What is feminist criminology, and why is the concept important to review when examining female criminality?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Feminist criminology offers a variety of propositions regarding female criminality that are different from other theoretical perspectives. Among other points, feminist criminologists argue that traditional schools of criminology fail to account for the various issues that are specific to women, the female experience, and the causal factors associated with female criminality. If this is indeed true, then traditional criminological theory has failed to be gender competent, a derivative of cultural competence. This is an important point for both academics and practitioners alike; any failure to understand and appreciate the specific factors relevant to women means that causal factors tend to be misunderstood and that supervision and treatment programs will be misdirected and ineffectual. Thus, it behooves practitioners to heed the call of feminist criminologists when designing and implementing their programs for female offenders. In summarizing feminist criminology, Cullen and Agnew state that crime cannot be understood without considering gender, crime is shaped by the different social experiences of and power exercised by men and women. Patriarchy is a broad structure that shapes gender-related experiences and power. Men may use crime to exert control over women and to demonstrate their masculinity--that is, to show that they are “men” in a way that is consistent with societal ideas of masculinity. Hence, it should be clear to the student that there is a great deal of similarity between these two portrayals of female offending. It is evident that much of female crime is shaped by gender-related experiences and power. Participation in the sex industry, a prime area of involvement for female offenders, seems to indicate that much of the activity related to female criminality is indeed rooted in gender-related experiences. Furthermore, when one considers that the overwhelming majority of domestic violence victims are female and that female offenders experience higher rates of domestic violence perpetrated against them, this lends further credence to feminists who contend that men use crime to exert control over women and to demonstrate their power over them. Naturally, acts of sexual abuse directed at young girls also back up this theory, and female offenders generally have higher rates of prior childhood sexual abuse. Finally, the effects of this abuse and the corresponding ravages associated with being raised in a criminogenic family environment tend to manifest themselves through various mental health symptoms and maladaptive coping mechanisms. It is perhaps for this reason, as well as other factors related to a poor sense of self-efficacy (common among many female offenders), that substance abuse may be so high among these offenders. The use of drugs as well as comorbid problems with depression and anxiety put female offenders at further risk of having difficulties. Nevertheless, women tend to be more verbally communicative than men, and this means that they also tend to do better in treatment regimens that utilize talk therapy. As a result, these offenders often have a better prognosis when in treatment than do their male counterparts. Perhaps, then, treatment programs for female offenders should continue to be intensified, with a continued focus on female-specific factors and theoretical frameworks that are consistent with feminist criminology. To fail to do so essentially puts the female offender, her children (as most female offenders have children), and the rest of society at risk for future criminality. In short, it simply makes good sense to integrate this theoretical perspective into the various supervision and treatment regimens designed for female offenders.