Women Offenders, Disparate Treatment, and Criminal Justice: A Theoretical, Historical, and Contemporary Overview

• NCJ Number: 226008
• Journal: Criminal Justice Studies Volume: 21 Issue: 4 Dated: December 2008 Pages: 341-360
• Author(s): Cortney A. Franklin
• Date Published: December 2008
• Length: 20 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Literature Review
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This literature review synthesizes theoretical, historical, and contemporary feminist criminological and criminal justice literature on the gendered and disparate treatment of women in the criminal justice system.

Abstract

Radical feminism argues that the source of women’s oppression is a patriarchal society, i.e., a society that is “male-dominated, male-identified, and male-centered” (Johnson, 1997). The criminal justice system is gendered to the extent that everything from the definition of crime and criminals as well as the policies used to control crime are devised with the male as the norm or reference category. Historically, women and girls were systematically excluded from early studies of the causes and predictors of criminal behavior and delinquency. Further, female delinquency was viewed as less important and serious than male delinquency, thus deserving less attention. When the criminal justice system has focused on women and girls, it has been consistently concerned with their sexuality and their violation of traditional gender roles. Current research continues to show that the criminal justice system treats women differently than men. This article highlights three broad issues that consistently show the disparate treatment of women in the criminal justice system. First, the concept of “blurred boundaries” is discussed in the context of female offenders and inmates who report high rates of abuse prior to their incarceration; female youth processed for status offenses; and the prosecution of female victims of domestic violence who defend themselves from their batterers. Second, concern with women’s bodies as instruments of harm leads to the criminal prosecution of pregnant drug addicts and criminal legislation that target HIV-infected prostitutes. A third issue involves policies that have adverse consequences for women, such as the war on drugs and welfare reform. Policy implications for this synthesis of the literature are briefly discussed. 2 notes and 120 references