gender and crime essay

Gender and Crime

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Gender has been attributed as one of the key factors that act a significant role in the crime patterns and the criminal justice systems. For a very long time, it has become a fact that women and men differ in their rates of committing crimes as well as their victimization pattern experience. However, from this report, we find that the victimization risk of violence among the male adults almost equal to that of female adults.

My perception, however, is different from the findings of this report.

In the society, the female arrests made are always few compared to their male counterparts in virtually all the offences apart from prostitution. This also applies to the other countries concerning the literature available and of the data has been provided. Female are less represented than males when it comes to serious crimes. Since the 1960s in the US, for the offences such as homicide, aggravated assault crime of burglary and other property crimes, the women arrest have been below 10%. From the literature available and personal experience, there are no doubts that the males are more involved in serious offences than their female counterparts. The magnitudes of the offences they commit are also more harmful compared to that of the females. Women violence acts often result in less serious harms and fewer injuries. Their crimes on property in many instances it resulted in less property damage and monetary loss. This can also be attributed to the belief that women are believed to be the weaker sex in the society, and thus their impact on the manual jobs is not that recognized.

Regarding the age and rate of the victimization between the two sexes, the report has it that in both genders the rate of crime is highest while in their early twenties unlike when old. However, in this case, the females in the age bracket of 18-44 showed higher rates of violence victimization compared to men in the same bracket. In this age bracket, women tend to be more active, however past the age of 44 the rate of violent victimization in men is however higher. The can also be attributed to the physical strength of men at this age compared to women. At his age men also tend to be so much pressed in life issues and thus resolve to find money through other ways making them engage in crime. According to the report, they find out that men tend to be physically assaulted way from their homes compared to women. From the physical assaults reported in both male and female, the large percentage of men was attacked while away from their homes. Majority of men tend to go on social events which take place in public places and when provoked the engage physically unlike women who prefer verbal engagement. The male gender in most instances prefers using violence to solve their issues.

However, regarding sexual assault, most of the victims who were sexually assaulted were women. Women are more vulnerable to sexual assaults compared to men. The society also has a negative approach to women in the society and only views them as sexual objects only. The male socialization behaviour is known to promote active individualistic behaviour unlike in women where it evokes virtues such as sharing and a caring attitude among the women.

More important to note is that women offenders tend to their business solo unlike men, and when they gang up with others, the groups are usually small and temporary. Mostly women in the group are usually male accomplice. On the other hand, men are usually dominant in the organized gang’s crime which is usually lethal in their operations. This is the distinction clear with the tendency of men to specialize in gangs and women tend to operate alone. Therefore from the available data and literature review, the female gangs have remained less common at some point they are only imagined and don’t exist in reality.

The criminal justice system leniency towards the female gender gives a hint on the documented lower offending instances by women as compared to men. Likewise, the criminal justice, system tendency to be harsh towards the male gender explains it all how men are into crime more than women.

In most of the instances women have been viewed as a soft target and thus are very prone to assaults compared to men. Their fast reaction in case of a physical assault is that of a panic instead of defending their selves. This makes women the reason of being the obvious target of the many crimes in the society.

Despite the truth that the rule of law applies to men and women equally, there is no guarantee that men and women will be with equal measure. The many ways in which the society and the judicial system respond to react to different kinds of crimes with elements such as politics, ethnicity mental disability, and sex affect the outcome.

To understand this issues better factors such as the gender crime ration, what nature of crime has taken place and the relation of the crime to gender? This is the section the majority of criminologist have focused in their attempts to justify why the male gender is involved in criminal activities more than the men.

Gendered pathways, this explains the case nature and the behaviour of men to women in respect to the process of lawbreaking. Finally, the gendered crime will help explain the qualities of the females and males in causing violence and their overall participation in the committing of the offences. The on the relationship between gender and violence should be expounded especially on the role of women in crime prevention. Most of the women victims in many cases are always related to the accused person. The weapons involved in assaulting the person also vary.

According to the documented report findings, a lot of factors have been associated with being violent crime victims, ranging from stress, injuries and the disruption of the day to a routine. To prevent this person need to know how to conduct themselves in times of stress as well as know how to respond to simple arguments without engaging physically especially for men. The rule of law and the overall approach of the judicial system should be practised equally irrespective of the gender. The law tends to be more lenient towards the female gender even after finding such suspect culpable of committing an offence. However, more research needs to be done so that to enhance our understanding of the relationship between crime and gender and their impact on the criminal justice system.

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Annual Review of Sociology

Volume 22, 1996, review article, gender and crime: toward a gendered theory of female offending.

• Darrell Steffensmeier 1 , and Emilie Allan 2
• View Affiliations Hide Affiliations Affiliations: Department of Sociology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802 Department of Behavioral Sciences, St Francis College, Loretto, Pennsylvania 15940
• Vol. 22:459-487 (Volume publication date August 1996) https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.soc.22.1.459
• © Annual Reviews

Criminologists agree that the gender gap in crime is universal: Women are always and everywhere less likely than men to commit criminal acts. The experts disagree, however, on a number of key issues: Is the gender gap stable or variant over time and across space? If there is variance, how may it best be explained? Are the causes of female crime distinct from or similar to those of male crime? Can traditional sociological theories of crime explain female crime and the gender gap in crime? Do gender-neutral or gender-specific theories hold the most explanatory promise? In this chapter we first examine patterns of female offending and the gender gap. Second, we review the “gender equality hypothesis” as well as several recent developments in theorizing about gender differences in crime. Third, we expand on a gendered paradigm for explaining female crime first sketched elsewhere. We conclude with recommendations for future work.

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Publication Date: 01 Aug 1996

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The Links Between Gender and Crime Essay

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In an effort to understand the causes of crime, researchers have discovered certain crime patterns, linked to age, race, gender, and socioeconomic status. Out of these four categories, gender is the strongest indicator of future criminal behavior – for all societies and even for most categories of crime (Steffensmeier & Allan, 2012, par. 1). The present paper aims to examine the links between gender and crime through an analysis of a sexual assault case.

Several differences set the male and female offending patterns apart. Typically, women are arrested less frequently for almost every crime category, with the exception of prostitution, and they usually represent less than 20 percent of arrests (Steffensmeier & Allan, 2012, par. 9). They are generally guilty of petty property and financial crimes such as larceny, fraud, embezzlement, and theft (Steffensmeier & Allan, 2012, par. 11). At the same time, women are far less likely to be involved in serious physical crimes such as homicide (Steffensmeier & Allan, 2012, par. 10). Even if they do engage in acts of violence, they cause fewer and less severe injuries (Steffensmeier & Allan, 2012, par. 14). Lower crime rates among females sparked considerable interest among researchers who developed a gendered approach to criminology. They have come to believe that five notable differences between the lifestyles of men and women may explain this crime gender gap: moral development, social control, gender norms, physical strength, and sexuality (Steffensmeier & Allan, 2012).

The case that was selected for this paper refers to an infamous gang rape and murder of two teenage girls that took place in Houston in 1993 ( Cantu v. State , n.d.). The girls took a shortcut to return home from a party when they encountered a local gang. The men captured the girls and repeatedly raped them. Upon the realization that the girls could identify their perpetrators, the gang leader Peter Cantu ordered them to be killed, and the men also stole the girls’ belongings to divide them later. Peter Cantu received charges of robbery, kidnapping, and aggravated sexual assault, for which he was sentenced to death. Even though Cantu attempted to appeal his punishment, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals upheld the judgment ( Cantu v. State , n.d.).

The gendered approach to criminology reveals several insights into this case. Obviously, the present crime can, to a large extent, be explained by the perpetrators’ gang membership and thus, a greater propensity toward crime. Apart from that, differences in human sexuality help explain the motives as men are much more likely to be the perpetrators in sexual assault crimes. They also typically exhibit greater physical strength that makes it easier for them to cause harm to their victims, and one’s ability to successfully commit a crime (in this case, overpower the victim) provides stronger motivation to commit it. Apart from the physical traits, sociocultural factors also come into play as risk-taking behavior is typically encouraged in boys. Men are thus willing to take certain risks, especially if it enhances their status within the group (Steffensmeier & Allan, 2012). To sum up, a combination of biological and sociocultural characteristics of men can explain their greater propensity toward rape, including the present case.

Identification of crime patterns is a valuable tool to guide criminologists as it helps them understand and analyze the underlying causes of violent behavior. Consequently, they can develop and implement measures to address these specific issues and reduce the rates of crime and violence in the society.

Cantu v. State . (n.d.). Web.

Steffensmeier, D., & Allan, E. (2012). Gender and crime. Web.

• Criminal Justice: Over Institutional Organization
• An Ethical System in Criminal Justice
• Sexual Assault and Rape: Issues, Theories, and Public Response
• Why Nationalism Is a Gendered Realm
• Positivist, Sociological, Contemporary Criminology
• Theories on Crime
• White Collar Crime Characteristics
• Generalisation of Persons Who Commit Crime
• The Crime Phenomenon: Victimization and Its Theories
• The Biosocial Theory: Key Aspects
• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

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Crime and Gender Roles

Info: 3208 words (13 pages) Essay Published: 31st May 2019

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Females have always committed less crime than men. Previous research has shown that gender roles have some impact on the disparity in crime rates between males and females. Based on this research, I hypothesize that the more in line a male is with traditional gender roles the more likely he is to commit violent crime. However, the more in line a female is with traditional gender roles, the less likely she is to commit violent crime. A survey will be used to test this hypothesis by measuring traditional gender roles and violent crimes committed. By understanding what affects this discrepancy between male and female crime, better preventive measure could be created to bring male crime down.

Introduction

There has always been a disparity in crime rates for males and females. In 2008, according the U.S. Department of Justice, there were about 115,000 females and almost 1.5 million males in prison in the United States (West & Sabol, 2009). This can be seen as a fairly large discrepancy between male and female crime rates. Even though the female arrest rate is increasing at a faster pace than the male rate, women still account for less than 15% of all arrests (Shover, et al. 1979). This gender gap is greatest for serious crime and least for other petty forms of crime (Steffensmeier & Allan, 1996). So why do women commit less crime than men?

