NCJ Number
79876
Journal
Tijdschrift voor criminologie Volume: 21 Issue: 5 Dated: special issue (September/October 1979) Pages: 211-220
Date Published
1979
Length
10 pages
Annotation
Dutch statistics on female crime involvement are presented and theories on differences between male and female crime patterns are discussed.
Abstract
According to official Dutch criminal statistics, the proportion of female offenders has dropped over the period 1958 to 1975 from 14.3 percent to 9.3 percent. Most of the crimes are of the petty variety; only 6 percent of the crimes committed by females fall in the very serious category. Thus, despite the fact that the relatively minor crime of shoplifting is still committed more frequently by men than by women, it is generally called a typical 'women's offense.' Traditional atavistic explanations of low female crime rates (Lombroso) are based on biological and psychological premises: women are viewed as more primitive and more conservative than men. The primitive woman is a born prostitute, just as the primitive man is a born criminal. In contrast, the theory developed by Loosjes holds that the criminal behavior of women is determined by their social position and that prostitution is a means of subsistence. Other theorists have argued that women are able to avoid arrest and prosecution because they have after long years of subjugation learned to live by deception and lying. Clara Wichmann argues that women are by nature less aggressive, have a greater sense of compassion for their fellow beings, and are physically weaker than men. The type of crimes women commit are determined from their relatively conflict-free life at home. According to psychological theories, women are more flexible and inclined to harmony than men, so that they are less likely to engage in criminal activities. Moreover, criminal behavior in women is nothing more than a form of rebellion against the natural feminine role. Not until recently have theoreticians suggested that women have been forced by the patriarchal character of society to be unaggressive and flexible so as not to fail in their role as wife-mother. Furthermore, maintain the same thinkers, the differing socialization of boys and girls affects the later behavior patterns of men and women. While the development of theories of female crime abroad have tended to progress from biological to psychological to social theories, the movement in the Netherlands has been from the sociological to the psychological, with the biological approach gaining ground dangerously. Notes are supplied.