approaches/perspectives theories to criminological uses, for instance, examine the relationship between the media and crime furthermore to visually perceive if the media engenders and possibly amplifies crime rather than the media just reporting it and engendering a moral panic. In addition to this, the theories of psychologists and sociologist will be applied to this area of deliberation. The chivalry thesis is a theoretical approach which challenges the validity of crime statistics as it shows that men are treated more harshly due to double standards. According to the official statistics, 19,031 women were convicted of several offences compared to 185,323 men in the year 2011 (Ministry of justice,2011:9). However, these statistics can be questioned, with the chivalry thesis as the court’s assessment of the characters of them being a woman who is accustomed to having more traditional roles in society as they should conform to accepted standards of monogamous heterosexuality and motherhood. So, therefore women are perceived to be less vulnerable and in need of protection. (Pollak, 1950 in Browne et al (2016)) supports this suggestion and argues that most people who work in the criminal justice system are male-dominated and they are socialised to act in a gentleman way with being polite and considerate towards women, this is known as chivalrous way. So, therefore, women are less guilty and treated more lenient than men. (Browne et al, 2016:490). So, to validate this argument this shows women who do commit crimes and are not prosecuted with it due to the chivalry theory, so this means that it will not be put on file and therefore it challenges the validity of official crime statistics.

The evidence that supports the chivalry theory is by Gelsthorpe and Louck (1997) they carried out 197 interviews with the magistrates court, and they never found any evidence of intentional discrimination however they found that the magistrates court did take into consideration the family circumstances of a women if she had any dependents and this means that they were more likely to be given less lenient sentences than a male would for the same crime. As female offenders are seen as less of a threat to the public as males have a stereotypical view as women being naiveand helpless. Therefore, this brings the general assumption that women are sentenced and punished more leniently than men. In 2017 the proportions of males and females throughout the criminal justice system 15% of arrests were females, compared to 85% being males. 69% of females are diagnosed with mental health needs comparing to 61% of males, where depressive illness was the most common need. In addition to supporting this theory, the average custodial sentence length for female offenders was 10.0 months whereas it being 17.6 months for males. A real-life example to supports the chivalry theory is the 2011 riots showed 78% of males interviewed had been stopped and searched compared to only 43% of women being stopped and searched. Therefore, this can support this theory in the criminal justice system along with the police force being less suspicious of women and being more lenient towards them. (the guardian,2011, women who riot, [ONLINE]). However, it can be argued by Smart that the chivalry thesis is the very opposite and that females are known to be treated more harshly in the justice system due to double standards which are known as the double deviance theory.

He argues that the justice system is unsympathetic towards women who commit crimes as they are seen as more deviant and possibly stigmatised with a negative identity such as evil. This is because women should have more sympathy and carry more emotions than what a male does especially if they have dependents, they should be good role models. To support Smart in the double deviance theory Steven Box concludes that women who commit more offences of a serious nature are not treated more favourably than what men are. Also, a lower rate of prosecutions of females that is compared with their self-reported offending is most likely less as the crimes they commit are far less serious. In addition to this woman often show more remorse which leads to them only getting a caution. Furthermore, the evidence to support the double deviance theory is in 2007 the conviction ratio for females increased from 84% to 88% in 2017, however, males followed a similar trend with conviction ratio of 81% in 2007 to 86% in 2017. (gov,2017, statistics on women and the criminal justice system, [ONLINE]) So accordingly, to these statistics shown you could say that women are treated more harshly, and the double deviance theory is in fact actually correct. (slide share,2015, gender crime deviance, [ONLINE]).

This could be argued by Flood-page et al as he rejects the double deviance theory as the figures, he found was that 1 in 11 females self-reported offender has been cautioned or prosecuted, as the figures in males where 1 in 7. Therefore, this can show that females are more likely to be cautioned that they are prosecuted. Furthermore, in relation to Flood-Pages figures it can be supported by Hood, his study of 3,000 defendants found that women were one-third less likely to be jailed in similar cases to men. The chivalry thesis could be supported by functionalist sex role theory as it argues that males and females are socialised to take on pacific roles as it is a social psychological theory concerning sexual differences and similarities in social behaviour. Its main principle is that differences and similarities are mainly due to the distribution of men and women in social roles in their society. The behaviours of men and women generally support and sustain the socialisation and formation of gender roles dividing the work. For example, in industrialised economies, social roles are organised so that women are more likely than men to be homemakers and primary caregivers of children and to take care of other children in paid roles in the economy. In contrast, men are more likely to be primary family providers and to play full-time roles in the paid economy, often with physical strength, assertiveness, or leadership than that of a woman would. Therefore, after the functional sex role theory being analysed, it shows that it supports the chivalry theory in today’s society due to socialising males and females differently impacts on how they are controlled by society. However, there is also the biological explanation to explain criminal behaviour saw in criminals as differing significantly on a biological level from non-criminals.

The explanations of crime assume that some people are born criminals, who are physiologically distinct from non-criminals. This could be seen by looking at facial features or body types, to support the biological approach is Cesare Lombroso. He suggested that their brains were mal-developed or not fully developed. In his review of prisoners, he found that they shared several common physical attributes, such as sloping foreheads and receding chins. In so doing, Lombroso suggested that involvement in the crime was a product of biology and biological characteristics: criminals were born that way. Lombrosos theory is essentially a theory of biological positivism. On the other hand of Lombrosos studies, there are also two theories are that crime may be caused by genes, or that there is a criminal personality type that is inherited, which can be a possibility that a male or female is more likely to commit a crime. (new york times,1982, study say criminal tendencies may be inherited, [ONLINE]). Lombroso in 1876 was one of the earliest attempts to do a scientific study of criminal behaviours through using a biological explanation. Lombroso took measurements from both the heads and faces of prisoners, along with the skulls of dead criminals he put forward a theory that criminals differed biologically from non-criminals. (curriculum-press,2014,biological theories of crime, [ONLINE]. To support the biological theory in genetics there was a study carried out and it concluded that criminal tendencies may be inherited.

