Author : Kohelica Nag, Student at KIIT Law School, Bhubaneswar
ABSTRACT
Feminist theory is not a homogeneous approach; it involves a mainstream feminist emphasis on fair rights for women, a Marxist feminist perspective on capitalist dynamics and patriarchy as the root of women’s oppression, a Marxist feminist combination of masculine dominance of institutional and economic systems of culture as the cause of injustice, and a progressive feminist emphasis on the oppressive sphere. These feminist methods, though, have a similar emphasis on the aspects in which the gendered nature of culture is tied to violence.
The topic of female criminology, as in the field of criminology as a whole encompasses a large variety of issues. Feminist responses to criminological have become a significant subject. It is also obvious that abuse against women is part of the problem. Feminist criminology accepts that there is no simple dichotomy regarding victims and perpetrators; however, female suspects are likely to be victims of child violence or adult harassment as well. Furthermore, the position of motherhood must be taken into consideration and several feminist criminologists have discussed the impact of large-scale female imprisonment on both women and their children.
The article lays emphasis on the study of criminology from the perspective of feminism and increased feminist outcry.
INTRODUCTION
Criminology has traditionally been one of the most androcentric fields of research of social science. The majority of the research and review centers on the study of male criminality and the response of the criminal justice system to male suspects. Furthermore, in its effort to be recognized as a professional science, criminology focused on a comprehensive empirical analysis, using government records and large national surveys. As a result, major differences between male and female responses to abuse, modes of aggression, victimization, and prevention have not been discussed.Feminist criminology seeks to address this imbalance by growing our understanding of both male and female criminals and the criminal justice system’s approach to their crimes.
The topic of female criminology, as in the field of criminology as a whole encompasses a large variety of issues. Feminist responses to criminological have become a significant subject. It is also obvious that abuse against women is part of the problem. Feminist criminology accepts that there is no simple dichotomy regarding victims and perpetrators; however, female suspects are likely to be victims of child violence or adult harassment as well. Furthermore, the position of motherhood must be taken into consideration and several feminist criminologists have discussed the impact of large-scale female imprisonment on both women and their children.
Extensive study has been done on the harassment of women and children. Since the mid-1980s, the plurality of feminist criminological awards have concentrated on the reaction of the criminal justice system to female crime. The drug policy and new criminal laws of the 1980s culminated in a significant rise in the number of people sent to state and federal jails. Several changes intended to minimize the inequity of indeterminate punishment which results in conditional penalties for female prisoners of lower age. In particular, the vigorous enforcement of drug crimes has affected women.
At the end of 2007, more than 100,000 people had been imprisoned with violent offenses on certain allegations.It is readily evident that males commit much more crimes, particularly those considered essential to criminology, than females. This emphasis was partially attributed to the partnership between criminology and the legal and rehabilitation processes. The sector has been established in part to help increase awareness of why individuals commit crimes such that measures can be set in motion to minimize these crimes. Not only can women perform fewer offenses, but they often conduct offenses of little importance to people worried about public safety. Therefore, before the 1970s, women were mostly neglected.
Feminist criminology has only grown as a common viewpoint in criminology in the last 30 years. Feminist criminology incorporates a broad variety of analytical viewpoints and methodologies that put gender-based interactions at the forefront of academic study. It reports on a wide variety of topics relating to women and violence, including systemic theories of crime, solutions to female abuse, programs in women’s jails, women as correctional officers, and the unique needs of woman inmates.
Feminist theory is not a homogeneous approach; it involves a mainstream feminist emphasis on fair rights for women, a Marxist feminist perspective on capitalist dynamics and patriarchy as the root of women’s oppression, a Marxist feminist combination of masculine dominance of institutional and economic systems of culture as the cause of injustice, and a progressive feminist emphasis on the oppressive sphere.[1] These feminist methods, though, have a similar emphasis on the aspects in which the gendered nature of culture is tied to violence.
FEMINIST CRIMINOLOGY
In the second half of the 20th century, much of the criminological studies centered on male criminals and the criminal justice system’s reaction to male violence. The lack of concern paid to female offenses resulted from the reality that most offenses were perpetrated by males. However, in the last two decades of the 20th century, female prison rates have been increasing, contributing to a rise in studies on children, adolescents, violence, and the criminal justice system. Some historians refer to the “war on drugs” and the statutory sentencing laws of the 1980s as a key reasons for the significant rise in female inmates as well as the advent of radical criminological theory.
