Women and Crime
Criminal offenses by women have been on the increase in the recent past. Although the factors that have contributed to the increase vary considerably between denominations, the advocacy for gender equality might be seen to have significantly contributed greatly to the rise. The debate on the rise in crime among women, however, has the potential of raising concerns about the patriarchal affiliation of the society, or the create misinterpretation concerning feminism. Nature has had it that men have been belittling the potential of women in the different fields, and now, the concern that crime among women has increased has been viewed by various individuals as another plot to belittle the ability of women. The decision to engage in crime cannot be accepted in the society, but when both genders are involved equally in crime, concern has to be raised concerning the moral decay sweeping across the community. The improvement in technology and the evolution of societal norms have contributed significantly to freeing women from their traditional roles, thus exposing them to a world that has a huge motivation towards committing a crime. The exposure to any abuse leads to a change in the mindset of a woman and could contribute significantly to driving a woman to become a criminal.
Child abuse has the capability of changing the mindset of a girl-child towards the society in general. Child abuse has been prevalent in the recent past and specifically among girls owing to their weak nature. Different communities have been structured based on patriarchal ideologies, and the survival of women has been purely considered as a way of appreciating men who only view women as tools of production. A common trait among men in several societies is to give more attention to the male child at the expense of their female counterparts. Men will be seen to be dissatisfied in the event their wife gives birth to a female child and rejection towards the child begins right at birth. Girls, therefore, tend to be brought up in a society that values male children and leaves the girls to be modeled by nature and to have no impact on the community. Don't use plagiarised sources.Get your custom essay just from $11/page
Women are always at the receiving end of abuse, and their retreat could still be rough and extreme. The fact that women are more exposed to violence than men gives a feeling of desire to disrespect the norms of a given society and hence more involvement into crime (Mederer & Costello, 2017). Some forms of violence like rape tend to profound effects on women and thus a more significant influence when it becomes necessary for the ladies to react. For example, a woman will feel unobligated to respect the norms of a society that could not protect her when she needed protection most. Several women who involve themselves in crime tend to have no regrets or even a feeling of guilt since they always blame the society for the woes that they could have gone through at some point in their life. Women always appreciate a community that puts some significant effort to protect their rights and even when extremes happen; the society is left out of the blame. However, different communities expect women to be responsible for the undoing of offenders in society. For example, some communities will appear to give justification to rape cases by accusing the women of inappropriate dressing. In the long run, the victims of such offenses blame society for being lenient in the ways of dealing with offenders. In severe cases, women can even get a negative feeling towards the male gender and decide to reciprocate the crimes done on them to their male counterparts. Incidents such as the rape of boys by women might not be common, but when they occur, the offenders always found to have had a history of abuse at their young age. The society, therefore, has contributed significantly towards the increase in the crimes committed by women. The rise in crime rates among women can also be attributed to the rise in cases of violence against women in marriage.
A society that recognizes and upholds patriarchal dominion creates criminals from within its structure. Women have been forced into submitting to men, a factor that has given men the freedom to mistreat women around them. A case in hand is the increase in domestic violence. Various communities allow men to punish their wives through beating, although the intensity of the beating is left at the discretion of the husband. The allowance for wife-beating has subjected wives into lives full of suffering and tribulations. Extreme cases may lead even to deaths of the victims but the society gives a blind eye, and whenever the society decides to punish the offenders, the punishment is exceptionally lenient compared to the crimes committed. Some women, however, decide to take matters in their hands and stand against the mistreatments by their husbands. Several causes of murder have been attributed to domestic violence where several women have been accused of murdering their wives due to family feuds and unsolved disputes. In most cases, the women kill their husbands deliberately or through accidents while retreating for violence done towards them. The direct involvement in a crime can be attributed to the bitterness that builds among women when they feel that society is keeping a blind eye on the mistreatments that they are going through. The desire for revenge thus leads to a change in behavior among victims and lures them into committing serious crimes.
Lack of parental care or even societal negligence exposes young women to cases of violence. Women raised by guardians might be exposed to various mistreatments either once or twice in their lifetime. The lack of parental guidance might make the women grow without the right knowledge towards the reaction that should be allowed in cases of conflict. Growing under the influence of domestic mistreatment exposes women to bitterness and makes them grow with a feeling of harming people in society. For example, if an individual is exposed to mistreatment by a male relative, the woman could grow up with a feeling of bitterness against men and could be ready to harm any man who crosses paths with them. The bitterness could later contribute to rational behaviors that are associated with crime, and the individuals only have the community to blame. In addition to the societal involvement in increasing the rate of crime among women, judicial services can also be associated with the contribution.
The judicial systems do not always take sufficient measures to ensure the achievement of the rehabilitation goals of the system. The conditions in several correctional services are too harsh for female criminals (Richie, 2018). Nature has it that women are somehow fragile and should be treated with care to avoid exposing them to extreme conditions that will break them instead of correcting them. When women are broken, the immediate impact is that the community is at risk of suffering the adverse impacts. Women who get broken during their stay in prisons are always at the forefront of committing more severe crimes once released. The effects of violence and mistreatment on the mindset of the individuals can be associated with the impact that follows after releasing the women. Some of the compelling experiences that happen to women in correctional services include bullying by stronger inmates and even rape. The cases of abuse have been reported widely in several correctional centers, either by the prison wardens or fellow inmates. Crime tends to destroy the social responsibility held by an individual before the experience. The destruction of dignity can interfere with the critical thinking of an individual. Also, some experiences affect the mental health of the victims and thus involvement in similar criminal activities immediately after being released can be associated with improper reasoning. The attempt to reduce the number of criminal cases can only be successful with the cooperation between different bodies responsible for crime control.
The increase in crime among women is an alarm raised and should be taken with seriousness. The society should be alarmed that the rise in crime rate among women has the potential to destroy the family structure in the given community (Chesney-Lind, 2017). An essential role of women in society is to control the family structure. Children are carefully brought up in a society if the society has responsible women. The increase in the number of women involving themselves in crime does not necessarily mean that the number will decrease among men. Therefore, the number of criminal cases will generally increase in the community. The family structure will be adversely affected because both parents will have an equal probability of being involved in crime. The community has the responsibility of protecting its reputation by controlling the number of crime cases by both genders. The relationship between the number of crime cases by men and women should be a key consideration in the attempt to control the increment among women.
In sum, crime has initially been associated with masculinity. However, technological and cultural erosion has come to give women more freedom from family responsibility and exposed them to the world that is full of the motivation to do evil. The crime cases among adult women can be attributed to the history of being subjected to violence and abuse. Women tend to involve themselves in crime due to their past experiences and the desire for revenge. The community should take the responsibility to control the preference of crime among the women since this contributes directly to the increase in crime in the society.
References
Chesney-Lind, M. (2017). Media misogyny: Demonizing “violent” girls and women. In Making Trouble (pp. 115-140). Routledge.
Mederer, H. J., & Costello, B. J. (2017). A control theory of gender difference in crime and delinquency. In Control theories of crime and delinquency (pp. 77-108). Routledge.
Mukherjee, S. K., & Scutt, J. A. (2015). Women and crime. Routledge.
Richie, B. (2018). Challenges incarcerated women face as they return to their communities: Findings from life history interviews. In Women Prisoners and Health Justice (pp. 23- 44). CRC Press.