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GENDER, SEXUALITY, & CRIME IN THE U.S.
Meredith Conover-‐Williams, PhD and Janae Teal, MA | Humboldt State University
Sociologists for Women in Society Fact Sheet | Published August 2015
Introduction
It has only been since feminism entered the academy on a larger scale in the 1960s and 1970s that
criminologists have acknowledged the value in understanding the gendered aspects of crime. Though there has
been a call for exploring crime in a more intersectional way (Burgess-‐Proctor 2006), to date, only a few studies
have done so. In this fact sheet, we present the current knowledge on gender, sexuality and crime, using Daly’s
(1998) framework for a research agenda on gender and crime, expanding it to include sexuality. Daly (1998)
called for an understanding of crime as a gendered experience; to that, we add that it is also a sexualized
experience. We use this framework to organize this knowledge into four categories: (1) the gendered (and
sexualized) ratio of crime; (2) the nature of gendered (and sexualized) crime; (3) gendered (and sexualized)
pathways into criminality; and (4) gendered (and sexualized) lives, as contexts for offending.
Current Data on Gender, Sexuality and Crime
The authors computed all rates shown in Table 1. For both Gender and Sexuality data, we used Wave IV of the
National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (“Add Health”). For a full description of methodology
on the latter, see Conover-‐Williams (2014). It is important to know that the gender data are based on arrests,
and the sexuality data are based on self-‐reported offending. The gender/sexuality gap shows a measure in the
difference in offending between groups. While a gap of 50% would show equal rates of offending, a number
over 50% signifies higher offending by male/sexual majority respondents, and a number under 50% should be
read as higher offending by female/sexual minority respondents.
Gender/Sexuality Ratio of Crime
Table 1. Rates (per 100,000) and Gaps of Offending by Gender and Sexuality, for Variety of Offenses
Gender Rates
Gender
Gap*
Sexuality Rates
Sexuality
Gap Offenses Male Female*
Sexual
Majority
Sexual
Minority
Selling Drugs 4686.83 1016.70 82.17% 2452.44 4287.69 36.39%
Fighting 895.14 217.79 80.43% 481.32 691.56 41.04%
Stealing < $50 1065.64 617.28 63.32% 595.92 2213.00 21.22%
Vandalism 768.90 253.99 75.17% 435.48 829.88 34.42%
Trading Sex for $ 981.84 256.85 79.26% 435.48 968.19 31.02%
*Gap = male rate / (male + female) x 100,000 & sexual majority rate / (majority + minority) x 100,
In the case of gender, male respondents report higher rates of offending for all five offenses, with a lower gap
for stealing items worth less than $50. With sexuality, sexual minority individuals offend more across most
offenses (see more explanation about this in Conover-‐Williams 2014, and in Teaching Sexuality and Crime). In
both cases, differing rates of offending are due to socialization and the structural position of women (see
Steffensmeier and Allan 1996) and queer people (see Conover-‐Williams 2014), rather than essential differences.
Gendered/Sexualized Crime
Not only do women and sexual minorities offend differently, quantitatively; they also offend differently,
qualitatively. Women tend to be involved in minor, less violent offenses. In both the cases of women and
members of LGBTQ communities, offending may be related to survival tactics (e.g. running away, selling drugs,
shoplifting or participating in sex work; see Chesney-‐Lind 1989 for a review on criminalizing survival). It is
unknown how transgender and gender non-‐conforming individuals compare to their cisgender counterparts.
Table 2. Top Five Offenses, by Gender and Sexuality
By Gender By Sexuality
All Males All Females Sexual Majority Sexual Minority
Selling Drugs Check fraud Fencing Selling Drugs (tie)
Fencing Fencing Selling Drugs Check Fraud (tie)
Stealing > $50 Stealing > $50 Check Fraud Stealing > $
Check fraud Selling Drugs Stealing > $50 Fencing
Fighting Stealing < $50 Stealing < $50 Stealing < $
Trends Over Time
Though there has been discourse about women becoming more violent over time, there is no actual evidence to
support this (Schwartz, Steffensmeier and Feldmeyer 2009). There has been little to no change in women’s
involvement in violent crime groups over the past several decades (Schwartz, Conover-‐ Williams and Clemons
2015). Sexuality and crime has not been tracked for long enough to know if there have been changes over time
in actual offending, but there have been patterns in the criminalization of LGBTQ people over time (e.g. sodomy
and anti cross-‐dressing laws; for a review, see Mogul, Ritchie and Whitlock 201 1).
Current Theorizations of Gender, Sexuality and Crime
Gendered/Sexualized Pathways
Feminist criminologists have found that pathways into criminality vary by gender. Belknap, Holsinger and Little
(2012) called the study of women’s pathways to offending the “most significant and potentially useful
criminological research in recent years” (32). Women may have different levels of exposure to factors that may
increase their risk of offending (such as victimization)(for a review, see Kruttschnitt 2013), and are often
introduced to their criminality by male partners and/or family members (Chesney-‐Lind and Pasko 2013 ).