The drug policy and government legislation are the guiding factors behind the massive rise in women’s imprisonment. The foundations of female criminology, though, predates these shifts. Alternatively, they are present in second-wave of racism, as well as in the militant criminology of the 1960s and 1970s.
- Gender Racialism
In the 1960s, researchers started claiming that women were marginalized in the fields of criminological theorization and study. The early attention arises not from within the United States, but rather from Canada and the United Kingdom. According to these researchers, the position of gender has been mostly overlooked, apart from noticing that males have perpetrated more crimes. As a consequence, ideas were established that might justify the gender disparity in crime but were severely deficient in the capacity to understand women’s crime as well. The populism in the mid-20th century contributed to a revived interest in female prisoners.
Two essential books were written at the beginning of the 1970s, stemming from the mainstream xenophobia focused on gender equality: (1) Adler’s (1975) Sisters in Crime and (2) Simon’s (1975) Women and Crime.[2] Though they concentrated on various facets of the topic and drew very different findings, both claimed that the mid-20th-century women’s revolution affected both women’s involvement in crime and expectations of female engagement in crime. Indeed, the core premise of these two works was that people would perform more crime as a consequence of the women emancipation and with an emphasis on fair rights, the approach in criminal enforcement of female crime will be stricter and less chivalrous.
Two general trends appeared from the critiques. In the first instance, researchers wondered whether lower-class female criminals behaved out of a willingness to gain solidarity with male perpetrators or whether the rise in female criminality might be attributed to the “feminization of poverty,” as the makeup of poor communities became largely controlled by female-headed households.In comparison, these researchers found out that low-income female criminals appeared to hold more conservative and conventional perceptions of women’s positions, bringing into doubt the notion that these perpetrators were seeking to cope with men in the world of crime.
Second, a thorough review of the evidence did not help the claim that the difference between male and female offending was decreasing. The focus of feminist criminological thinking started to turn to the forms in which social and economic systems influenced women’s lives as well as their involvement in a crime.
- Growth of Feminist Criminology
The significant influence in the growth of feminist criminology in the 1970s was the advent of “modern criminologies” or progressive confrontation approaches to the analysis of crime. With philosophical origins embedded in violence and Marxist philosophy, these viewsregarded crime as the product of inequality, particularly gender, ethnicity, and class oppression. In the increasingly progressive, socially aware 1960s and in the 1970s, both conservative criminology and female criminology arose. This was a period of dramatic societal transition and civil instability in the United States and most of the Western world.
Variousphilosophies and political systems were questioned and social movements arose, including the anti-war movement, the civil rights revolution, and the women’s emancipation revolution. Nevertheless, female criminologists soon become quite disenchanted in what was seen as an excessively idealistic yet largely male-centered approach to critical/radical criminology.
The modern criminology often offended progressive feminists seeking to eradicate domestic abuse and rape. Instead, feminist criminology started reflecting on the aspects of which oppressive culture has caused women to be violated. Extreme racism, reflecting on the effects of colonialism, led to the burgeoning female criminological research.
- Radical Feminism
In the early 1970s, progressive feminist theoris and feminists sought to change the national reaction to violations such as abuse and domestic abuse. Before the reform of procedures and regulations, rape suspects were frequently criticized for their victimization. Two landmark publications in the mid-1970s took male victimization of women to the centerof feminist criminology and were highly important in the growth of feminist criminological thinking.
Susan Brownmiller’s (1975),“Against Our Will”[3] was a convincing study of the role of male supremacy in the crime of rape. Similarly, Carol Smart (1976)[4] attacked existing criminological ideologies, not only for their inability to look at crime through a gendered prism, but also for their belief that victimization was a similar phenomenon for all suspects. Smart claimed that popular studies have neglected to consider how the oppressive system of culture has related to and influenced the victimization of women.
The importance of radical ethnocentrism to the growth of feminist criminology is significant for two reasons. Firstly, in conjunction with grassroots organizers, a progressive feminist academics have been able to bring about societal reform. Abuse towards women has been a topic of general interest. Shelters for pregnant women have started to appear around the world, and rape policies have been reformulated to shield victims from excessive attention.
