Women, Crime, and Justice Balancing the Scales

Women, Crime, and Justice: Balancing the Scales presents a comprehensive analysis of the role of women in the criminal justice system, providing important new insight to their position as offenders, victims, and practitioners.

• Draws on global feminist perspectives on female offending and victimization from around the world
• Covers topics including criminal law, case processing, domestic violence, gay/lesbian and transgendered prisoners, cyberbullying, offender re-entry, and sex trafficking
• Explores issues professional women face in the criminal justice workplace, such as police culture, judicial decision-making, working in corrections facilities, and more
• Includes international case examples throughout, using numerous topical examples and personal narratives to stimulate students’ critical thinking and active engagement

Elaine Gunnison is an Associate Professor and Graduate Director in the Criminal Justice Department at Seattle University. She is the co-author of Offender Reentry: Beyond Crime and Punishment (2013), and she has published journal articles examining criminological theories as applied to female offenders, female victimization, and women in corrections.

Frances Bernat is Associate Dean in the College of Arts and Sciences at Texas A&M International University and Emeritus Professor at Arizona State University. She is the co-author of Criminal Procedure Law: Police Issues and the Supreme Court (2013) and Human Sex Trafficking (2011).

Lynne Goodstein is Professor of Sociology at the University of Connecticut. She is the co-author of The American Prison (1989) and Rethinking Gender, Crime and Justice: Feminist Readings (2006); and several book chapters and journal articles on higher education, sexual assault, women and crime, corrections, and criminal sentencing. 