There are important connections between victimization and offending, which means some women and
members of the LGBTQ communities are especially at risk. Girls and women experience more than five times the
amount of intimate partner violence than men, with African American women experiencing higher rates than
white women (Catalano, Smith, Snyder and Rand 2009). Sexual minority individuals experience higher levels of
victimization than their majority counterparts (for a review see Katz-‐Wise and Hyde 2012), and transgender
individuals report high levels of victimization compared to the general U.S. population (Grant, et al. 2011). For
girls and women, childhood trauma, caregiver victimization and intimate partner violence are all connected to
pathways to offending (DeHart and Moran 2015; Gilfus 1992; Brennan et al. 2009; Siegel and Williams 2003).
Among incarcerated youth, sexual minority girls have reported higher rates of victimization than their sexual
majority peers (Belknap, Holsinger and Little 2012).
Gendered/Sexualized Lives
The offending (rates, and types of offending) of women is due to (1) their socialization, and (2) their structural
position in U.S. society. Women are socialized to be caretakers, and are not perceived to have the skills or ability
to be ideal crime partners (Steffensmeier and Allan 1996). Institutionalized sexism in the underworld prevents
women from gaining the criminal capital; they are relegated to secondary roles, and blocked access from the
most lucrative and violent offenses (Steffensmeier and Terry 1996). Similar research on members of LGBTQ
communities has not yet been done, though queer criminology is a growing area of research (see Peterson and
Panfil 2014).
Both women and members of LGBTQ communities also face issues with criminalization. In both cases, the
criminalization of gender norms and survival behaviors disproportionately impact women and LGBTQ people.
Survival strategies (e.g. shoplifting, selling drugs, sex work) may lead to criminal justice interactions for
individuals living away from their homes. LGBTQ youth experience high levels of homelessness, and many
girls/women that run away to escape domestic victimization are funneled into street crime (Gilfus 1992).
Social Change Related to Gender, Sexuality and Crime
Addressing victimization and marginalization
- Acknowledge and address victimization and trauma in criminal justice policy and programming
- Greater support for women in domestic violence, and who offend in response to victimization
- Better policy and support for incarcerated women with children
Support in Social Institutions
- Systemically addressing school climate, beyond homophobia, to changing heteronormativity
- Policy and practice changes to address the school-‐to-‐prison pipeline
- LGBTQ-‐specific training and support for caretakers and other individuals working in the foster system
- Help for girls and LGBTQ people who runaway or are kicked out of their homes
- Broader definitions of family, to include “chosen family” as a protective factor from offending
Broader definitions of justice
Generally, the use of restorative and transformative justice practices, as alternatives to punishment (retributive
justice) can improve the experiences of women and LGBTQ individuals in the criminal justice system. These
approaches are more likely to take into account the structural position of women and LGBTQ people.
- Restorative Justice: A theory of justice that seeks to foster and rebuild relationships to repair harm. The
victim, offender and community are all stakeholders in the justice process (see Braithwaite 1989).
- Transformative Justice: A theory of justice that uses a system approach, acknowledging both the root
causes and consequences of crime, to address the social reasons crimes happen (see Lederach 2003).
Citations and Suggested Readings
General
- Braithwaite, John (1989). Crime, Shame, and Reintegration. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Burgess-‐Proctor, Amanda. 2006. “Intersections of Race, Class, Gender, and Crime: Future Directions for
Feminist Criminology.” Feminist Criminology 1:27-‐47.
- Catalano, Shannan, Erica Smith, Howard Synder and Michael Rand. 2009. Bureau of Justice Statistics
Selected Findings: Female Victims of Violence. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice.
- Grant, Jaime M., Lisa A. Mottet, Justin Tanis, Jack Harrison, Jody L. Herman, and Mara Keisling. 2011.
Injustice at Every Turn: A Report of the National Transgender Discrimination Survey. Washington D.C.:
National Center for Transgender Equality and National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.
- Katz-‐Wise, Sabra L. and Janet S. Hyde. 2012. Victimization Experiences of Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual
Individuals: A Meta-‐Analysis. The Journal of Sex Research 49(2-‐3):142-‐167.
- Lederach, John Paul (2003), The Little Book of Conflict Transformation , Intercourse, PA: Good Books.
- Savin-‐Williams, Ritch. C. 2006. Who’s Gay? Does It Matter? Current Directions in Psychological Science.
Gender and Crime
- Belknap, Joanne. 2001. The Invisible Woman: Gender, Crime, and Justice. Belmont, CA:
Wadsworth/Thomas Learning.