The feminist theory contends that gender roles and the expectations associated with each role affecting the crime rates of men and women in a patriarchal society. These gender roles are used as a system of control because people tend to accept the “essential natures” of the sexes that are inherently different (Heimer & De Coster, 1999). Some of these differences are more closely associated with violent behavior than others. Certain characteristics such as aggressiveness, physical strength and competiveness, can be closely aligned with masculinity and criminal behavior (Shover, et al. 1979). Since these characteristics are valued by both crime and masculinity, the dividing line can be a thin one (Oakley, 1972). On the other hand, traditional female roles have been closely tied with submissiveness, weakness and passivity (Heimer & De Coster, 1999). While traditional male roles can be closely associated with criminal behavior, traditional female roles can be seen as contradictory to it. These roles are seen as incompatible with the qualities needed for criminal behavior, which makes it harder for women to gain access to criminal behavior (Steffensmeier & Allan, 1996).

Gender roles have some impact on how people see the world and interact with it. Trying to understand the gender gap in crime should be looked at through how gender roles affect both genders. Using gender roles, I hypothesize that the more in line a male is with traditional gender roles the more likely he is to commit violent crime. However, the more in line a female is with traditional gender roles, the less likely she is to commit violent crime.

Previous Research

There is no contention between criminologists that the gender gap in crime exists. There are, however, some differences in the explanations as to why this gender gap exists. Power control theory, variations of feminism and other theories have all tried to explain why males commit more crime than females. Some theories argue a direct link between gender and crime while others argue an indirect one. Even though much of the information is based on delinquency, it can provide a foundation for understanding adult crime.

First of all, the masculine theory suggests that there is a direct link between gender and crime. Even though the gap between female crime and male crime is getting closer, females still commit less crime in all areas besides prostitution (Steffensmeier & Allan, 1996). Proponents of the masculine theory believe that as females gain more equality within society, they will also become more violent. These changes are attributed to females becoming more masculine in their psychological makeup (Shover, et al. 1979). Women are developing an “imitative male machismo competitiveness” which, in turn, could contribute to the faster rise in crime rates for women (Adler, 1975). It has been suggested that masculinity and criminality are linked because they both share some of the same characteristics and as women internalize more “masculine” qualities, they will become more criminal. These masculine theories suggest a direct link between gender and crime. Shover found that when studying delinquency, girls and boys whose gender expectations were more feminine, the less likely they will be involved in property crime (1979).

Other theoretical literature bodies suggest that instead of gender and crime being directly related, other factors affect the genders differently. It is these factors that affect the genders differently creating the disparity in crime rates. Opportunity to commit crime, social controls and differential associations have all been used to explain why females commit less crime than men.

Historically, female gender roles have not afforded females the opportunity to engage in crime and because of this females have had more social controls placed on them (Shover, et al. 1979). These social controls decrease the opportunity females have to commit crimes. For the most part, boys have more opportunities than men because they are offered more autonomy. Daughters who are raised in strong patriarchal families are subjected to more social control which decreases their preference for risk; while males are given more autonomy and freedom to make choices for themselves which increases their preference for risk (Grasmick, et al. 1996). This means they are subject to more informal social control growing up and because women are rejected access to the public sphere more than males, delinquent acts are less available to them (Hagan, Simpson, & Gillis, 1979). An increase in property crimes by females could be attributed to the fact that as modernization brings more commodities to an area, the opportunity to commit property crime also increases (Hartnagel, 1982). In other words, since women are the main commodity buyer, as more commodities become available in an area, the opportunity increases to commit property offenses.

In addition, according to the power control theory, growing up in a patriarchal family has bearing on the type of social control he/she is subject to. Authority relations involved in work outside the home influence the mother’s and father’s relational power which, depending on the gender, affects the social control placed on the children (Grasmick, et al. 1996). Since girls experience more social control from the family than boy do, they also have stronger familial bonds. These familial bonds create stronger informal social controls which decreases the risk to commit crime. In 1991, when the power control theory was tested, Morash and Chesney-Lind found that gender differences were seen regardless of an egalitarian or patriarchal family structure (Espinosa, Belshaw, & Osho, 2008)

While some criminologists focused on opportunity and control theories applied to gender, Heimer suggested that differential association and gender could explain female and male crime rates. Since differential social organization affects behavior through cultural processes, differential association, can be formulated to fit both males and females (Heimer & De Coster, 1999). With this formulation, gender theories and differential association can work together to explain the gender gap in violent crime. Heimer argues that the definitions that curb females are more indirect and subtle than those that curb boys. The gender gap likely affects gender differences in levels of violent definitions. Boys are more likely to accept more violent definitions than girls which increase their risk for committing crime. Since boys are more likely to externalize aggression, it can translate into increased violence (Steffensmeier, et al. 2006). This greater acceptance of violent definitions can be attributed to males privilaged postion within society (Cambell, 1993). While violent definitions help explain one part of Heimer’s theory, gender roles shed light on the other. When people internalize gender roles they are more likely to act in accodance with them (Heimer & De Coster, 1999). Girls and boys who strongly endorse violent definitions are more likely to commit violent delinquency and girls who endorse gender roles and definitions are less likely to commit violent delinquency (Heimer & De Coster, 1999).

Sex-related attitudinal differences emerge from gender roles in the family and from culturally shared expectations that apply to men and women (Eagly, et al. 2004). The roles that are occupied more by one sex than another produces sex-related expectations because the characteristics required to carry out gender-typical tasks become sterotypical of men and women (Eagly, et al. 2004). The socialization process of males in the United States instills in boys a limiting code of masculinity that links traditional gender roles with violence (Hong, 2000). Aggression research shows that boys are implicated in direct forms of aggression more than girls (Artz, Nicholson, & Magnuson, 2008). Many of the forms of aggression used, especially direct verbal aggression, can be derived from cultural norms that put male aggression congruent with gender expectations (Artz, Nicholson, & Magnuson, 2008). Furthermore, college men who ascribe to more traditional male beliefs reported having a higher rate of unprotected sex, binge drinking and motor vehicle accidents than their less traditional peers (Hong, 2000).

Previous research has shown that gender roles have some impact on the disparity in crime rates between males and females. Based on this research, I hypothesize that the more in line a male is with traditional gender roles the more likely he is to commit violent crime. However, the more in line a female is with traditional gender roles, the less likely she is to commit violent crime.

Methods And Data

The data will be collected in a survey of male and female, undergraduate and graduate students at Chaminade University using non-probability sampling. Using non-probability sampling is not ideal but is necessary with the time and access restrictions placed on the researcher. Since non-probability sampling will be used it can’t be generalized to the general population. Even with this, it should provide some insight into the discrepancy between male and female crime. Under the circumstances, is not possible or plausible to get a sampling frame of the target population. Convenient non-probability sampling is the most feasible sampling method for this situation.

A self-report procedure will be used to gather the information and the participation will be voluntary. The survey will be conducted by the researcher in class rooms during class in which she has permission from the instructor. The surveys will be passed out to all students and the researcher will explain that they can decline to take the survey by leaving it blank. This is done to protect the identity of those who decide to take it. Blank surveys will be removed at a later date and discarded. They will be asked to leave their name off the survey for anonymity purposes. In order to protect the information, they will be kept in a binder that the only the researcher has access.

The survey will be composed of 10 closed-ended questions assessing whether or not the subject has engaged in certain criminal acts. It will also have 5 open ended questions and two likert scales with 5 questions each. Two of the open ended questions will be used to test how a person feels about aggression and violence and the remaining three questions will be used to test how they feel about certain traditional gender roles. Also, a set of demographic questions will be used to gain background on the subject such as gender, age and ethnicity.

Violent crime will be conceptualized as anyone who commits an act which is unlawful and causes harm to another person or property. Furthermore, each individual crime will be defined by the Uniform Crime Report definitions. By using a standardized definition, validity and reliability will hopefully be increased. Defining the acts by these definitions will hopefully reduce confusion as to what the acts as to what the crime actually is. These questions will be asked of different violent acts such as assault, burglary and robbery. Since these questions can be seen as threatening or have social desirability issues, they will be asked in a way to reduce these problems. The questions will not be asked in a way that looks threatening. For example, instead of asking whether or not a person has ever committed an assault, the person will be asked if they ever got in a fist fight.

Also, in order to get a full picture as to the propensity toward violence a person has, a likert scale will also be used to measure this variable. This will be used to test close the subject is in line with violent tendencies. The scale will include situations in which a person could use aggression or not use it. Even if a person has not yet committed a crime, using a likert scale to test violent tendencies will hopefully provide a more complete picture of whether or not a person is likely to commit a violent crime or not.

Gender roles have been conceptualized in many different ways. Using Shover and colleague’s conceptualization, they will be defined as behavioral expectations one has for them, expectations one has of others and plans for the future (Shover, et al. 1979). This includes different characteristics that will be measured using a likert scale of questions. These questions will state traditional gender roles and the subjects will be asked to state where they fall on the scale. A traditional masculinity expectations and traditional femininity expectations scales were created to test how a subject feels about certain traditional roles. According to Shover and colleagues, the traditional masculinity expectations scale constitutes the following:

1. I expect to pay for activities when on a date.

2. I expect to help fix things like the car.

3. If I marry, I would expect to provide most of the income for my family.

4. I expect to ask someone for a date rather than be asked.

5. If I marry, I would expect to take responsibility for major family decisions, such as buying a home or a car.

The traditional femininity expectation scale includes the following:

1. If I marry, I would expect to be mainly responsible for housework, whether working outside the home or not.

2. Before going out at night, I expect to tell my parents where I am going.

3. I expect to help take care of younger children in the family or neighbor-hood.

4. I expect to get married and raise a family rather than get a job in the business world.

5. If I marry, I would expect to move to another city if my spouse changed jobs.

According to Shover, the internal consistency reliability is .83 for masculinity and .56 for femininity (1979).