A long-term study of nearly 15,000 adopted children in Denmark strongly suggests that a predisposition to chronic criminal behaviour may be inherited, a California researcher has reported. So, on the other hand, biological approaches would argue its not social issues that create a difference in an offending but genetic predicament. Along with measuring physical features of the body, contemporary approaches focus on, Biochemical conditions which are linked to poor diet or hormone imbalance. Neurophysiological conditions which are learning disabilities caused by brain damage. In addition to this Genetic inheritance and/or abnormality and Intelligence. How the differential social control theory can challenge the biological approach as it is based upon the idea that an individual’s beliefs due to religion along with values, morals, commitments and relationships can foster a lawful environment. Individuals who have these beliefs and commitments often have a level of self-control over their own actions and are in control of there life. So therefore, the crime they commit is controlled and society and day to day life influences criminal behaviour. Examples to support this are people are not becoming more violent, rather, shifting modes of social control these are having a net widening effect on offences which is defined as violent and committing a crime. (alder and worall,2004). As a result of the official statistics could be argued that they are not as accurate as the difference between men and women who are convicted of offences, does not tell the whole story. There are many things that occur in between the time a crime committed along with the prosecution of that individual. There is a consolidation of these theories which leads to the official statistics not being accurate to how many actual crimes women do commit. It will require a massive cultural change afore women are optically discerned in the same way as males by the crimes equity system, denoting that their crimes may go undetected by the police, or when a crime is committed and the female offender is caught, discretion is utilised. Both issues designate that statistics are not recorded and, consequently lack validity. The judgment of the relationship between crime and gender are possibly influenced by the media and how it covers crime, this may be through the daily news and newspapers or even through films and dramas. There is some proposal that the media doesnt just report a crime to the public however it expands and amplifies crime.

Anderson’s theory claims that media violence plays a major role and increases the likelihood of violent behaviour immediately as violence is in computer games, on the internet it is shown on TV news reports along with being in dramas and films. It is now a part of a popular culture therefore people are exposed to such violence in todays society than ever before. Accordingly, due to this you are expected to see a rise in violent crime in society. A Newsons review and Andersons study to put forward the notion of copycatting where an individual is exposed to these crimes due to the media. This then influences people to then imitate in what they have seen, which this then gives a notion to act in a violent way and commit criminal acts.(the guardian,2017,into the woods, [ONLINE]) To support Newsons and Andersons study was When two 12-year-old girls in Wisconsin invited their classmate for a game of hide-and-seek in the forest, they planned to murder her. They later claimed they were forced to act by the mythical Slender Man. However, this theory can be rejected and argued by Cumberbatch as the findings were nothing but speculation which was fuelled by the press. A review of the research evidence by Cumberbatch (2004) for the video standards council found evidence for the media violence is has caused violence in society to be quite weak. However, over the 200 scientific studies based on media violence there is little reliability of any evidence about violence in the media leads to an increase in aggressive behaviour. While this may be true other theories such as relative deprivation is a view of social change and movements, according to which people act for social change in order to acquire something as it is a lack of resources such as wealth along with status which posses people to believe they should have, too. As they are being deprived of almost anything considered essential in their society. (thoughtco.,2018,relative deprivation,[ONLINE]).

A prime example of the concept of relative deprivation is often attributed to American sociologist Robert K. Merton, whose study of American soldiers during World War II revealed that soldiers in the Military Police were far less satisfied with their opportunities for promotion than regular GIs. However, the other theory that can be used is new values and crime coverage along with moral panic. News values is a social construction in how journalists and editors decide in whether s story is newsworthy which is a social process in which some potential stories are possibly rejected as it may not be worthy enough to make it into the newspaper. (young 1973). Due to the new values crimes can be amplified which create a criminological concept of moral panics which Is a feeling of fear spread among many people that some evil threatens the well-being of society. To support this concept Stanley Cohen (1942-2013) introduced the social theory of moral panic in his 1972 book titled Folk Devils and Moral Panics public reaction in England to fights between the ‘mod’ and ‘rocker’ youth subcultures of the ’70s. Through Cohens study of this youth, and the media and public reaction to them then perceive them as a threat to the community or society at large. This mean that the news media portrays the symbolic representation of the threat creating a widespread concern to society. On the other hand, McRobbie & Thornton (1995) argue that moral panics have less impact in modern day society as the world is use the shock, horror stories now therefore society react less to news worthy articles which can create moral panics. In conclusion, it could be argued that official statistics, whilst accurately reflecting the difference between the numbers of men and women convicted of offences do not tell the whole story. There are many social processes which occur in between a crime being committed and the prosecution of an individual. It is a result of a combination of these processes which leads to the official statistics not accurately reflecting the actual levels of crime that are committed by women. It will require a massive cultural change before women are seen in the same way as males by the criminal justice system, meaning that their crimes may go undetected by the police, or when a crime is committed and the female offender is caught, discretion is used. Both issues mean that statistics are not recorded and, therefore lack validity.

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