Through the mid-1970s, suspects of abuse were generally taken to justice on their own. Proof of rape needed evidence that the woman had refused as well as corroborating testimony. In comparison, the previous inappropriate activity of the perpetrator may be used as facts for the prosecution. The progressive response to rape integrated the survivor’s view and, by the end of the day, rape shield regulations were implemented that prevented the incorporation of prior sexual activity of the perpetrator into testimony.
Second, a radical thesis on harassment and domestic abuse has influenced conventional criminology. This also contributed to an updated view of the dynamics of victimization. Statistics reinforce the feminist argument that the victimization of women are profoundly and substantially separate from that of men. From a modern feminist viewpoint, this is how societal structures and expectations make it possible for women to be oppressed.Including a feminist study on domestic abuse, feminist criminological analysis has continued to reshape our view of aggression at home and between spouses.
Feminist researchers have found out that while this scale tests the frequency of a broad variety of offensive strategies, it does not bring them in perspective. Stanko’s (1990)[5] study of interpersonal abuse also presented proof that female victimization has also not been published.Therefore, a study undertaken by female criminologists, in combination with advocacy, has had an effect not just on legislation, but also on policing activities. The Nationwide Crime Victimization Study was subsequently reformulated to reflect the perspectives of female victims. Concerns on harassment and sexual abuse have been raised, as have questions regarding abusive victimization at home.
· Feminist Theories
Progressive criminologists have followed several diverse approaches, the most prominent among which include the female contribution to conventional criminological philosophy, the philosophy among progressive mechanisms, radical feminist theory, and the most current developments: various marginal and intersectional hypotheses.
There are two myths implicit in this method that female criminologists are challenging. First, the implicit presumption that, since males are much more prone than females to partake in illegal activity, females are somehow unimportant in the sector. Second, conventional criminology believes that males and females are the same, and that what helps to understand male crime would work very well to understand female crime.
In particular, theories such as Merton’s (1938)[6] strain theory have been criticized by feminist criminologists for their emphasis on economic interests and their inability to recognize how intimate relationships can lead to crime. Merton concluded that violence was primarily the product of possessing the American ideal as a target, but then there were little ways to accomplish the aim legally. Feminist criminologists claimed that Merton’s philosophy was simply not fairly relevant to women.
Agnew’s (1992)[7] principle of general tension appears to be gender-sensitive.By integrating a larger variety of causes of pressure into the philosophy, he sought to resolve the fears raised by feminism. In his research, he specifically concentrated on marital pressures as well as traumatic life events, all of which are significant predictors of female delinquency.
Probably the biggest advance in modern criminological philosophy and the study has emerged from the paradigm of feminine approaches. In an attempt to show how sex criminality is inextricably related to the perspectives of women and girls in their lives, this hypothesis reflects on how the role of women in culture drives them to criminal habits.
Patriarchal expectations indicate that girls who participate in certain activities are viewed as unethical and in need correction.Girls and women have traditionally undergone institutionalization for participating in actions that have become more moderately frowned upon in males.Indeed, girls accused of sexual “misconduct” have also been punished more seriously than boys or girls involved in illegal activities. It is this oppressive, paternalistic attitude to the social management of women’s actions that place them in touch with the criminal justice system.
Furthermore, there has been a reluctance in understandingthat early sexual activity, as well as running away from home, is also the product of domestic violence.Instead of taking interest in the experiences of exploited children, culture has responded with a double norm that brands these children incorrigible or unethical. Feminist mechanisms aims to highlight the connection between the violence and harassment of young people and they are resulting in offending. It is undoubtedly the prevailing
SOCIALIST FEMINISM IN RELATION TO CRIMINOLOGY
Any convention on feminist criminology will disapprove of lacking consideration of how feminist criminology has contributed to the analysis of masculinity and violence. Feminist criminological research has contributed to attempts to provide a better view on the perspective of both males and females. Messerschmidt (1986) concentrated on how oppressive patriarchy shapes the interactions of both males and females. He placed fourth a hypothesis that aims to justify crimes of all sorts, both male and female, and concluded that it is difficult to disregard any economic conditions or gender differences in the real interpretation of the crime.