The data for each gender will be analyzed and presented separately from each other using SPSS. This program will also be used for data management. Statistical analysis will be done on the frequency of crime committed. Correlation between gender and crimes committed will be done as well as correlation between certain gender roles and tendency toward aggression and violence. A t-test will be used to compare the means of the frequency of crime committed to feminine and masculine gender roles.

This research expects to find a positive correlation between masculine gender roles and amount of crime committed. A negative correlation is expected to be seen with feminine gender roles and the amount of crime committed. Depending on the gender, these findings should have a stronger correlation if the subject is male and he has a stronger alliance with traditional roles.

By understanding gender roles and how they affect crime rates, we can better grasp the problem of male and female crime. Using this information, better preventive programs and measures could be created to curb male and female crime. Addressing the socialization process and how one acquires certain beliefs related to gender roles could help create new policies that reduce crime. Stopping the practices in public areas that reinforce certain beliefs could be the first step to creating a truly effective preventive program.

Works Cited

Adler, F. (1975). Sisters in Crime. New York: McGraw- Hill.

Artz, S., Nicholson, D., & Magnuson, D. (2008). Examining Sex Differences in the Use of Direct and Indirect Aggression. Gender Issues , 267-288.

Cambell, A. (1993). Men, Women and Aggression. New York: Basic Books.

Eagly, A. H., Dickman, A. B., Koenig, A. M., & Johannesen-Schmidt, M. C. (2004). Gender Gaps in Sociopolitical Attitudes: A Social Psychological Analysis. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology , 796-816.

Espinosa, E. M., Belshaw, S. H., & Osho, S. (2008). Justice by Gender: Understanding the Role of Gender in Dispostion Decisions Involving Out of Home Placement for Juvenile Offenders. American Journal of Criminal Justice , 267.

Grasmick, H. G., Hagan, J., Blackwell, B. S., & Arneklev, B. J. (1996). Risk Preferences and Partiarchy: Extending Power-Control Theory. Social Forces , 177-191.

Hagan, J., Simpson, J. H., & Gillis, A. (1979). Sexual Stratification of Social Control: Agenda Based Perspective on Crime and Delinquency. British Journal of Sociology , 25-38.

Hartnagel, T. F. (1982). Modernization, Female Social Roles and Female Crime: Across-National Investigation. The Sociological Quartly , 477-490.

Heimer, K., & De Coster, S. (1999). The Gendering of Violent Delinquency. Criminology , 277.

Hong, L. (2000). Toward a Transformed Approach to Prevention: Breaking the Link Between Masculinity and Violence. Journal of College Health , 269.

Oakley, A. (1972). Sex, Gender and Society. New York: Harper & Row.

Shover, N., Norland, S., James, J., & Thornton, W. E. (1979). Gender Roles and Delinquency. Social Forces , 162-175.

Steffensmeier, D., & Allan, E. (1996). Gender and Crime: Toward a Gendered Theory of Female Offending. Annual Review of Sociology , 459-518.

Steffensmeier, D., Zhong, H., Ackerman, J., Schwartz, J., & Agha, S. (2006). Gender Gap Trends for Violent Crimes, 1980-2003: A UCR-NCVS Comparison. Feminist Criminology , 72-98.

West, H. C., & Sabol, W. J. (2009, April 8). Prison Inmates at Midyear 2008- Statistical Tables. Retrieved December 9, 2009, from Bureau of Justice Statistics: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/pdf/pim08st.pdf

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In This Article Expand or collapse the "in this article" section Gender and Crime

Introduction, introductory works.

• General Overviews
• Historical Context
• Gender Differences in Crime
• Gendered Crime Pathways
• Gender and Desistance
• Gendered Crime Rates: Convergence or Divergence
• Early Feminist Critiques of Criminological Theory
• Criminological Theory and Gender
• Victimization
• Debates and Controversies

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Gender and Crime by Sally S. Simpson LAST REVIEWED: 14 December 2009 LAST MODIFIED: 14 December 2009 DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780195396607-0052

In Western cultures, gender and crime, as a subject of intellectual curiosity, did not gain much attention until the late 1960s and the 1970s. Previously, female offenders were an object of curiosity, often understood and treated as an aberration to their sex. As a consequence of the women’s movement, female offenders and, in particular, female victims of male violence, moved front-and-center in the field of criminology. Feminists played a key role in this emergence, launching critical assessments of the field’s neglect, both in terms of empirical research and theoretical developments. These efforts produced a solid body of scholarship that led nonfeminist researchers to acknowledge that gender is a critical factor (some argue “the” critical variable) that distinguishes who participates in crime and who does not. Over time, scholarship shifted away from “women” as a category in favor of intersectional approaches (i.e., gender, race, class, ethnicity, and sexuality), a focus on gender differences, and postmodern theorizing (e.g., discourse analysis, rejection of structure, sexed bodies). Nonetheless, debates about how best to study gender (positivism versus other epistemological approaches), whether males and females have distinct pathways into crime (including violence and the potential link between early victimization and the risk of later criminality and victimization), and the impact of crime prevention policies such as mandatory arrest on female victims remain unresolved.

The field of criminology and criminal justice, like that of other social science disciplines, has been dramatically affected by ideas and challenges brought about by the women’s movement. Scholars classify these influences in terms of “waves” linked to women’s suffrage (first wave), the social movements of the 1960s (second wave), and dissentions and discord within the movement itself (third wave). Distinct types of research are closely associated with these broad historical categories. Contemporary research, beginning in the second wave, emphasized women as research and theoretical subjects ( Heidensohn 1968 ) out of which two distinct conceptualizations emerged ( Daly and Maher 1998 ): real women (women offenders and victims as active agents in their own lives) and women of discourse (the ways in which women are constructed as discursive subjects—see Smart 1992 ). During the third wave, scholars adopted a more heterogeneous perspective by recognizing intersectional differences ( Burgess-Proctor 2006 ) and “gendered” relations ( Heimer and Kruttschnitt 2006 ).

Burgess-Proctor, Amanda. 2006. Intersections of race, class, gender, and crime: Future directions for feminist criminology. Feminist Criminology 1.1: 27–47.

DOI: 10.1177/1557085105282899

Reviews the emergence and importance of “multiracial” feminist criminology, especially with regard to theoretical, methodological, and praxis-related developments.

Daly, Kathleen, and Lisa Maher, eds. 1998. Criminology at the crossroads: Feminist readings in crime and justice . New York: Oxford Univ. Press.

Multifaceted compilation of feminist work organized around emergent themes, including discourse analysis, victimization and criminalization, masculinities and violence, and gender, politics, and justice. A helpful introductory chapter by Daly and Maher navigates the history of feminist criminology.

Heidensohn, Frances. 1968. The deviance of women: A critique and an enquiry. British Journal of Sociology 19.2: 160–175.

DOI: 10.2307/588692

In this classic article, Heidensohn assesses the absence of women from studies of deviance and challenges scholars to study female deviance “as an aspect of the female sex role and its relationship to the social structure.”

Heimer, Karen, and Candace Kruttschnitt, eds. 2006. Gender and crime: Patterns of victimization and offending . New York: New York Univ. Press.

A collection of original empirical and conceptual papers that address some of the current gaps in the gender and crime/victimization literature. Compares feminist constructs with more traditional criminological approaches and integrates criminological knowledge about victimization more generally into violence against women specifically. Examines the role of agency in offending, the link between offending and victimization, and the debate surrounding quantitative versus qualitative approaches to knowledge. Also includes cross-national comparisons. Appropriate for graduate students and academics.

Smart, Carol. 1992. The woman of legal discourse. Social and Legal Studies 1.1:29–44.

DOI: 10.1177/096466399200100103

Explores the ways in which law is gendered, how law is a gendering strategy, and the challenges faced by feminist socio-legal studies. Uses examples from Great Britain.

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Gender and Crime

Annual Review of Sociology, Vol. 39, pp. 291-308, 2013

Posted: 27 Jul 2013

Candace Kruttschnitt

University of Toronto - Department of Sociology

Date Written: July 2013

Beginning with the last review of gender and crime that appeared in the Annual Review of Sociology (1996), I examine the developments in the more traditional approaches to this subject (the gender ratio problem and the problem of theoretical generalization), life course research, and feminist research (gendered pathways, gendered crime, and gendered lives). This review highlights important insights that have emerged in this work on gender and crime, and it considers how this work might be further enriched by drawing on sociological theories that can address how gendered lives shape the impetus and opportunities for offending. This includes work on the context of offending, the learning and expression of emotions, and identity theory.