- Brennan, Tim, Markus Breitenbach, William Dieterich, Emily J. Salisbury, and Patricia van Voorhis. 2012.
“Women’s Pathways to Serious and Habitual Crime A Person-‐Centered Analysis Incorporating Gender
Responsive Factors.” Criminal Justice and Behavior 39(11):1481–1508.
- Chesney-‐Lind, Meda and Lisa Pasko. 2013. The Female Offender: Girls, Women, and Crime. SAGE.
- Chesney-‐Lind, Meda. 2002. “Criminalizing victimization: The unintended consequences of pro-‐arrest
politics for girls and women.” Criminology and Public Policy 2: 81–90.
- Chesney-‐Lind, Meda. 1989. “Girls' Crime and Woman's Place: Toward a Feminist Model of Female
Delinquency.” Crime and Delinquency 35(1): 5-‐29.
- Daly, Kathleen. 1998. “Gender, Crime and Criminology.” Pp. 85-‐108 in Tonry, Michael (Editor), The
Handbook of Crime and Punishment. New York: Oxford University Press.
- Daly, Kathleen and Chesney-‐Lind, Meda. 1988. “Feminism and Criminology.” Justice Quarterly 5(4): 497-‐
- DeHart, Dana D. and Robert Moran. 2015. “Poly-‐Victimization Among Girls in the Justice System
Trajectories of Risk and Associations to Juvenile Offending.” Violence Against Women 21(3):291–312.
- Gilfus, Mary E. 1992. From Victims to Survivors to Offenders: Women’s Routes of Entry and Immersion
into Street Crime. Women & Criminal Justice , 4(1): 63–89.
- Kruttschnitt, Candace. 2013. “Gender and Crime.” Annual Review of Sociology , 39(1), 291–308.
- MacDonald, John M., & Chesney-‐Lind, Meda. 2001. Gender bias and juvenile justice revisited: A multi-‐
year analysis. Crime & Delinquency , 47: 173-‐195.
- Morash, Merry. 2006. Understanding Gender, Crime and Justice. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.
- Schwartz, Jennifer, Meredith Conover-‐Williams and Katie Clemons. 2014. “Thirty Years of Sex
Stratification in Violent Crime Partnerships and Groups.” Feminist Criminology 10(1): 60-‐91.
- Schwartz, Jennifer, Darrell J. Steffensmeier, and Ben Feldmeyer. 2009. “Assessing Trends in Women’s
Violence via Data Triangulation: Arrests, Convictions, Incarcerations, and Victim Reports.” Social
Problems 56.3:494–525.
- Siegel, Jane A. and Linda M. Williams. 2003. “The Relationship Between Child Sexual Abuse And Female
Delinquency And Crime: A Prospective Study.” Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency 40(1):71–
- Steffensmeier, Darrell, and Emilie Allan. 1996. Gender and Crime: Toward a Gendered Theory of Female
Offending. Annual Review of Sociology 22: 459-‐487.
- Steffensmeier, Darrell J. and Robert M. Terry. 1986. “Institutionalized Sexism in the Underworld: A View
From the Inside.” Sociological Inquiry 56(3): 304-‐323.
Sexuality and Crime
- Belknap, Joanne, Kristi Holsinger, and Jani Little. 2012. “Sexual Minority Status, Abuse, and
Self-‐Harming Behaviors Among Incarcerated Girls.” Journal of Child & Adolescent Trauma 5(2):173–85.
- Conover-‐Williams, Meredith. 2014. “The Queer Delinquent: Impacts of Risk and Protective Factors on
Sexual Minority Juvenile Offending in the U.S.” Pp. 449 -‐ 472 in Handbook of LGBT Communities, Crime,
and Justice , edited by Dana Peterson and Vanessa Panfil. New York: Springer.
- Graziano, Juliette and Eric Wagner. 2011. “Trauma Among Lesbians and Bisexual Girls in the
Juvenile Justice System.” Traumatology 17(2):45–55.
- Himmelstein, K. E. W., and H. Brückner. 2010. “Criminal-‐Justice and School Sanctions Against
Nonheterosexual Youth: A National Longitudinal Study.” Pediatrics 127(1): 49–57.
- Holsinger, Kristi and Hodge, Jessica P. 2014. The experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender
girls in juvenile justice systems. Feminist Criminology , 1-‐25.
- Mogul, Joey, Andrea Ritchie, and Kay Whitlock. 2011. Queer (In)justice: The Criminalization of LGBT
People in the United States. Beacon Press.
- Peterson, Dana and Vanessa Panfil, eds. 2014. Handbook of LGBT Communities, Crime, and Justice. New
York: Springer.
- Stanley, Eric A. and Nat Smith, eds. 2011. Captive Genders: Trans Embodiment and the Prison Industrial
Complex. Oakland, CA: AK Press.
