Feminist Perspectives

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Week 8: How have feminist perspectives changed the way criminologists think about the causes of and responses to crime? Feminism is the belief than men and women should have equal rights and opportunities (White, Haines and Asquith, 2012). The feminist perspective is based on the notion that women are disadvantaged due to the structural position of men and women in society (White, Haines and Asquith, 2012). The feminist perspective argues that the justice system is bias towards men (White, Haines and Asquith, 2012). For many years, women have struggled with oppression and the fight for individual rights (White, Haines and Asquith, 2012). Historically, there has been a lack of acknowledgement of women as offenders and as victims. This is due …show more content…

The 1960s to the 1970s, was the basis for the emergence of feminist critical thought on gendered perspectives including criminology (White, Haines and Asquith, 2012). The second wave of feminism saw a more critical analysis of masculinity and crime (White, Haines and Asquith, 2012). The different types of feminism have seen valuable contributions to criminological theories today (White, Haines and Asquith, 2012). Liberal feminism has made a significant contribution to the development and application of law, especially in discrimination (White, Haines and Asquith, 2012). Radical feminism regards male dominance as the cause of gender identity (White, Haines and Asquith, 2012). While cultural feminism places an emphasis on the need for a history of women’s’ victimisation and offending, the feminist perspective has made significant contributions informing critical criminology (White, Haines and Asquith, 2012). It challenged traditional definitions of crime, it was critical of criminal justice practice and present crime (White, Haines and Asquith, 2012). It raised questions about the authenticity of recorded statistics, in particular, police statistics and moved the criminological thinking discussion (White, Haines and Asquith, 2012). The feminist perspective has raised awareness of issues of family violence and male violence