Impact of Feminist Criminology on the Study of Sex-Specific Crimes - Research Paper Example

Feminist Criminology: Its Impact on the Study of Sex Specific Crimes The past twenty years have seen the public's perception of spousal and acquaintance rape go from an anecdotal incident to a national social issue. Domestic sex crimes had previously been marginalized and overlooked by researchers. The feminist movements of the 1970s and 1980s resulted in a change of attitude on the part of law enforcement and the criminal justice system. Women's rights and liberation activities reduced the stigma attached to acquaintance rape and encouraged a more accurate portrayal and reporting of the crime. Feminism has increased awareness and prosecution of relationship based sex specific criminal acts that had traditionally been minimized and underrepresented in the male oriented criminal justice system. Until the 1970s, rape was a generic term that usually was typified by a stranger attacking a female and demanding forced sex from the victim. Spouse and acquaintance rape were often met with skepticism by the public and there was a reluctance on the part of the victim and law enforcement to pursue the problem. The issue was of great importance as indicated in a 2000 report by Fisher, Cullen, and Turner that stated 90% of all college women raped or sexually assaulted knew their attacker prior to the criminal act (as cited in Statistics about sexual violence, 2003). Feminism brought the crime of acquaintance and spousal rape into the public arena and elevated the discussion to a national social issue. In the process, it brought about more accurate reporting and a more realistic view of the crime. Feminism has been at the forefront of the movement to redefine and de-stigmatize sexual assault against women in an effort to create a more accurate appraisal of the crime of rape. Crime and the definition of criminal behavior change over time and is therefore a "social construction and part of the political process" (Burke, 2005, p.5). The 1970s were the beginning of a decades long rape reform movement that would see feminists working with law enforcement and the justice system to sharpen the definition of rape and alter the methods of conducting sexual assault trials (Sable, Danis, Mauzy, & Gallagher, 2006, p.157). Rape would be sub defined as spousal rape, date rape, acquaintance rape, and stranger rape. Prior to the movement, rape was often unreported when the perpetrator was a spouse or an acquaintance. During the 1970s and the 1980s there was marked increase in the reporting of rapes that were committed by an acquaintance or spouse (Baumer, Fellson, & Messner, 2003, p.863). By removing the ambiguous controversy that defined rape, the feminist inspired rape reform movement was able to bring the new definition into the public awareness and alter the legal and cultural context of sexual assault. The main reasons for non-reporting of an acquaintance rape are shame, fear of recriminations, self-blame, and fear of being stereotyped (Sable, Danis, Mauzy, & Gallagher, 2006, p.160). While these fears still exist, feminism has been successful in removing the stigma of acquaintance rape and was responsible for the increase in the reporting on non-stranger rape in recent decades. Feminist advocates in the UK have made a significant impact on the criminology of sexual specific crimes. They were instrumental in getting the 1975 Sexual Offences Act enacted that provided anonymity for the victim and limited the testimony used against a rape victim in court (Are we there yet?, 2005). Further efforts by feminists drew public attention to domestic violence and its treatment as a serious crime. In 1991 spousal rape within a marriage was recognized as a crime in the UK (Are we there yet?, 2005). These efforts by the feminist movement have resulted in a more accurate reporting of the crime of acquaintance rape and has enabled researchers to design and implement more reliable methods of prevention and more effective victim assistance programs. Along with removing the stigma of being a rape victim, feminism also redefined the victim of rape, sexual assault, and battering. In Carol Smart's groundbreaking book Women Crime, and Criminology, she popularized the portrayal of women as victims of patriarchal oppression and stressed a need of an advocate for their cause (as cited in Downes & Rock, 2007, p. 251). A major innovation that was advocated during the period of the 1970s and the 1980s was the victim survey and the ways that questions were posed. In the US, prior to 1992, the National Crime Survey (NCS) did not did not record an incident as rape unless the respondent specifically indicated that they had been raped and self-reported the crime (Baumer, Fellson, & Messner, 2003, p.850). The