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Gender and Crime Essay

Gender and Crime Sex is commonly used to describe the innate biological characteristics of humans constituting their femaleness or maleness. Gender on the other hand, covers the social characteristics and usages associated with one sex or the other. Since such roles and customs can vary and be modified it follows that masculine and feminine the terms applied to the respective genders are much more flexible than female and male. In order to cover the subject of gender and crime it is important to explain its prehistory and standing as well as addressing the extensive material which appeared in the modern …show more content…

These studies suggest a correlation between changing perceptions of women by bodies who enforce the criminal law and the increase in recorded female crime. Thirty years ago women were less likely to be suspected of crime, when suspected they were less likely to be change and prosecuted and finally, when prosecuted they were less likely to be convicted than they are today. Today they are more generally seen as being equally capable of committing both legitimate and illegitimate activities . in other words belief in the constitutional idea that women are somehow, physically or psychologically incapable or unlikely to be criminal is weakening . this is reflected in the more than proportionate increase in the number of women in prison. And most of types of crime committed by women are also committed by men and to a large extent both sexes live in the same environment and are subject to the same types of peer group pressures and effects on upbringing. There are a number of different strands of feminism each of which has impacted on criminology in different ways. Liberal feminism views women as an equal part of society. It centers on rights and non-discrimination. Criminology much of the work of this group has been associated with a study of the discriminatory practices of the criminal justice system,

Gender Politics in the Criminal Justice System Essay

• 16 Works Cited

The United States criminal justice system, an outwardly fair organization of integrity and justice, is a perfect example of a seemingly equal situation, which turns out to be anything but for women. The policies imposed in the criminal justice system affect men and women in extremely dissimilar manners. I plan to examine how gender intersects with the understanding of crime and the criminal justice system. Gender plays a significant role in understanding who commits what types of crimes, why they do so, who is most often victimized, and how the criminal justice system responds to these victims and offenders. In order to understand the current state of women and the way in which gender relates to crime and criminal justice, it is first

Gender and Serial Killers Essay

• 5 Works Cited

The stereotype that exists for individuals who commit serial murder is one that mainly includes males of a specific race. However, it is now known that white males are not the only individuals who commit serial murder. Men and women from all racial and ethnic backgrounds and socio-economic statuses have been found to be serial murderers. Although this information has been presented to society, the cultural schema of the white male serial killer is still prevalent. The assumptions that involve serial murderers often include two aspects, the serial murderer is male and the serial murder is a type of “lust murder”, often involving sexual crimes by a sadist (Keeney and Heide, 1995). Keeney and Heide (1994) define serial murder to be the

The Treatment Of Women Within The Criminal Justice System

There have been many changes in the treatment of offenders by the Criminal Justice System in England and Wales, particularly the treatment of female offenders. The handling of women within the criminal justice system has been closely tied to their social characteristics, and to what might be described as their ‘social construction’. On the other hand, women who compromise more than half of the world’s population, account for only 15% of criminal activity and as a consequence, relatively little attention has been given to them. This essay will explore how this has changed from a historical point of view to modern times, with exploration from cross-culture comparisons and an overview of the treatments of females in prisons.

Women in Law Enforcement Essay

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Gender inequality still plays a huge role in today’s society. Women comprise only a small percentage of the local law enforcement agencies across the nation. Women have been a part of law enforcement since the 20th century but have only been noticed within the last 40 years. Back in the 1970’s women rarely held positions in law enforcement and if they did it was mainly clerical/desk positions. Even though the amount of women in law enforcement today has increased, women still only make up roughly around 13 percent of the law enforcement work force (Public). Women can make such an impact in the Law Enforcement field if given a fair chance but they may face many problems when doing so. Some say that women don’t belong, while others suggest

Essay On Women In Criminal Justice

A while ago when someone thinks of careers in criminal justice, they most likely imagine men in any positions that come to mind. Maybe because most feel the field of criminal justice is unsafe, stressful, and unpredictable. Before 1972, the number of women employed in the criminal justice system as police officers, correctional officers, lawyers, and judges was a small number. This is understandable: statistics from a study conducted by the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs – Bureau of Justice Statistics show that men outnumber women in all areas of federal law enforcement, in most places making up at least 75 percent of the workforce. Now according to the United States Department of Labor, women make up 46.8% of the US workforce.

Implications of Feminist Criminology for Criminal Justice

All feminist theorists share a common focus on gender inequality; however feminism can be described as a set of perspectives rather than a single viewpoint (Strider, N.d.). Therefore, challenging gender biasness in the criminal justice system from the feminist perspective can take many forms given the fact that there a lot of sources of gender inequality in the system. For example, the early theories of criminal behavior largely ignored gender all together and as a result the field has become largely male dominated and males have also been shown to commit more crimes than women on average.

What Has Feminism Feminist Criminology?

In this essay it will focus on feminist contribution to criminology. It will cover different aspects such as: early criminology and the female offender, Lombroso and Ferrero’s views, W. I Thomas and Otto Pollak’s views, sociological criminology and the continued invisibility of women, the development of modern feminist criminology as well as the female concept of crime, Carol Smart and feminist criminology, contemporary feminist criminology, understanding women’s involvement in crime and lastly women, prison and punishment.

Describe the Basis of Feminist Criminology

I believe that this train of thought addresses the cause of criminal behavior in women because many viewpoints that fall under the umbrella of feminism are given as different causes of criminal conduct in women .Feminist criminology lacks evidence of a woman’s crime. Women's activist theories not only strive to elucidate criminal wrong doing, exploitation and additionally join together theory with practice to create more impartial answers for the crime at hand.

Gender Norms And Female Deviance Essay

Theories that relate to gender norms as the cause of deviance of women take off from the view that the power relations in society which is dominated by men result to pushing women into deviant behavior through victimization, role entrapment, and economic marginality (Seguino 2007). It is the case that for sociologists coming from this perspective, gender norms bring about inequality. And such inequality plays a crucial role into leading women into deviant behavior. Studies have shown that struggling on the streets leads to other offenses and crimes (Chesney Lind 1989) and this includes prostitution and drug-dealing (English

Essay on Female Serial Killers

Since 1970, there has been an increasing and alarming rise 138 percent of violent crimes committed by women. Still, while the equivalent percentage compared to male violence is small 15 percent to 85 percent the fact that the numbers have elevated so drastically points to something changing in society.

The Media Of Female Offenders

Criminality is still assumed to be a masculine characteristic and women lawbreakers are therefore observed to be either ‘not women’ or ‘not criminals’ (Worrall 1990, p. 31). Female offenders are hallmarked for tireless and inescapable coverage if they fit into the rewarding newsworthy categories of violent or sexual. It is always important to note the reason for overrepresentation of women criminals in the media. “Women who commit serious offences are judged to have transgressed two sets of laws: criminal laws and the laws of nature” (Jewkes 2011, p. 125). Such women are hence “doubly deviant and doubly damned” (Lloyd, 1995). When women commit very serious crimes, such as murder, they attract

Female Offenders Essay

The number of women incarcerated is growing at a rapid pace. This calls for a reevaluation of our correction institutions to deal with women’s involvement in crime. Increasing numbers of arrests for property crime and public order offenses are outpacing that of men. The “War on Drugs” has a big influence on why our prisons have become overcrowded in the last 25 years. Women are impacted more than ever because they are being convicted equally for drug and other offenses. Female criminal behavior has always been identified as minor compared to Male’s criminal behavior. Over the years women have made up only small part of the offender populations. There is still only a small

Feminism And The Criminal Justice System

According to Lilly, Cullen, and Ball (232) Feminist theory has been on the back burner of modern criminology until the late 19th century. As with the other criminology theories there are many thoughts and ideas on why females commit crimes. In the beginning the theories seem to revolve around the victimization of the female gender. Then criminologist took a look at female delinquency, prostitution, and gender inequality in the criminal justice system. Lilly (233) wrote that Lombroso used physiological traits to determine what type of women would commit crime. Lombroso also argued that the women that committed the most crime were more masculine then the women who did not commit crime. He used physiological immobility, and passivity to make the argument. Lilly (235) also wrote that Sigmund Freud believed the reason women committed crime was because they has “penis envy”. Since women were physical different than men, women would become more aggressive trying to act like the male counterpart in order to fit in with the status quo.

Essay on Feminist Criminology

Feminist criminology emerged out of the realisation that criminology has from its inception centred on men and the crimes they commit. Although it can be argued female criminality was researched by Lombroso, as far back as 1800’s, female crime, it’s causes and the impact in which it had on society was largely ignored by the criminological futurity. Those Criminologist who did attempt to research female crime such as Thomas and Pollak were not only very damning of women but were also very condescending, choosing to stereotype them as either Madonna or whore (Feinman).

Female Criminality

• 11608 Words

Female Criminality consists of several outdated statistics regarding the rise of female offending. However, in viewing the current research on the subject, it appears that the overall theme of this dissertation's discussion is still relevant despite changes in the accompanying statistics as seen in viewing the following topics: the rise in female offending; the continual rise that females are committing more crimes than men; and the types of crimes that women are committing. In viewing Bruce Gross's 2009 article, "Battle of the Sexes: The Nature of Female Delinquency," as well as Elizabeth Cauffman's 2008 article, "Understanding the Female Offender," one can begin to see where current statistics regarding the female criminal lie.

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Women, Gender, and Crime: A Text/Reader, Third Edition  presents issues of gender, crime, and criminal justice in context through edited research articles enhanced by brief authored sections. Each article is carefully edited to demonstrate the application of the concepts presented in the text. Author Stacy Mallicoat brings all the content together by highlighting underlying themes of race and diversity, helping students gain a better understanding of women as victims, offenders, and criminal justice professionals.  Click here  to purchase the book or order a review copy.

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Rhem Rick Corpuz

Laden Yalman

The aim of this essay is to examine the contributions of feminist theories and research on masculinities to our understanding of crime, deviance and its control. In order to answer the question firstly, the emergence of feminism in the discipline, as well as the way in which female offenders were presented and understood in early criminological theory and research, will be examined. Then, some of the variety of work undertaken within feminist criminology and the criticisms they provided to the previous theories will be putted together. Secondly, research on masculinities and their development in criminology will be considered in order to define their impact on the discipline. Finally, the criticisms of both feminist theories and research on masculinities will be documented to conclude.

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Gender And Crime Essay Samples

Type of paper: Essay

Topic: Criminal Justice , Theory , Gender , Social Issues , Women , Crime , Life , Control

Words: 1900

Published: 03/21/2020

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Introduction

Scholars have developed theories of criminology with an aim of giving clarifications behind the motives of committing a crime by human beings. These theories attempt to give clarifications as to why the rate of crime differs between the male and female genders, between the high class and lower class, and even why the crime rate is dominant among teenagers and among young adults. The wide literature that has been written over this topic, there is not a single theory, which has been able to give a comprehensive explanation of the motive behind the crime among a given population. Generally in the society, men are known to commit more crimes as compared to women due to the various characteristics and the difference in the roles of these two genders (Chesney-Lind, & Shelden, 1998). In the US, men are known to commit more serious crimes. Among the major causes leading to arrest of the American male population include; breaking into buildings, stealing of third parties’ properties, and the use of weapons in violent criminal activities. Other minor cases leading to their arrests include drunk driving and drug abuse. In order to give an in-depth explanation of the above claims, this paper is going to discuss three criminology theories (Self Control, General Strain, and Life Course). This will enable readers to understand why males commit more crimes than females.

