Theories of Crime (Spring 2020) Prof. Curtis Holland
SUNY-Old Westbury
Paper 3: Feminist Criminology
Explain how (if at all) you think that perspectives from feminist criminology could be helpful in guiding positive reforms in how the criminal justice system (broadly defined) deals with criminal offenders. In other words, how could focusing on gender identities and gender inequalities help American society better prevent crime, as well as better rehabilitate offenders?
Other, more specific questions to guide your analysis may include the following:
– How does gender identity tend to shape pathways to crime differently for women
versus men? How do gender inequalities, patriarchy, and misogyny also play roles in this
respect?
– How does gender identity tend to shape ones likelihood of being victim to particular
types of crime?
– How does the overlap between ones likelihood of being a victim and an offender
manifest differently (on average) among women versus men?
– How can answers to these questions help the justice system or, society more broadly
prevent crime, and rehabilitate offenders?
If you do not think that feminist criminology is important in guiding criminal justice reform, you may make that argument, as long you as you provide evidence and detailed reasoning to support your view.
Sources
You must include four of the following five references, and cite them in the paper:
n Posick, The Development of Criminological Thought, chapter 7 and/or chapter 10 n Schaffner, Violence and female delinquency
n Gelsthorpe, Feminist perspectives on gender and crime
n The Mask You Live In (documentary film)
n Rios, Punished, chapter 6
