In this report, I will be using Walklate's book to discuss the role of women in regards to crime and the criminal justice system. I have used an extensive range of sources, whether they are journals, books or articles. The topic of gender and crime is vast, and can be taken from many different angles. I have chosen to write it from a feminist point of view rather than the masculine approach. There are many different themes and lines of arguments; I have focused on three crucial subjects, The Validity and Reliability of Statistical Data, The Sex Role Theory and Biological and Psychological Reasonings. .
When discussing gender and crime, there is sometimes confusion around the word gender, however there is an essential difference between gender and sex. Sex is dependant on your anatomy and hormones in the body whereas gender is the role in which society has created which describes the characteristics that society believe we should have. While there is universal knowledge about our individual sex, our gender roles can be quite varied depending on culture. This leads me to ask, because of our gender roles within society, does that impact on the way women are treated in the criminal justice system, are women true born criminals and what really motivates women to commit crimes?.
Walklate begins to state the differences between reliability and validity concerning sources and data sources. The reliability of a statistical source depends on whether the information collected is measured for the purpose previously stated or not, and if it is done in an accurate and consistent manner. However the validity of a source is dependant on whether the information resourced is really measured on what they say it's being measured on. Walklate believes that the validity is the more significant variable, because if you cannot verify the validity of a source, then the reliability is also in extreme doubt and is effectively irrelevant.
