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The relationship between gender and crime is one of the most striking patterns in criminology. In every society for which data exists, men commit significantly more crime than women, particularly violent and serious crime. According to Ministry of Justice statistics, approximately 85% of those convicted of indictable offences in England and Wales are male. This consistent pattern — the gender gap in offending — demands sociological explanation.
Key Definition: The gender gap in crime refers to the well-documented finding that males are significantly more likely than females to commit criminal offences, especially violent and serious crimes.
| Statistic | Detail |
|---|---|
| Proportion of prison population that is male | Approximately 95% in England and Wales |
| Most common offence for female offenders | Theft and handling stolen goods |
| Male vs. female violent crime | Men are responsible for approximately 88% of violent offences |
| Self-report studies | Confirm that the gender gap is real, though smaller than official statistics suggest |
| Trends | Female offending has increased slightly in recent decades, but the gender gap remains very large |
Several theories attempt to explain why women commit less crime than men.
Parsons (1955) argued that gender differences in crime reflect differences in sex role socialisation. In the traditional nuclear family:
Parsons also argued that in families where the father is absent, boys may lack a male role model and compensate by adopting exaggerated "masculine" behaviour — including aggression and delinquency — to assert their gender identity. This links to Murray's underclass theory and the concern about single-parent families.
Heidensohn (1985) argued that women commit less crime because they are subjected to greater patriarchal control at every level of society. This control limits their opportunities to offend:
| Level of Control | Explanation |
|---|---|
| Control at home | Women bear the primary responsibility for housework, childcare, and emotional labour. This domestic role keeps them confined to the home and leaves little time or opportunity for criminal activity. Women who challenge their domestic role risk domestic violence. |
| Control in public | Women's access to public spaces is restricted by the fear of male violence. Women are taught to avoid going out alone at night, to dress modestly, and to be cautious in public. The threat of male sexual violence acts as a form of social control, confining women to "safe" spaces. |
| Control at work | Women face a glass ceiling and occupational segregation, limiting their access to the kinds of positions (senior management, finance) where opportunities for corporate crime are greatest. Sexual harassment in the workplace also reinforces women's subordinate position. |
Heidensohn's key insight is that it is not that women are inherently more law-abiding than men, but that patriarchal structures give them fewer opportunities to offend.
Pat Carlen (1988) conducted qualitative research with 39 working-class women who had been convicted of crimes. She drew on control theory to argue that women are generally deterred from crime by two implicit "deals":
| Deal | Explanation |
|---|---|
| The class deal | If women work hard in paid employment, they will be rewarded with a reasonable standard of living and consumer goods. |
| The gender deal | If women conform to conventional female roles (being a good wife, mother, and homemaker), they will be rewarded with emotional and material support from a male partner. |
Carlen argued that the women in her study had offended because both deals had broken down. They had experienced poverty, homelessness, and unemployment (the class deal had failed), and many had also experienced domestic violence, relationship breakdown, and time in care (the gender deal had failed). With nothing to lose, they turned to crime.
Key Definition: The gender deal is the implicit social contract in which women receive material and emotional rewards in return for conforming to conventional gender roles. When this deal breaks down, women may be more likely to offend.
Messerschmidt (1993) argued that crime is a resource for "doing" or "accomplishing" masculinity — for demonstrating to oneself and others that one is a "real man." When legitimate means of expressing masculinity (career success, economic independence, authority) are unavailable, men may turn to crime as an alternative means of asserting their masculine identity.
Messerschmidt identified different types of masculinity and the crimes associated with them:
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