Why males commit more crimes than females

In the US, arrest data show a significance difference between male and female delinquency, whereby, the status offenses by women is 27.5% and 10% for men (Mason, & Windle, 2002). Men and women are arrested for various reasons. However, there are more incidences of females being arrested for minor crimes like prostitution or running away from home. Similarly, men are often arrested for more serious crimes, for example, drugs, robbery, and other violent activities. Research shows that the population of men involved in crime is higher than that of women and that men tend to last longer in criminal activities than women as opposed to women. The annual mean of homicide offenses committed by males is up to 14 times more likely than that of women (U.S. Department of Justice, 2005). Equally, 75% of crimes that are committed by females are minor offenses, while between 15-18% of crimes committed by males involve the use of weapons (U.S. Department of Justice, 1999). Statistics from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (Bureau of Statistics, 1997), shows that members of the male gender more than five times more likely to walk around with hand guns as compared to the female gender. The statistics showed a ratio of 16:3 for males and females who carry handguns. Further statistics show that males are three times more likely to engage in a gang than females. According to Shelden (2006), men are also arrested for drug and theft-related cases than women in the US. In the US, men are known to commit more serious crimes. Among the major cases leading to arrest of the American male population include; breaking into buildings, stealing of third parties’ properties, and the use of weapons in violent criminal activities. Other minor cases leading to their arrests include drunk driving and drug abuse. Despite the above statistics, it is a fact that both the female and male genders commit different degree of criminal activities at different rates. It is also true that most criminal cases are committed by the two genders are far more than the ones that are reported or are in the records of the authorities. Females commit more, but minor criminal offenses while the male gender commit more crimes that are serious.

Theories of Delinquency

As aforementioned, this paper is going to discuss three major criminal theories of delinquency Self Control, General Strain, and the Life Course in order to explain the gender difference in commission of the crime. The first theory is the General Strain theory, which was developed by Agnew, and it states that a crime is caused by strains that one faces in life. Therefore, in the effort to reduce these strains, an individual is likely to engage in criminal activities. On the other hand, the Self Control theory of crime states that crime is caused by the inability of an individual to control his own self. This is due to lack of self-control which leads to the inability to develop skills to cope appropriately with individual desires of acquiring something in life. Finally, the Life Course theory of crime rationalizes an individual’s desistance from criminal activities. Desistance is caused by events like employment, military tasks or marriage. - General Strain Theory Agnew developed this Strain theory, and it states that a crime is caused by strains that one faces in life. When an individual is not treated as he expects in the society, he is under pressure or rather some sort of strain, which forces him to engage in non-conformist conduct (Chesney-Lind, & Shelden, 1998). One's coping skills like emotions and personality are influenced by internal (i.e. emotions) and external (i.e. delinquent peers) environmental factors, and they determine how well an individual will cope with their strains. These causes’ three major types of strain, for example, losing positive stimuli, availability of negative stimuli and failure to achieve the goals and objectives that are valuable. In such circumstances, an individual will fail to recognize the legitimate me ways with which he is supposed to acquire his means of livelihood, for example, the material goods he needs for survival. Persons coping skills will determine whether they engage in committing crime or not. Individuals with positive coping skills will not engage in crime while those with negative coping skills will engage in crime (Chesney-Lind, & Shelden, 1998). If the personality traits of an individual are under strain, one may react angrily, an event which may lead to delinquency. Despite this, this reaction can be controlled, and this is what determines if one will actually engage in criminal activities. - Self-control Theory of Crime It was developed by Hirschi and Gottfredson in order to enhance the Social Control Theory of crime. The proponents of this theory argue that the ability to control oneself from compulsive reaction will eventually lead to restraining from criminal activities (Makhaie, Silverman, & Le Grange, 1999). This requires one to time to think and compose himself in the event of provocation. The developers of this theory refer to the crime as an act of fraud or force that one engages in due to self-interest. Ale is known to have little or no self-control in the society. Therefore, with regards to this, male is known to be the victims of crimes aimed at achieving their persona gains and interests. Due to this nature of men, they engage in drug abuse in order to get instant gratification, they carry around handguns for the purpose of self-defence or even to use it to terrorize their targets. - Life Course Theory of Crime This criminal theory explains that criminal activities begin from childhood and goes on into adulthood. This theory focuses on how antisocial and offensive behaviors develops among the various groups of people. The proponents of this theory explain that there are several risk factors, which affect people as they grow at different stages of their lives, for example, bad neighbourhoods, poor parental guidance and criminal opportunities (Sampson, & Laub, 2003). Men are the most vulnerable gender to these factors and in the event that they find themselves in these circumstances, they are very likely to engage in criminal activities. This theory brings forward the concept of trajectory, which is the path of development over an individual’s life, and it is made up of long-term attitudes and behaviors of a person. It also brings in the concept of transition in the life of an individual, and it is made up of events like marriage or employment. The two concepts causes turning points, which are changes in the life of an individual. This theory is able to give an explanation of the gender difference in commission of criminal acts. This can be done by analysing the significance that the two genders place on the marriage and employment. The lifestyles and the behavior of the male gender are highly dependent on the trajectories and transitions (Sampson, & Laub, 2003). If a male gender is exposed to the aforementioned negative factors of life, it is very likely that he will conform to the antisocial behavior leading to instances of crime. Equally, a man who is not employed or married will live a life full of frustrations and in the end, his lack of self-control will lead him to engage in criminal activities. On the other hand, the female gender, place a very great significance and highly committed in the event that they are married or are in employment. When a woman is married or is in the employment sector, her chances of engaging in crime are greatly reduced as a result of their commitments to duties that come along with these responsibilities. This is mainly because women are more responsive to romantic activities than men. It is also difficult for the female gender to engage in crime in their teenage because of the high moral expectation that the society has placed on them. A woman whom is a criminal risk losing her partner, thus, the moral standards of women are higher than that of men regardless of the life course they are exposed to.

In conclusion, criminal activities are committed by both female and male genders, however, the male gender commits more crime than the female gender. There are several theories that explain the reason behind these motives. However, there is no one single theory that gives a comprehensive explanation. This criminal theory explains that criminal activities begin from childhood and goes on into adulthood. This theory focuses on how antisocial and offensive behaviors develops among the various groups of people. This theory argues that the ability to control oneself from compulsive reaction will eventually lead to restraining from criminal activities. This requires one to time to think and compose himself in the event of provocation. The Strain Theory of Crime states that crime is caused by strains that one faces in life. Female gender are known to commit less serious crimes while the male gender commits more serious crimes. The environmental factors are the major contributors to criminal activities.

Agnew, R. (1999). A General Strain Theory of Community Differences in Crime Rates. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency. 36, 123-155. Chesney-Lind, M., and Shelden, R. (1998). Girls, Delinquency, and Juvenile Justice. Belmont, CA: West/Wadsworth. Makhaie, R., Silverman, R., and Le Grange, T. (1999). Self-Control and Social Control: An Examination of Gender, Ethnicity, Class, and Delinquency. Canadian Journal of Sociology. 25(1), 35-59. Mason, A., & Windle, M. (2002). Gender, Self-Control, and Informal Social Control in Adolescence: A Test of Three Models of the Continuity of Delinquent Behavior. Youth and Society. 33(4), 479-514. Sampson, R. and Laub, J. (2003). Life-Course Desisters? Trajectories of Crime Among Delinquent Boys Followed to Age 70. Criminology. 41(3), 555-593. Shelden, R. (2006). Delinquency and Juvenile Justice in American Society. Long Grove, IL: Waveland Press, Inc. U. S., Department of Justice. (1999). Bureau of Justice Statistics. Washington: Government Printing Office.

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Gender, Crime and Criminal Justice

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Special Issue Information

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A special issue of Social Sciences (ISSN 2076-0760). This special issue belongs to the section " Gender Studies ".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 December 2018) | Viewed by 19976

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Special issue editor.

Dear Colleagues,

A great deal of theoretical and empirical work has established that gender is one of the strongest, and most persistent, correlates of criminal offending and victimization. This association holds across time and across space. Additionally, gender and gendered views can shape law making itself, influencing the criminalization and stigmatization of behaviors, which can further integrate gendered cultural structures and offending. Simply, if one wants to understand crime (be it offending, victimization, or criminalization), one must understand its gendered nature. By and large, in the contemporary era, men are responsible for the vast majority of serious criminal offending and, with a few exceptions, are also most often the victims of serious violent crimes. Women who do offend often find themselves restricted to more feminized crimes, or to different enactment approaches. Yet, there is also a sizable amount of gender overlap in motivation, enactment, and other forms of offending and victimization behavior. There are ample opportunities to enrich our understanding how gender operates at the macro and the micro level to mold crime and criminality.

This Special Issue intends to advance current discussions on gender and crime; it welcomes contributions that expand our understanding at all levels of analysis of: 1) the relationships between gender and offending, 2) the relationships of gender and victimization, 3) gender neutral or aspects of offending or victimization where there is an overlap or high degree of similarity in gender experiences, 4) gendered criminalization within law making, and 5) methodological issues related to the study of gender and crime. Due to the intersectional and interdisciplinary nature of studying the intersection of gender and crime, papers from relevant social sciences are welcomed, as are all theoretical, epistemological, and methodological approaches.

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• gender and crime
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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Unexpected judgments: the role of gender identity and provocation on blame and affect in a mock jury paradigm.

• 1 Department of Psychology, Oberlin College, Oberlin, OH, United States
• 2 Department of Psychology, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, United States

Introduction: Panic defenses are a form of legal defense positing that a defendant is less culpable for their crime because of an extreme emotional reaction. However, limited research has examined the use of panic defenses when the victim is a transgender individual.

Methods: In two studies (Total N = 995) previously existing scales and vignettes were used to evaluate perceptions of panic defenses when the victim was a transgender woman, transgender man, or a gay man. Study 1 ( N = 557) used a 2 (sexual provocation or non-sexual provocation) x 3 (transgender woman, transgender man, or gay man victim) design to evaluate perceptions of victim blame, negative affect, and perception that the crime was a hate crime.

