ANY WOMAN'S BLUES - A CRITICAL OVERVIEW OF WOMEN, CRIME AND THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM

• NCJ Number: 57036
• Journal: Crime and Social Justice Volume: 5 Dated: (SPRING-SUMMER 1976) Pages: 34-49
• Author(s): D KLEIN; J KRESS
• Date Published: 1976
• Length: 16 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: REVISED VERSION OF A PAPER PRESENTED AT THE AMERICAN SOCIOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION CONFERENCE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA, JUNE 1975

Annotation

THE CHANGING NATURE OF WOMEN IN THE WORK FORCE, THE FAMILY, AND CRIME IS CHARACTERIZED, WITH ATTENTION GIVEN TO RADICAL CRIMINOLOGY, WOMEN AND THE LAW, WOMEN ARRESTED, AND WOMEN IN PRISON.

Abstract

THE INDIVIDUALISTIC APPROACH ADOPTED BY ACADEMIC CRIMINOLOGISTS HAS CONTRIBUTED TO AND BEEN REINFORCED BY THEIR CLOSE RELATIONSHIPS WITH THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM IN POLICY FORMULATION. FEMALE CRIMINALITY IS VIEWED AS THE RESULT OF INNATE BIOLOGICAL, PSYCHOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF WOMEN THAT ARE ONLY AFFECTED MARGINALLY BY SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC FACTORS. BASING THEIR WORK ON SEXUAL THEORIES OF MOTIVATION, FEW TRADITIONAL CRIMINOLOGISTS RECOGNIZE SEXIST OPPRESSION ITSELF AS A CAUSATIVE FACTOR IN CRIME. RADICAL CRIMINOLOGY EMPLOYS A MULTIDISCIPLINARY APPROACH TO EXAMINE ISSUES OF CRIME AND JUSTICE AND EMPHASIZES THE STUDY OF POLITICAL ECONOMY. IN DRAWING ATTENTION AWAY FROM INDIVIDUAL OFFENDERS, RADICAL CRIMINOLOGY FOCUSES ON THE SOCIAL STRUCTURE THROUGH RECOGNITION OF THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM AS A CLASS PHENOMENON. BY MAKING THE STUDY OF WOMEN AND CRIME A PRIORITY, RADICAL AND PROGRESSIVE CRIMINOLOGISTS HAVE BEGUN TO CONFRONT ECONOMIC, SOCIAL, AND POLITICAL CONDITIONS THAT HAVE A DIRECT BEARING ON THE INCIDENCE OF CRIME. WITH REGARD TO WOMEN AND THE LAW, SEXIST IDEOLOGIES ARE UPHELD BY THE LEGAL SYSTEM THAT LEGITIMIZE THE POSITION OF WOMEN AS WIVES AND MOTHERS. FROM A RADICAL VIEWPOINT, HOWEVER, IT IS CRITICAL TO UNDERSTAND AND INVESTIGATE ACTIVITIES MOST HARMFUL TO MANY WOMEN SUCH AS PRODUCTION OF UNSAFE BIRTH CONTROL DEVICES, PROFITABLE MEDICAL EXPERIMENTATION, INDUSTRIAL POLLUTION, MILITARY VIOLENCE, AND ECONOMIC INJUSTICE. THE MAJORITY OF WOMEN ARRESTED ARE PETTY OFFENDERS. WOMEN'S LACK OF PARTICIPATION IN SERIOUS CRIME HIGHLIGHTS THE LARGER CLASS STRUCTURE OF SEXISM THAT IS REPRODUCED IN THE ILLEGAL MARKETPLACE. WOMEN APPEAR TO FARE BETTER THAN THEIR MALE COUNTERPARTS IN OBTAINING LENIENCY FROM THE JUDICIARY, AND THE NUMBER OF WOMEN PRISONERS IS LOW COMPARED TO THE NUMBER OF MALE PRISONERS. IT IS CONCLUDED THAT DIFFERENTIAL TREATMENT OF WOMEN BY THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM IS BASED ON THE ASSUMPTION THAT, TREATED PATERNALISTICALLY, WOMEN WILL NOT MAKE TROUBLE. SUPPORTING DATA, FOOTNOTES, AND REFERENCES ARE INCLUDED. (DEP)