Gender Perspective of Victimization, Crime and Penal Policy

Abstract

AbstractThis chapter examines three criminological perspectives through a gender lens. The first part is dedicated to crime and gender. This chapter presents official data of reported and convicted persons in European countries, discussing crime trends and the different involvement of sexes in certain criminal offences. Further, this chapter points to possible differences in the ethology of crime from a gender perspective at three levels: individual; family, and social. The second section deals with gender and criminal victimization, with special attention dedicated to issues of domestic violence and sexual crimes. The third section of this chapter analyses the penal policy of the courts. Data is presented on sentencing practices in European countries, with an emphasis on certain criminal offences. Besides data on imprisonment, attention is paid to other penal sanctions. This section of the text further explains possible factors related to the different sentencing of women and men. They are divided into two categories: the first is those mainly related to socio-economic characteristics and crime committed; the second is those that reflect courts as gender institutions. Finally, this chapter gives explanations of different treatments of trans offenders in the criminal justice system.