The Influence of Gender on Sentencing Outcomes in China

• In Event: International Research on Sentencing and Sentencing Disparities

Abstract

In China, gender is an extra-legal factor in sentencing and its influence on the sentencing outcomes in practice remains unknown. As the sentencing reform is going on nationally and the rate of female offenders is at an all-time high, the questions about the gender influence in the sentencing should be addressed in China. Using sentencing data all over China from 2000 to 2014 and data collected from National Judges College, the present study explores the influence of gender on imprisonment likelihood and imprisonment length. Moreover, this study continues to assess the interactive impacts between gender and other variables, such as prior records or current offense types, on sentencing decisions. Finally, we discuss the implications of these findings and examine the cause of the gender disparity in sentencing in the context of China.

Authors

• Jiaqi Lao, Beijing Normal University

• Yu Gao, Florida State University