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Encyclopedia of Women and Crime

NCJ Number
186319
Editor(s)
Nicole Hahn Rafter
Date Published
2000
Length
394 pages
Annotation
This reference work presents 240 alphabetically arranged summaries of research findings and other information covering four aspects of women and crime: (1) offenders, offenses, and theories of offending; (2) victims and victimology; (3) policing, courts, and case processing; and (4)punishment and treatment.
Abstract
The entries came from more than 200 contributors. The synopses on crime focus on the types of crime committed by females, the major theories that have been presented over time to explain female criminality, facets of juvenile delinquency, and well-known offenders such as Lizzie Borden and Bonnie Parker. The entries on victims, explanations of victimization, and fear of crime discuss crimes that tend to have female victims, including domestic violence, rape, and stalking, as well as the effects on females of more general offenses such as homicide. Some entries focus on theory; others deal with specific categories of victims, attempts to curtail victimization such as protection orders and victim notification rules, and victim services. Topics related to policing and case processing include community policing, police responses to domestic assault, police occupational stress, the history of women in policing, racism in rape case outcomes, gender discrimination in the juvenile justice system, and theoretical issues such as the chivalry explanation of court outcomes. The entries on the punishment and treatment of female offenders focus on prisons, community-based corrections, rehabilitation, and female correctional personnel. Tables, figures, photographs, index, list of legal cases and legislation, and approximately 1,200 references