With a Focus on Gender or Race, Discuss Whether the Criminal Justice System Is Biased.
CAROL COLLINS STUDENT – 11423048 1 With a focus on gender or race, discuss whether the criminal justice system is biased.
Society expects the criminal justice system to provide justice for everyone by protecting the innocent, to punish and convict the guilty, and to rehabilitate them in an attempt to stop them reoffending. It is supposed to give fair justice for everyone, regardless of gender, but much is written that suggests that the criminal justice system is gender-biased. Gender bias was not formed by the justice system, but it does reflect the fundamental conditions and attitudes of society. The cost of gender bias to society, the criminal justice system, and to the people within it is enormous.
To discuss if the criminal justice system is gender-biased, an understanding should be reached regarding what is meant by the term `gender`. The word gender can be difficult to define, and also how it differs from the term `sex`. Whilst the term `sex` refers to the psychological and biological physiognomies that describe men and women, the term `gender` (The Free online Dictionary) refers to the roles that society considers to be appropriate for men and women, such as activities and behaviours. Categories of gender are `masculine` and `feminine’ while sex categories are `male` and `female`. Some authors believe that the increase of females offending has increased due to the `masculinization` of women’s behaviour during the Women’s Liberation Movement in the 1970s, and is responsible for the increasing numbers of women committing crimes.(Heidensohn, 1989; Adler, 1975). Aspects of sex do not vary between human societies, but aspects of gender may be very different (Bryant and Trueman, 2000). Sex-stereotypes are said to be central to gender, which can be defined as the behaviours, attitudes, roles and beliefs that are passed from generation to generation
Society expects the criminal justice system to provide justice for everyone by protecting the innocent, to punish and convict the guilty, and to rehabilitate them in an attempt to stop them reoffending. It is supposed to give fair justice for everyone, regardless of gender, but much is written that suggests that the criminal justice system is gender-biased. Gender bias was not formed by the justice system, but it does reflect the fundamental conditions and attitudes of society. The cost of gender bias to society, the criminal justice system, and to the people within it is enormous.
To discuss if the criminal justice system is gender-biased, an understanding should be reached regarding what is meant by the term `gender`. The word gender can be difficult to define, and also how it differs from the term `sex`. Whilst the term `sex` refers to the psychological and biological physiognomies that describe men and women, the term `gender` (The Free online Dictionary) refers to the roles that society considers to be appropriate for men and women, such as activities and behaviours. Categories of gender are `masculine` and `feminine’ while sex categories are `male` and `female`. Some authors believe that the increase of females offending has increased due to the `masculinization` of women’s behaviour during the Women’s Liberation Movement in the 1970s, and is responsible for the increasing numbers of women committing crimes.(Heidensohn, 1989; Adler, 1975). Aspects of sex do not vary between human societies, but aspects of gender may be very different (Bryant and Trueman, 2000). Sex-stereotypes are said to be central to gender, which can be defined as the behaviours, attitudes, roles and beliefs that are passed from generation to generation
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