Results: Contrary to demographic data trends, Study 1 found that transgender women were rated more positively as victims, were blamed less than transgender men or gay men, and that the crime was more likely to be labeled as a hate crime. Study 2 ( N = 438) was a replication of Study 1. While the results were largely non-significant, the trend in means was in the same direction as the findings of Study 1.

Discussion: We argue that these findings, despite not being in line with broader data on the topic, are important evidence that anti-transgender research, particularly in mock jury settings, may need to reimagine existing designs and vignettes to understand rates of violence and discrimination toward transgender communities.

Introduction

In 2002, 17-year-old Gwen Araujo was murdered by four teenage boys based on her identity as a transgender woman. During the trial, the attorneys of two of the defendants argued that learning Araujo's transgender identity provoked the defendants to murder Araujo in the heat of passion, a defense known as the transgender panic defense. The two defendants were convicted of a lesser sentence of second-degree murder and were found not to have committed a hate crime, suggesting the defense may have been partially successful ( Lee and Kwan, 2014 ).

Unfortunately, Araujo's case is not unique. Transgender individuals are more than four times as likely as their cisgender counterparts to experience violent crimes ( The Williams Institute, 2021 ). Although there is no difference in overall rates of physical violence between transgender men and women ( The Williams Institute, 2021 ), transgender women are murdered at higher rates than transgender men ( Mallory et al., 2021 ). Given the prevalence of violence toward both transgender communities, public acceptance of legal defenses such as the transgender panic defense in the United States are particularly important to understand.

LGBTQ+ panic defenses

The transgender panic defense is part of a larger set of legal defenses known as “provocation defenses,” which argue that a defendant lost self-control in response to an extreme emotional reaction ( Cheyne and Dennison, 2005 ). Historically, LGBTQ+ panic defenses have been used to argue that the defendant is less culpable for their crime based on the extreme emotional reaction upon learning the victim's gender or sexual identity ( Chen, 2000 ; Lee and Kwan, 2014 ; Tomei and Cramer, 2016 ). In the United States, LGBTQ+ panic defenses are still admissible as a legal defense strategy in 34 states and 5 territories ( Movement Advancement Project, 2023 ).

Although the LGBTQ+ community makes up about 5.6% of the adult United States population, members of the LGBTQ+ community are disproportionately represented in hate crime statistics. In 2019, 19.4% of hate crimes were motivated by discrimination against the victim's gender or sexual identity ( Hate Crimes, 2023 ). The full numbers on frequency of violence against the LGBTQ+ community may be even higher than the figures reported by official sources due to underreporting ( Holden, 2020 ). LGBTQ+ panic defenses provide a legal loophole for anti-LGBTQ+ violence by reducing charges for defendants in 32.7% of cases where the defense was employed ( Mallory et al., 2021 ; Andresen, 2024 ). Although notable research has examined perceptions of the gay panic defense, research on transgender panic defenses is extremely limited.

Anti-transgender prejudice

Within the LGBTQ+ community, transgender individuals, regardless of their sexual orientation, experience the highest rates of violence and discrimination. Transgender people are more than 2.5 times more likely to experience violence than their cisgender sexual minority counterparts ( Truman and Morgan, 2022 ). Transgender women are particularly likely to experience violence because of their identity; 87% of the murders of transgender individuals evaluated by the Williams Institute were murders of transgender women ( Mallory et al., 2021 ).

Primary emotions of anger and disgust contribute to prejudice toward gender and sexual minorities ( Mackie et al., 2000 ; Huffaker and Kwon, 2016 ). However, previous research on attitudes about transgender individuals demonstrates that anti-transgender attitudes tend to be more extreme and more negative than attitudes toward cisgender gay men or lesbians ( Norton and Herek, 2013 ). Moreover, attitudes toward transgender women may be more negative compared to transgender men ( Totton and Rios, 2021 ). Negative attitudes may expand to other consequential beliefs as well. Previous research has shown that anti-transgender attitudes also correlate with higher levels of victim blame ( Thomas et al., 2016 ). Transgender individuals, and particularly transgender women, may face a compounding discrimination within the legal system because they are subject to higher rates of violence and more negative attitudes from others, which may in turn impact perceptions of their victimhood.

Previous research on attitudes toward LGBTQ+ panic defenses

Although research on the use of transgender panic defenses is limited, research has explored attitudes about the use of the gay panic defense. Prior research on the gay panic defense highlights acceptance for the use of the defense in certain circumstances. Specifically, findings demonstrate that mock jurors engage in greater levels of victim blaming when the murder took place in a more general setting (a “local” bar rather than a gay bar) and when the victim had made a sexual advance toward the perpetrator (i.e., a sexual provocation; Plumm et al., 2010 ). Making a sexual advance may be perceived by jurors as taking an action that “facilitated” the crime and thus may lead to greater victim blame or lower defendant blame ( Kelley, 1987 ; Plumm et al., 2010 ). Moreover, research has demonstrated that political conservatives are less punitive toward defendants when the gay panic defense is employed ( Salerno et al., 2015 ), and that homophobia levels were correlated with a greater acceptance of the use of the gay panic defense ( Michalski and Nunez, 2020 ). Finally, previous research has found that homophobia is related to more lenient sentencing lengths in a gay-panic mock jury study ( Kraus and Ragatz, 2011 ). Taken together, this previous work demonstrates a willingness of participants to accept the use of the gay panic defense as a mitigating factor in certain circumstances (e.g., when the victim makes a sexual advance, when the crime is committed outside of a “queer space,” and amongst conservative and/or homophobic participants).

The current study

The current research evaluates attitudes toward transgender and gay victims in a mock jury paradigm where a panic defense is used. Given that attitudes toward transgender individuals of any sexual orientation tend to be more extreme and more negative than attitudes toward cisgender gay men or lesbians ( Norton and Herek, 2013 ; Totton and Rios, 2021 ) we anticipate that participants will show greater leniency toward defendants using the transgender panic defense than those using the gay panic defense. Providing some level of support for this, recent research demonstrated that participants exposed to the transgender panic defense were more lenient in their convictions than participants exposed to a control condition ( Michalski et al., 2022 ).

Moreover, since murder rates are notably higher among transgender women than either gay men or transgender men ( Holden, 2020 ; Hate Crimes, 2023 ), and since both transgender women and men experience higher rates of violence than their cisgender queer counterparts ( Mallory et al., 2021 ; Truman and Morgan, 2022 ) it is important to understand perceptions of transgender women and transgender men separately as victims. No research to our knowledge has examined differences in acceptance of the transgender panic defense in comparison to the gay panic defense or examined difference in the use of the transgender panic defense with transgender women vs. transgender men. This study uses previously existing scales and adapted vignettes from research on the gay panic defense aims to fill that gap.

H1: Previous research suggests that for groups considered to be outgroups in society, anger and disgust are primary emotions that may drive negativity against them ( Mackie et al., 2000 ; Taylor, 2007 ; Huffaker and Kwon, 2016 ). Given previous research demonstrating that transgender individuals, and particularly transgender women and viewed more negatively than gay men ( Norton and Herek, 2013 ; Totton and Rios, 2021 ) we hypothesize that mock jurors will show the highest levels of negative affect (as measured by anger and disgust) toward the transgender woman, followed by transgender man, with the lowest levels of negative affect toward the gay man as a victim.

H2: Given previous research demonstrating the role of provocation by Plumm et al. (2010) , we anticipate that participants will have more negative affect about the victim when a sexual provocation (rather than a non-sexual provocation) is made. A sexual advance (provocation) may be viewed as “facilitating” the aggressive act, thus increasing negativity toward the victim ( Kelley, 1987 ; Plumm et al., 2010 ).

H3: Similarly, given that negative attitudes are correlated with victim blame toward transgender individuals ( Thomas et al., 2016 ) we hypothesize that mock jurors will show the highest levels victim blame when the victim is a transgender woman, followed by transgender man, with the lowest levels of victim blame toward the gay man.

H4: Given previous research demonstrates that provocation may be viewed as “facilitating” the aggressive act ( Kelley, 1987 ) and may lead to greater levels of victim blame ( Plumm et al., 2010 ), we anticipate that participants will blame the victim more in the sexual provocation condition than the non-sexual provocation condition.

H5: In reverse of our predictions for the victim, we hypothesize that participants will have the lowest levels of negative affect toward the defendant when the victim is a transgender woman, followed by transgender man, with the highest negative affect toward defendants who murdered a gay man.

H6: Similarly, we hypothesize that participants will view the defendant as less blameworthy for the murder when the victim is a transgender woman, followed by transgender man, with the highest levels defendant blame toward defendants who murdered a gay man.

H7: Considering past findings that participants have higher levels of prejudice toward transgender women in particular ( Totton and Rios, 2021 ) and that participants are less likely to view a crime as a hate crime when they have higher levels of prejudice ( Michalski and Nunez, 2020 ) we hypothesize that participants will be least likely to rate the crime as a hate crime in the transgender woman condition, and most likely to rate the crime as a hate crime in the gay man condition.

H8: Given that previous research has found that sexual prejudice is related to sentencing lengths ( Kraus and Ragatz, 2011 ) and that transgender women experience greater levels of prejudice than transgender men or gay men ( Totton and Rios, 2021 ), we hypothesized that defendants who murdered a gay man would receive the longest sentence length recommendation, followed by transgender men, followed by transgender women.

Although we explored the relationship between conditions (sexual provocation or not) with all variables, as well as the interaction between conditions (gender and provocation conditions) we did not have a-priori hypotheses about the interactions between variables or the relationship between provocation and the additional variables (e.g., sentencing length, hate crime perceptions, or attitudes toward the defendant). Indeed, previous research failed to find a relationship between provocation condition and hate crime perception ( Plumm et al., 2010 ).

Study 1 methods

Participants.

