Quantitative Investigation into Feminist Gendered Pathways to Female Offending in the UK

• In Event: Roundtable: Gender, Crime, and Violence

Abstract

Women, historically neglected in criminological research, are increasingly recognised as a distinct population. Traditional crime aetiology models are inadequate due to their bias towards males, and therefore cannot be applied to females. Consequently, feminist scholars have developed distinct pathways to understanding female criminality. However, existing studies primarily rely on qualitative methodologies with few quantitative studies, yielding inconclusive evidence.

This study aims to address this gap by investigating five primary pathways identified in feminist literature: socio-economic marginalisation, victimisation, substance abuse, health, and relationships. Drawing from the ongoing 'Trauma, Harm and Health with Justice Involved Women: Validation Study', this research seeks to uncover the nuanced experiences leading women to criminal behaviour, through empirical, quantitative methods.

Utilising structural equation modelling, the study endeavours to offer a comprehensive understanding of women’s pathways to crime. Diverging from traditional feminist approaches, this research adopts an alternative methodology enabling positivist confirmation of findings. Leveraging detailed data, the aim is to elucidate offending risk factors for women, filling a significant void in current understanding and providing foundational evidence for a renewed focus on this area. Furthermore, this study aims to influence future policy overseeing sentencing, incarceration, and rehabilitation of female offenders, shedding light on this frequently overlooked population.

Author

• Jessica Elizabeth Partridge Bigford, University of Birmingham, UK