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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
List of contents
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
Preven
About the author
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.
Summary
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.