Participants were 775 adults residing in the United States (Mean age = 30.9 years old, SD = 10.6 years) recruited through Prolific.com, an online survey website. The initial sample included 329 male participants (42.1%), 444 female participants (56.9%), and 2 non-binary/third gender participants (0.3%). Non-binary/third-gender ( n = 2) and transgender ( n = 12) participants were excluded from the study. Two-hundred and 18 responses were excluded because participants either did not complete the survey ( N = 56) or because they failed the manipulation check ( N = 162), leaving 557 participants in the final analysis. Overall, participants rated their political orientation as slightly more liberal (M = 3.64, SD = 1.99) on a scale from 1 (liberal) to 7 (conservative). A sensitivity analysis using G * Power 3.1 ( Faul et al., 2009 ) demonstrated that this was a sufficient sample for a 2 × 3 design, to detect medium effects ( f = 0.25) with 80% power and an alpha of 0.05.

Procedure and materials

First, participants provided demographic information including political orientation, gender identity, sexual orientation, and age. Demographics were asked at the beginning of the study so that transgender and non-binary participants could be excluded. Previous research suggests that placement of demographics does not meaningfully impact responses throughout the survey ( Drummond et al., 2008 ; Teclaw et al., 2012 ).

Next, all participants read jury instructions based on previous mock jury research ( Salerno et al., 2015 ). These instructions can be viewed in the Supplementary material . Next, participants were randomly assigned to one of six vignettes. After reading their assigned vignette, all participants answered a series of pre-existing scales and questions regarding blame of the defendant and victim, affect toward the victim and defendant, and the extent to which they considered the vignette to be indicative of a hate crime. The vignettes and measure are described below and listed fully in the Supplementary material .

Participants were asked to read one of six randomly assigned vignettes in accordance with the 3 (gender identity: transgender woman, transgender man, gay man) x 2 (sexual provocation or non-sexual provocation) between-subjects design. In each vignette, a cisgender male defendant was provoked, and committed a homicide. The victim, either a transgender woman, transgender man, or a gay man, provoked the defendant either by insulting the defendant's wife and yelling at the defendant or by making a sexual advance on the defendant by placing the defendant's hand on their genitalia. Each of the six vignettes was an adapted version from Salerno et al.'s (2015) study. After completing general questions, participants were asked to indicate the victim's gender or sexual orientation as a manipulation check.

Juror verdict and sentencing

Participants were asked to indicate whether they would convict the defendant of murder ( n = 259), manslaughter ( n = 292), or neither ( n = 6). They were then asked to provide a sentence corresponding to their verdict decision using a sliding scale ranging from 0 to 50 years (50 being a life sentence).

Perceptions of the defendant and the victim blame

Participants then completed a 5-item perception of the defendant and victim blame scale from Michalski and Nunez (2020) [e.g., please indicate the extent to which you think the defendant was violent or non-violent on a scale ranging from 1 (extremely violent) to 7 (extremely non-violent) ] ( M = 5.58, SD = 1.09, α = 0.82). Participants then answered identical questions about their perception of the victim ( M = 3.90, SD = 1.29, α = 0.83).

Negative affect toward the victim and defendant

Next, participants completed a two-item measure from Michalski and Nunez (2020) that assessed participants' anger and disgust toward the actions of the victim on a scale ranging from 1 (not angered/disgusted at all) to 7 (extremely angered/disgusted; M = 3.71, SD = 1.50). These questions were then repeated for the defendant ( M = 5.51, SD = 1.37). Correlational analyses indicated that anger and disgust were highly correlated (0.77 for the defendant responses and 0.79 for the victim).

Hate crime perception

Finally, all participants were asked to rate the extent to which they perceived the crime to be indicative of a hate crime in a single item measure ( Michalski and Nunez, 2020 ; rated from 1= strongly disagree; 7 = strongly agree).

All materials for both studies can be found in the Supplementary material .

Study 1 results

Statistical analyses.

SPSS version 27 was used to conduct a series of univariate analyses of variance (ANOVA) tests. In each ANOVA, political orientation and participant gender were included as covariates. All interactions were non-significant and are presented in the Supplementary material for brevity.

Negative affect toward the victim

H1: victim gender.

There was a significant effect of victim gender on negative affect toward the victim ( F 2, 548 = 8.05, p < 0.001, η p 2 = 0.029). However, contrary to Hypothesis 1, participants had significantly less negative affect toward transgender women (M = 3.40, SE = 0.10) as victims in comparison to transgender men (M = 3.97, SE = 0.11; p < 0.001) or gay men (M = 3.84, SE = 0.10; p = 0.003). There was no difference between negative affect toward transgender men and gay men ( p = 0.386).

H2: provocation

In line with Hypothesis 2, participants had more negative affect toward the victim in the sexual provocation condition (M = 4.12, SE = 0.08) than the non-sexual provocation (M = 3.36, SE = 0.09; F 2, 548 = 38.84, p < 0.001, η p 2 = 0.066).

Perceptions of victim blame scale

H3: victim gender.

Victim gender had a significant effect on participants' levels of victim blame ( F 2, 548 = 8.15, p < 0.001, η p 2 = 0.029). However, against Hypothesis 3, participants blamed the victim less when the victim was a transgender woman ( M = 3.61, SE = 0.72) than when the victim was a transgender man ( M = 4.00, SE = 0.08; p < 0.001), or a gay man ( M = 3.93, SE = 0.07; p = 0.002). There were no significant differences in defendant blame when the victim was a transgender woman or a gay man ( p = 0.481).

H4: provocation

In line with Hypothesis 4, participants blamed the victim more in the sexual provocation condition (M = 4.10, SE = 0.06) than the non-sexual provocation (M = 3.59, SE = 0.06; F 2, 548 = 35.43, p < 0.001, η p 2 = 0.061).

Negative affect toward the defendant

H5: victim gender.

There was a significant effect of victim gender on negative affect toward the defendant ( F 2, 548 = 4.65, p = 0.010, η p 2 = 0.017). However, opposed to H5, participants had more negative affect toward defendants who murdered a transgender woman (M = 5.74, SE = 0.09) in comparison to a transgender man (M = 5.33, SE = 0.10; p = 0.003) or a gay man (M = 5.41, SE = 0.09; p = 0.046). There was no difference between negative affect toward defendants who murdered a transgender or gay man ( p = 0.293).

Provocation

There was no significant difference in negative affect toward the defendant between the sexual provocation condition (M = 5.57, SE = 0.08) and the non-sexual provocation (M = 5.46, SE = 0.08; F 2, 548 = 0.98, p = 0.323, η p 2 = 0.002).

Perceptions of defendant blame scale

H6: victim gender.

Victim gender had a significant effect on participants' levels of defendant blame ( F 2, 548 = 3.89, p = 0.021, η p 2 = 0.014). In opposition to Hypothesis 6, participants blamed the defendant less when the victim was a transgender man ( M = 5.01, SE = 0.70) than when the victim was a transgender woman ( M = 5.28, SE = 0.07; p = 0.006), but not more than when the victim was a gay man ( M = 5.13, SE = 0.07; p = 0.111). There were no significant differences in defendant blame when the victim was a transgender woman or a gay man ( p = 0.217).

The provocation condition did not have a significant effect on participants' levels of defendant blame ( F 1, 548 = 0.76, p = 0.385, η p 2 = 0.001 (Sexual advance provocation M = 5.18, SE = 0.06; non-sexual provocation M = 5.11, SE = 0.05).

H7: victim gender

There was a significant effect of victim gender on sentencing length ( F 2, 548 = 4.80, p = 0.009, η p 2 = 0.017). However, contrary to Hypothesis 7, participants were more likely to see the crime as a hate crime when the victim was a transgender woman (M = 4.09, SE = 0.13) than a gay man (M = 3.54, SE = 0.13; p = 0.002). There was no difference in perception of hate crimes for a transgender man (M = 3.82, SE = 0.14) with either a transgender woman ( p = 0.145) or gay man ( p = 0.127).

Participants were more likely to rate the crime as a hate crime in the sexual provocation condition (M = 4.08, SE = 0.12) than the non-sexual provocation (M = 2.14, SE = 0.12; F 2, 548 = 144.56, p < 0.001, η p 2 = 0.208).

Sentencing severity

H8: victim gender.

There was a significant effect of victim gender on sentencing length ( F 2, 548 = 7.37, p < 0.001, η p 2 = 0.026). However, contrary to Hypothesis 8, participants recommended longer sentences for defendants who murdered a transgender woman (M = 26.66, SE = 0.96) than either a transgender man (M = 22.25, SE = 1.03; p = 0.002) or gay man (M = 21.99, SE = 0.96; p < 0.001). There was no difference between sentencing recommendations toward defendants when the victim was a transgender or gay man ( p = 0.855).

Participants were marginally more likely to recommend a longer sentence in the sexual provocation condition (M = 24.75, SE = 0.83) than the non-sexual provocation (M = 22.52, SE = 0.78; F 2, 548 = 3.86, p = 0.050, η p 2 = 0.007).

Study 1 discussion

Contrary to our hypotheses, participants rated the defendant as being more blame worthy, had a lower opinion of the defendant, recommended a longer sentence, and were more likely to view the crime as a hate crime when the victim was a transgender woman. Similarly, participants blamed the victim the least and had the least negative affect toward the transgender woman victim. These finding do not align with real world data demonstrating that transgender women face higher rates of violence and murder in comparison to gay men ( Truman and Morgan, 2022 ), as well as previous research suggesting that transgender women are rated more negatively than gay men or transgender men ( Norton and Herek, 2013 ; Totton and Rios, 2021 ). Although Hypotheses 1, 3, and 4–8 were not supported, we did find support for Hypotheses 2 and 4. Participants rated victims more negatively and blamed them more when the defendant was provoked. Study 2 attempted to replicate the findings of Study 1 and included a scale previously used to evaluate negative attitudes toward transgender women, transgender men, and gay men. These questions were based on Totton and Rios (2021) which demonstrated that transgender individuals were viewed as more deceptive than gay men, and that this effect was particualrly pronounced for transgender women. This measure was added as an opportunity to further assess participant attitudes using a previously validated scale. Despite the unexpected results of Study 1, we maintained the hypotheses of Study 1 given data suggesting that transgender individuals are rated more negatively in other settings (e.g., Norton and Herek, 2013 ; Totton and Rios, 2021 ) and face higher rates of violence ( Mallory et al., 2021 ; The Williams Institute, 2021 ), but a final hypothesis was added based on previous literature.