Acknowledgments xiii

About the website xv

1 Foundations for understanding women and crime 1

Student learning outcomes 1

Introduction 1

Reasons for the focus on women and crime 2

Case study: Chibok kidnappings 3

Concepts of importance 3

Special legal issues: Legal considerations for the burqa and niqab 5

Gender in criminology and criminal justice 6

Global perspectives: An example of feminism in Saudi Arabia 11

Feminist criminology and feminist theory 12

Conclusion 13

Suggested readings 13

Student engagement activities 13

Discussion questions 14

Key terms 14

References 14

2 Women and the crimes that they commit 19

Student learning outcomes 19

Introduction 19

Case study: Rosemary West 22

Defining crime 22

Special legal issues: Differences in the defi nitions of crime 23

Measuring crime 24

Global perspectives: Female offenders across the globe 31

Explanations for crime 32

Why do women commit crime? 34

Conclusion 41

Suggested readings 41

Student engagement activities 41

Discussion questions 42

Key terms 42

References 42

3 Women convicted of crime and their punishments 51

Student learning outcomes 51

Introduction 51

Case study: Malala Yousafzai 52

Gender and sentencing 53

Women in institutional custody 54

Conditions specific to imprisoned women 61

Special legal issues: Medical care issues 63

Global perspectives: Incarcerated female offenders across the globe 65

Community corrections and reentry 68

Correctional programming for women 70

Conclusion 72

Suggested readings 72

Student engagement activities 72

Discussion questions 73

Key terms 73

References 74

4 Legal control over women’s bodies: Pregnancy and crime 82

Student learning outcomes 82

Introduction 82

Case study: Aleksa Lundberg 84

Involuntary sterilization and eugenics 85

Global perspectives: The sterilization of women across the globe 90

The criminalization of abortion 90

Special legal issues: One-child family policy in China and abortions 100

Criminalization of pregnant women 101

Shackling of pregnant inmates giving birth 105

Conclusion 108

Suggested readings 108

Student engagement activities 109

Discussion questions 109

Key terms 109

References 110

5 Sexual victimization 115

Student learning outcomes 115

Introduction 115

Case study: Sexual assault in India 116

Defining and prosecuting rape – then and now 118

Special legal issues: Legislative changes in India 119

The measurement of sexual victimization 120

Text box: National Violence Against Women definitions and survey questions 121

Prevalence of sexual victimization 122

Theories of rape 125

The social context of rape 128

Text box: Common rape myths from the Illinois Rape Myth Acceptance Scale 129

Types of sexual victimization 130

Global perspectives: Rape in wartime 136

The impact of rape on victims 136

Text box: “Remember My Name”: A poem written by a rape victim 137

Treatment of rape victims 139

Text box: Contents of a rape kit 140

Preventing sexual violence 144

Conclusion 144

Suggested readings 145

Student engagement activities 145

Discussion questions 146

Key terms 146

References 147

6 Domestic violence 153

Student learning outcomes 153

Introduction 153

When did society start to consider domestic violence to be a crime? 156

How many people are affected by family violence? 157

Global perspectives: Domestic violence across the globe 160

Theory and domestic violence 161

Special legal issues: Battered women syndrome defense in other countries 163

What are the risk factors associated with domestic assault? 164

Case study: Case A. Homicide–parasuicide involving a man killing his spouse 165

Domestic violence and other domestic relationships 167

Intimate partner violence and victim responses 168

What has been done legally? 168

Necessary criminal justice policy responses and domestic violence 170

Necessary social service agencies and medical professional responses to domestic violence 171

What programs exist for offenders? 173

Conclusion 173

Suggested readings 174

Student engagement activities 174

Discussion questions 175

Key terms 175

References 175

7 Victimization enabled by technology: Cyberbullying and related crimes 181

Student learning outcomes 181

Introduction 181

Bullying behavior and victimization 182

Text box: Statistics: Bullying statistics 2010 183

Global perspectives: Cyberbullying in the United Kingdom 188

Case study: Cyberbullying suicide in Italy 190

Cyberbullying laws 190

Necessary criminal justice policy responses to cyberbullying 191

Text box: Cyberbullying: What we know, What can we do? 193

Necessary social and community responses to cyberbullying 194

Conclusion 194

Suggested readings 195

Student engagement activities 195

Discussion questions 195

Key terms 195

References 196

8 Women and law enforcement 199

Student learning outcomes 199

Introduction 199

Case study: Malalai Kakar 200

History of women in policing 200

Global perspectives: Entry into policing and roles 202

Text box: Female police in Latin America 203

Special legal issues: Legal pathways for female officers in South Africa 207

Women and their employment in law enforcement 207

Global perspectives: Shared experiences/distinct differences 213

Conclusion 215

Suggested readings 215

Student engagement activities 215

Discussion questions 216

Key terms 216

References 216

9 Women in the courts 222

Student learning outcomes 222

Introduction 222

Case study: Kate Baker 223

History of women as lawyers and jurists 224

Global perspectives: Entry into the legal profession for women across the globe 225

Text Box: Bradwell v. State of Illinois, 83 U.S. 130 (Wall., 1872) 227

Women and their employment in the legal profession 231

Special legal issues: Discrimination in Iran 235

Text box: Women in the federal judiciary: Still a long way to go 236

Global perspectives: Female judges in Syria 238

Necessary legal system policy responses 239

Conclusion 239

Suggested readings 240

Student engagement activities 240

Discussion questions 240

Key terms 240

References 241

10 Women working with post-conviction offenders 244

Student learning outcomes 244

Introduction 244

Case study: Claire Lewis 245

History of women working in jails and prisons 245

Global perspectives: Entry into corrections for women across the globe 248

Special legal issues: Prison law of China 250

Challenges to women in the fi eld of corrections 251

Global perspectives: Women in corrections across the border 257

Effectiveness of women correctional workers 258

Conclusion 260

Suggested readings 260

Student engagement activities 261

Discussion questions 261

Key terms 261

References 262

11 Conclusion 266

Student learning outcomes 266

Introduction 266

Case study: The Australian rugby team and group sex session 269

Women, feminist criminology, and criminal justice 270

Global perspectives: Islamic feminism in the Middle East 271

Special legal issues: UN Bangkok Rules 272

Text box: International Women’s Day 2015 Theme: MAKE IT HAPPEN 272

Conclusion 276

Suggested readings 277

Student engagement activities 277

Discussion questions 277

Key term 277

Note 277

References 278

Glossary 281

Index 294

The New copy of this book will include any supplemental materials advertised. Please check the title of the book to determine if it should include any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.

The Used, Rental and eBook copies of this book are not guaranteed to include any supplemental materials. Typically, only the book itself is included. This is true even if the title states it includes any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.