His hypothesis indicates that oppressed lower class and minority males commit street crimes because of their denied resources and their position as males in a patriarchal capitalist society. In the other side, the system of gender roles in culture continues to relegate women’s offenses to low-level larceny and theft.In keeping with the feminist perspective on violence against women, Messerschmidt (1986) also discussed the sexual abuse of women in sex, demonstrating how both colonialism and capitalism put these people in precarious conditions where they are exposed to violence to live. Also, in his discussion of sexual violence against women, he identified parallels between economic disparity and male-dominated family trends.
Finally, in his analysis of higher-level white-collar and industrial offenses perpetrated overwhelmingly by men, he presented a masterful combination of masculine entitlement theories as well as capitalism theories.
As in several social sciences, early female criminological grants have been blamed for believing that the perspectives of all people are identical. This led to a considerationthat there are interconnected consequences of gender, age, ethnicity, and sexual orientation. In several respects, the essential race criticism of feminist criminology was close to the feminist critique of conservative criminology.
FEMINIST CRIMINOLOGY IN THE 21ST CENTURY
Gaining mainstream recognition of a feminist criminological theory was a difficult challenge. Considering that the study of criminology has been controlled by academics who are more committed to conventional ideas and studies, methods questioning established viewpoints often met with skepticism or even disinterest. This has contributed to significant difficulties in female endowments and marginalizing the literature that has been done. Indeed, the first conference of the American Criminology Society on Women and Crime was not organized until 1975.
The journal Women and Criminal Justice was founded in 1989, primarily committed to the publishing of academic studies in all facets of the role of women and girls in the criminal justice system. A broad variety of books about sex, crime and criminal justice has been written since the early 1990s. In 2006, Sage Publications published the first topic of Female Criminology, the official journal of the Women and Crime Section of the American Criminology Society. This study focuses on feminist research, presenting peer-reviewed papers on feminist criminological theory, gender violence, victimization of minorities, and the care of women and girls in the justice system.
Feminist criminology could have had greater influence outside the United States than within the United States. This is due to the emphasis on violence against women, which is both a cornerstone of feminist criminology and a globally recognized concern. Research has centered on the exploitation of women in Muslim countries and inIndia which include female circumcision and genital mutilation and female infanticide.
At the international stage, significant focus has been given to the abuse of women and girls in the global sex market. Besides, female criminologists research the forms in which legislation and criminal enforcement systems across the world can victimize people, prosecuting them for breaking conventional gender roles, in particular concerning sexuality. Some female criminologists have lately suggested that there has been a worldwide outcry against patriarchal efforts to strengthen the plight of girls and women, not just in third world nations, but also in the developed West.
CONCLUSION
The criminologists are educated and still have less, if any, knowledge regarding female criminology. This is expressed in their study as well as their training and mentoring of young academics.The loop thus remains self-perpetuating, with young criminologists gaining no instruction in female criminology. The Women and Crime Division is one of the main parts of the American Criminology Community, multiple significant publishers of women’s and crime book series, and new academics begin to appear.
The Women and Crime Branch, which began with a limited number of researchers in the mid-1980s, has now operated for almost a quarter of a century, and female academics have been recognized as fellows by the American Criminology Society.Present female criminological grants include hypothesis development and idea checking, as well as studies on discrimination against women; women’s crime; and women in the criminal justice system, both as perpetrators and as staff. The distinguishing features of feminist criminology are the focus on how societal systems impact men and women differently, the interaction between study and advocacy, and the interrelationship between victimization and offending between people.
FOOTNOTES
[1]Criminology, Feminist Criminology,http://criminal-justice.iresearchnet.com/criminology/feminist-criminology/
[2]Kathryn Henne, CHAPTER 41 FEMINIST CRIMINOLOGY, November 2017, researchgate.net/publication/320861697_Feminist_Criminology/link/5d0236c792851c874c62a2df/download
[3]Criminology, Feminist Criminology,http://criminal-justice.iresearchnet.com/criminology/feminist-criminology/
[4]Ibid
[5]Kathryn Henne, CHAPTER 41 FEMINIST CRIMINOLOGY, November 2017, researchgate.net/publication/320861697_Feminist_Criminology/link/5d0236c792851c874c62a2df/download
[6]Ibid
[7]Ibid