National Criminal Victimization Survey (NCVS) that was implemented after 1992 was more direct in its questioning and more thoroughly probed the victim for information on the level of brutality and the nature of the relationship with the perpetrator (Baumer, Fellson, & Messner, 2003, p.850-851). In addition, the survey saw the woman as a victim and hence led to a substantial increase in the reporting of the crime of rape. The British Crime Survey of 1998 and 2000 reported that 60% of the women who classified behavior as simply 'offensive' re-evaluated it as rape or sexual assault after follow up questioning (Myhill & Allen, 2002, p. 53). Baumer, Felson, & Messner (2003, p. 864) attribute the acceleration of reporting in the 1990s to the feminist's public campaign that redefined and focused the public's attention to these previously under-reported crimes and its victims. Feminism had increased the sensitivity that the public, law enforcement, and the judicial system had for the victim and focused the institutionalized perception of what constituted a rape. Feminism was able to construct the victim by framing the genders as equals. Sex specific crimes, and the several forms of rape in particular, have typically been seen through the frame of a male perpetrator and a female victim. Smart (1977, p. 77) further states that because of the double standard regarding sex and gender during this period that women in Northern European and American cultures could not commit rape. This was indicative of the attitude towards rape 30 years ago and was the focus of the feminist's rape reform movement. The resulting perception of a more equal view of gender aided in the lowering of the stigmatization of the victims. Women began to be seen as a possible perpetrator and as such were less stereotyped as the victim. Prior to the feminist movement to construct the victim of rape as credible and deserving of fair treatment, women were often seen as the perpetrator of the crime. Victim precipitation theory had long held that the way a woman that the way a woman dressed or the places she frequented could be justifiable grounds for victim blaming (Miethe & Meier, 1994, p. 30). Initial feminist research in the field of criminology was largely a critical review of the traditional literature that studied the actions of the male and tended to stereotype the female and reinforce the dominance of the male culture (Void, Bernard, & Snipes, 2002, p. 268). Void and Snipes (2002, p. 268, 269) further state that women had traditionally been treated more harshly than men when convicted of a sexual specific crime and that this has resulted in unreliable crime data from this period. The inaccurate data was reflected in the inappropriate theories that attempted to explain the role of women in criminology. Only after feminism impacted the framework of sex specific crimes did women's liberation begin to have an impact. Women were no longer seen as a marginalized victims of a trivial crime. The impact and importance of the feminist movement in changing the cultural attitudes towards the victims of rape is evidenced by three theories used to explain deviant behavior. Sutherland's differential association theory contended that deviant behavior is learned and passed through social contact (Anderson & Taylor, , p. 179). In the male dominated society, rape was defined by the male and prosecuted within the framework of the male dominated system. This theory explains the perpetual nature of the acceptance of deviance in respect to acquaintance rape and prevented any radical change in the ways that society viewed the crime and its victims. Labeling theory is able to explain how a class of women based on social standing or economic class could be dismissed as having responsibility for a rape by an acquaintance (Anderson & Taylor, 2006, p.179). When linked with conflict theory, the male dominated system could define who the victim was and trivialize the woman that was the victim of an acquaintance or spousal rape (Anderson & Taylor, 2006, p. 179). These three theories on the cause and perpetuation of deviance created the environment that the pre-feminist victim of acquaintance rape was subject to. The rape reform movement advocated by the feminists was able to be effective in the face of the difficulties posed by these theories. The emotionally charged offense of acquaintance rape has been particularly affected by the numerous factors that influence the cultural perception of a criminal act. Walklate (1998, p.75) contends that numerous studies from the 1970s and 1980s verified that a woman's home situation, personal demeanor, and the type of offense committed would all impact the treatment that she received from the criminal justice system. Spousal rape could easily be dismissed when