Gender Equity Model

Discuss the gender equity model in terms of its evolution, its limitations and its consequences on the treatment of female criminals. How do authors use research to critique the model?

The gender equity model of criminology evolved during the 1970s as part of the women's movement. Its primary intent was to highlight the extent to which women were the victims of crime, and to address the social and institutional forces that perpetuated the status of women-as-victim (Britton 2000:57-58). It gave particular emphasis to the fact that the greater the social discrepancies between men and women, the more likely women were to become the victims of crimes such as rape. To eradicate crimes such as rape, societal gender equality was required, because "abuse of power flows from unequal power" (Whaley, 2001:531).

Other feminists have proposed, however, that in fact an increase in female enfranchisement can cause a corresponding increase in rapes, in the fears of the threats that greater female empowerment can pose to male society (Whaley, 2001: 532). "A recent analysis of the influence of women's numerical representation in the workforce on men's attitudes toward women provides preliminary support for the assumption that gender equality is initially positively associated with rape via an increased perception of threat to men as a group" (Whaley, 2001: 533).

Moreover, since 1981 "five macro-level comparative tests of the traditional feminist hypothesis that gender inequality is positively associated with rates of rape have been published. Contrary to expectations, they "failed to support the traditional gender inequality hypothesis" and instead supported the "backlash hypothesis" that greater social mobility of women leads to a corresponding increase in violence (Whaley, 2001: 535). Regardless, in comparing these studies there is some difficulty in defining precisely what is meant by 'gender equality,' whether it mean sex disparities in earnings, education, employment, or less definable and quantitative variables like perceptions of what it means to be 'male' and 'female' (Whaley 2001:535).

Works Cited

Britton, Dana M. (Sep., 2000). "Feminism in Criminology: Engendering the Outlaw."

Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science. 571: 57-76.

Whaley, Rachel Bridges (Aug, 2001). "The Paradoxical Relationship between Gender I nequality and Rape: Toward a Refined Theory." Gender and Society. 15. 4: 531-555.