Feminist Criminology

Publisher:: Sage Publications, Inc.
Publication date:: 2021-09-06

ISBN:: 1557-0851

Issue Number

Latest documents

Experiencing Shame: How Does Gender Affect the Interpersonal Dynamics of Restorative Justice?
Although reintegrative shaming theory suggests that, in comparison to males, females are more interdependent and thus susceptible to reintegrative rather than disintegrative shaming, it is unclear how gender affects the type of shame experienced when considering interpersonal dynamics within restorative justice conferences. The involvement of the community within these conferences may affect how offenders are viewed, especially when considering the stigma female offenders experience for violating legal and gender norms. Using data from the Reintegrative Shaming Experiments, we find that interdependency conditions how gender affects the experience of shaming based on the type of others with whom offenders are interdependent.
How Do Gender, Sexuality, and Age Impact Perceptions of Teacher Sexual Misconduct? An Intersectional Vignette-Based Study
In this study we investigate the intersecting impacts of perpetrators’ gender, sexuality, and age on perceptions of teacher sexual misconduct. When the teacher was a woman, respondents perceived the relationship to be less detrimental to the student, the student to be more mature and responsible, and the relationship as more acceptable. Heterosexual pairings were perceived as more acceptable than same-sex pairings, with the student perceived as more mature and responsible. Lastly, when the teacher was older respondents perceived them as more responsible and the student as having psychological issues contributing to the relationship.
Smashing Backdoors in and the Wandering Eye: An Introduction to Bartenders’ Experiences with Unwanted Sexual Attention while Working in the UK
Literature on unwanted sexual attention in the night-time economy has focused predominantly on patrons and ignores those who are employed in it. This paper draws on participant observations of, and interviews with, 10 current, and 5 former, bartenders’ engagement with unwanted behaviors at a public house. Data gathered will outline the common and infrequent forms of unwanted sexual attention and who the perpetrators are. I also remold the concept of ‘feisty femininity’ to reflect female bartenders’ combative strategies against male customers. I end with a suggestion for the implementation of specific training strategies for all employed in licensed venues.
The Link Between the SAMFE and Police Perceptions of Victim Credibility
While research has documented the evidentiary significance of sexual assault medical forensic exams (SAMFEs) to case processing, there has been less focus on SAMFEs’ relevance to extralegal case characteristics. This study, through focus groups with police officers and prosecutors, illuminates the link between two important case processing factors: the SAMFE and perceptions of victim credibility. The majority of respondent narratives about the utility of the SAMFE point to how it strengthens or weakens perceptions of victim credibility. This link points to the SAMFE’s important role in early case processing before investigators send DNA evidence for forensic testing.
Techniques of Identity Talk in Reentering Mothers’ Self-Narratives: (M)othering and Redemption Narratives
We examine how incarcerated women introduced themselves to a reentry program focused on reuniting them with their children. To communicate maternal worthiness, the women did not discuss their own past mothering but focused instead on their mothers’ mothering and on their future mothering. Our analysis uncovers two forms of identity talk women used to distance themselves from societal presumptions about their “bad” mothering: discussing shortcomings of their mothers in a process we call defensive (m)othering, and focusing on futures as good mothers through redemptive storytelling. These strategies reveal how women attempt to manage identities within structural, cultural, and situational constraints.
“If It’s Not Femicide, It’s Still Murder”: Contestations Over Femicide in Nicaragua
Nicaragua has the dubious distinction of being one of the only countries in the world that has intentionally weakened its existing legislation penalizing the crime of femicide (femicidio), the murder of women due to their gender. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork and content analysis of over 250 newspaper articles, this study examines how these legal changes occurred and their implications for women’s access to legal justice in Nicaragua. Through an analysis of the competing claims of state officials and feminist actors, I demonstrate how femicidio became a contested legal and political category in Nicaragua, to the detriment of women’s lives.
Building a Holistic Typology to Inform Service Delivery for Women on Community Supervision
This study examines how risk and strength factors inform treatment typologies over time and how these typologies relate to reoffending outcomes for 1,684 women on community supervision in Alberta, Canada. Latent transition analysis was conducted using three assessment timepoints. Three profiles consistently emerged across timepoints: a Low need/low strength profile, a Low need/high strength profile with adversity and mental health concerns, and an Aggressive, high need/low strength profile, which had the highest rate of reoffending. Results underscore the utility of incorporating gender-neutral and gender-responsive needs and strengths in typological development. Treatment typologies help inform effective service delivery, programming, and supervision practices.
Society, Her or Me? An Explanatory Model of Intimate Femicide Among Male Perpetrators in Buenos Aires, Argentina
Intimate femicide perpetrators are rarely studied despite their important role as drivers of violence. This paper analyzes the explanatory narratives of men who intentionally killed their female intimate partners in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Twenty-four interviews were conducted with 12 participants. Data were analyzed using Atlas.Ti and an inductive thematic coding strategy. Two dimensions—frequency of physical violence in the relationship and locus of explanation—were used to identify four narrative archetypes: victim, redemption, extraordinary, and outburst. Greater attention should be paid to perpetrator life trajectories and narratives including the gender and violence discourses that shape explanations for perpetration.
Mismatched Liberation Theory: A Comparative Method to Explain Increasing Female Crime Share in the United States
In this paper, I propose a new theory that ascribes the increasing female crime share to unequal emancipatory advancement between women’s ideological aspirations and institutional means in modern times. Accordingly, it is proposed that an incommensurate pace in progression inflicts gender-specific deprivation on women, which increases their share of crime. The theory is tested with Uniform Crime Reporting data from 1980 to 2017 across offense types. The findings indicate that mismatched liberation increases the female share of violent and property crimes, especially for adult cohorts and among samples after 1988 when women’s ends-means gap was found to be enlarged.
[De]-Centering the Victim: Police Perceptions of Victims of Sexual Violence through a Comparative Lens of Evidence Collection and Processing
Police are central to the statutory response to sexual violence, shaping the direction an investigation may take. Evidence provided by victims is also key to the processing of sexual assault cases. From a 2013 comparative qualitative study involving interviews with police officers in one province in Canada (n = 11) and one region in Scotland (n = 10) who investigate such cases, we discovered striking unanticipated differences between the two groups in terms of how they perceived victims and the evidence they provide. This paper presents a thematic analysis of these data and considers possible implications and explanations.