it occurred in a traditional home where the woman was expected to perform in culturally dictated ways. The victim of spousal rape would confront a male dominated system that in many cases would not acknowledge the validity of rape within the context of marriage. These cultural obstacles would be further complicated by the inclusion of racism and bias based on socio-economic class. Feminism contributed to the study of this area by insisting on society's recognition of acquaintance rape as a violent criminal act. If feminism was responsible for the recent change in the public's perception of acquaintance rape, we could expect to see other signs in the empirical data. The emancipation theory of crime contends that the liberation of women in society would create equal opportunities for women to commit crimes and would relate to an increase in crime by women (Burke, 2005, p.168). Burke (2005, p.168) further states that a 1975 book by Freda Adler titled Sisters in Crime: The Rise of the Female Criminal "argued that there is very little actual difference between the potential propensity for criminality between men and women and previous variations in actual criminal involvement can be explained by sex-role differences". Taken together, these two theories would imply that feminism has contributed to an increase in reporting and prosecution of rape committed by women against men. In fact, domestic violence and sexual assault against women continues to far exceed the number of sexual assaults perpetrated by women against men (Criminal Victimization 2005, pp.6-7). The overall ratio of women to men has not seen a significant change. Research has shown that women will feel shame and guilt before men and will therefore be more reluctant to engage in criminal behavior (Downes & Rock, 2007, p.265). In addition, gender roles have not experienced the same level of change as economic or employment equality might indicate. Feminism has been able to successfully identify and define sexual criminal behavior, but has not resulted in an increase in sexual crime by women as might be expected from the emancipation theory. In conclusion, feminism has been instrumental in helping the criminal justice system evaluate the crime of acquaintance sexual assault. This area of deviant behavior had been previously ignored and marginalized. Since feminism has reduced the stigma of acquaintance and spousal rape, there has been an increase in the reporting and has resulted in a more accurate picture of the problem. Feminism has highlighted the issue and elevated it to the level of a national social issue. This has validated it as a credible issue and has resulted in more resources being made available for its further study. Emancipation theory has not resulted in a propensity for women to commit more relationship violence but has spurred an increase in the reporting of sex specific crimes in a relationship. Feminism's contribution has been a more accurate and realistic view of acquaintance and spousal sexual assault. References Andersen, M & Taylor H 2006, Sociology: Understanding a diverse society, 4th edn, Thomson Wadsworth, Belmont CA Are we there yet?: 30 years of closing the gap between women and men 2005, The Fawcett Society, United Kingdom, viewed 23 December 2007, Baumer, E, Felson, R, & Messner, S 2003, 'Changes in police notification for rape 1973-2000', Criminology, vol. 41, no. 3, pp. 841-872 Burke, R 2005, An introduction to criminological theory, 2nd edn, Willan Publishing, Cullompton UK Criminal Victimization 2005 2005, US Department of Justice, Washington DC, viewed 23 December 2007, < http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/pdf/cv05.pdf> Downes, D & Rock, P 2007, Understanding deviance, 4th edn, Oxford University Press, Oxford New York Miethe, T & Meier R 1994, Crime and its social context: Toward an integrated theory of offenders, State University of New York Press, Albany NY Myhill, A & Allen J 2002, 'Rape and sexual assault of women: The extent and nature of the problem', Home Office Research Study 237, Home Office Research, Development and Statistics Directorate, London, viewed 23 December 2007, Sable, M, Danis, F, Mauzy, D, Gallagher, F 2006, 'Barriers to reporting sexual assault for women and men: Perspectives of college students, Journal of American College Health, vol. 55, no. 3, pp. 157-162 Smart, C 1977, Women, crime, and criminology: A feminist critique, Routledge and Kegan Paul, London Statistics about sexual violence 2003, Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape, Enola PA, viewed 22 December 2007, Void, G Bernard T, & Snipes J 2002, Theoretical Criminology, Oxford University Press, New York Walklate, S 2007, Understanding criminology (Crime and justice), 3rd edn, Open University Press, Berkshire UK Read More