H9: Based on research by Totton and Rios (2021) , Transgender women will be rated as more deceptive than transgender men or gay men.

Study 2 methods

In Study 2, participants were once again recruited through Prolific. Participants who participated in Study 1 were ineligible to participate. Participants were immediately excluded ( N = 52) if they did not correctly identify the gender identity or sexual orientation of the victim in the vignette to ensure attentiveness. Four-hundred and thirty-eight cisgender adults residing in the United States (Mean age = 41.33 years old, SD = 14.45) completed the study. The initial sample included 211 male participants (48.2%) and 227 female participants (51.8%). Overall, participants rated their political orientation as slightly more liberal (M = 3.51, SD = 1.71; 1 = very liberal, 7 = very conservative). A sensitivity analysis using G * Power 3.1 ( Faul et al., 2009 ) demonstrated that this was a sufficient sample for a 2 × 3 design, to detect medium effects ( f = 0.25) with 80% power and an alpha of 0.05.

Procedure and materials were identical to Study 1, with one addition. Participants were asked to complete a four itemperceived deception scale about the marginalized identity of the victim (e.g., “It is dishonest for a transgender woman/transgender man/gay man to not reveal their identity to others”; overall: M = 3.06, SD = 1.68; transgender women α −0.977; transgender men α = 0.97; gay men α = 0.96) based on Totton and Rios (2021) . Scale means and standard deviations are also presented in the Supplementary material .

Study 2 results

All analyses were identical to Study 1.

There was no significant effect of victim gender on negative affect toward the victim ( F 2, 430 = 0.23, p = 0.793, η p 2 = 0.001).

In line with Hypothesis 2 and Study 1, participants had more negative affect toward the victim in the sexual provocation condition (M = 3.99, SE = 0.10) than the non-sexual provocation (M = 3.20, SE = 0.11; F 2, 430 = 26.76, p < 0.001, η p 2 = 0.059).

Victim gender did not have a significant effect on participants' levels of victim blame ( F 2, 438 = 1.71, p = 0.183, η p 2 = 0.008; Transgender woman M = 4.01, SE = 0.10; Transgender man M = 4.23, SE = 0.10; Gay man M = 4.22, SE = 0.09).

In line with Hypothesis 4 and with Study 1, participants blamed the victim more in the sexual provocation condition (M = 4.27, SE = 0.07) than the non-sexual provocation (M = 4.03, SE = 0.08; F 2, 438 = 5.16, p = 0.024, η p 2 = 0.012).

There was a marginal but non-significant effect of victim gender on negative affect toward the defendant ( F 2, 438 = 2.69, p = 0.069, η p 2 = 0.012). Although the effect was non-significant, the marginal pattern of means followed a similar pattern to Study 1, wherein participants had the most negative attitudes toward defendants who murdered a transgender woman (M = 5.53, SE = 0.13), followed by a gay man (M = 5.37, SE = 0.11), and a transgender man (M = 5.11, SE = 0.13).

There was no significant difference in negative affect toward the defendant in the sexual provocation condition (M = 5.41, SE = 0.10) than the non-sexual provocation (M = 5.30, SE = 0.11; F 2, 438 = 1.138, p = 0.287, η p 2 = 0.003).

Victim gender did not significantly affect participants' levels of defendant blame ( F 2, 438 = 1.14, p = 0.320, η p 2 = 0.004; Transgender woman M = 5.97, SE = 0.07; Transgender man M = 5.83, SE = 0.07; Gay man M = 5.96, SE = 0.06).

Provocation type

Similar to Study 1, the provocation condition did not have a significant effect on participants' levels of defendant blame ( F 1, 438 = 1.79, p = 0.182, η p 2 = 0.005; Sexual advance provocation M = 5.87, SE = 0.06; non-sexual provocation M = 5.97, SE = 0.06).

There was not a significant effect of victim gender on sentencing length ( F 2, 430 = 1.42, p = 0.224, η p 2 = 0.007; transgender woman M = 3.31, SE = 0.15; transgender man M = 3.04, SE = 0.15); gay man M = 2.98, SE = 0.13).

Participants were more likely to rate the crime as a hate crime in the sexual provocation condition (M = 4.08, SE = 0.12) than the non-sexual provocation (M = 2.14, SE = 0.12; F 2, 430 = 132.68, p < 0.001, η p 2 = 0.236).

Unlike Study 1, there was no significant effect of victim gender on sentencing length ( F 2, 430 = 1.46, p = 0.230, η p 2 = 0.007). However, the trend in means was similar to Study 1 with defendants who murdered a transgender woman (M = 23.12, SE = 1.21) being recommended for a non-significantly longer sentence than either a transgender man (M = 20.67, SE = 1.20) or gay man (M = 20.61, SE = 1.07).

There was no difference in sentence recommendation between the sexual provocation condition (M = 21.49, SE = 0.98) and the non-sexual provocation (M = 21.44, SE = 0.92; F 2, 430 = 0.232, p = 0.630, η p 2 = 0.001).

Perceived deception scale

H9: victim gender.

Victim gender had a significant effect on participants' perception that the victim was being deceptive ( F 2, 430 = 32.06, p < 0.001, η p 2 = 0.130). In line with Hypothesis 9 and previous research, but not in line with other findings in this paper, participants believed that transgender women were more deceptive ( M = 3.55, SE = 0.12) than gay men ( M = 2.43, SE = 0.11; p < 0.001). Similarly, transgender men ( M = 3.47, SD = 0.12) were also rated as more deceptive than gay men ( p < 0.001). There were no significant differences in perceived deceptiveness of transgender women or transgender men ( p = 0.620).

There were no significant differences in perceptions of deceptiveness based on provocation condition (Sexual advance: M = 4.10, SE = 0.06; non-sexual provocation: M = 3.59, SE = 0.06; F 2, 430 = 0.721, p = 0.396, η p 2 = 0.002).

Study 2 discussion

The results of Study 2 do not provide full support for the initial hypotheses nor the results of Study 1. Participants demonstrated only marginally more negative affect toward the defendant when the victim was a transgender woman rather than a transgender man or gay man. However, there were no significant differences in victim blame, defendant blame, or negative affect toward the victim based on victim gender as was found in Study 1. However, Study 2 directly replicated Study 1 in support for Hypotheses 2 and 4, with victims being blamed more and eliciting more negative affect when the defendant was provoked through a sexual advance. Finally, transgender women and men were both perceived as more deceptive than gay men, a finding that is partially in line with Hypothesis 9 and previous research which found that transgender women were perceived as more deceptive than either transgender men or gay men ( Totton and Rios, 2021 ). Despite obtaining an appropriate sample size to detect medium effects, it is possible that this study was underpowered for the effect sizes observed in Study 1.

General discussion

This research examined perceptions of the transgender panic defense. Based on demographic data surrounding hate crimes (e.g., Mallory et al., 2021 ; Truman and Morgan, 2022 ), as well as previous research demonstrating that attitudes are more negative toward transgender people (particularly transgender women) than gay men ( Norton and Herek, 2013 ; Totton and Rios, 2021 ), we hypothesized that participants would have the most blame and negative attitudes toward transgender women as victims and would have the least blame and most positive attitudes toward defendants who murdered a transgender woman. However, our results found no support for this. Indeed, in Study 1, we found that participants had the least blame and negative attitudes toward transgender women as victims and showed the greatest negativity, blame, and belief that the crime was a hate crime toward defendants who murdered a transgender woman. While non-significant, the trend of means in Study 2 generally also supported this pattern.

These unexpected findings may be evidence of participant response monitoring. Based on media representations or general societal discourse, participants may have recognized the societal challenges faced by transgender women and responded with greater positivity toward trans women as victims to go against societal discrimination. However, this explanation and the findings in this paper do not align with Michalski et al.'s (2022) work on the transgender panic defense specifically, nor with previous work on attitudes about transgender women in relation to transgender men or gay men ( Norton and Herek, 2013 ; Totton and Rios, 2021 ). Moreover, participants did report greater perceived deceptiveness of transgender women, suggesting they were not altering their attitudes on those questions, and supporting results from previous research studies ( Totton and Rios, 2021 ; Totton et al., 2023 ).

Alternatively, it is possible that participants were more negative toward transgender men and gay men as a biproduct of the current sociopolitical landscape in the United States where there is has been a recent uptick of anti-LGBTQ+ (and particularly anti-trans) hate groups and legislation ( American Civil Liberties Union, 2024 ; Southern Poverty Law Center, 2024 ). Spillover effects from the rhetoric shared in these hate groups or legislation may have impacted participant views of transgender folks or cisgender gay men in distinct ways. For example, anti-transgender legislation or anti-transgender rhetoric often refers to transgender people using incorrect gender identifiers. This language may lead to confusion amongst participants about the gender identity of the victim (despite including a manipulation check in Study 2). Similarly, the inclusion of sexual orientation information in the gay man but not transgender man or transgender woman conditions may have led participants to overly emphasized the victim's sexual orientation, and thus to hyper-sexualize the victim in the gay male condition. This potential issue could be resolved through a replication including additional clarifying questions about the victim's identity to ensure participant understanding. Moreover, follow up studies should include sexual orientation information about transgender victims as well as other cisgender sexual minority conditions (i.e., lesbians) to account for potential sexualization effects.

Alternatively, the results may have been due to the manipulation used. While the manipulation was based directly on a manipulation used successfully in an evaluation of the gay panic defense ( Salerno et al., 2015 ), the vignette may have elicited stronger responses in relation to homophobic attitudes. This would explain the general trend in the data toward more negative attitudes toward both transgender and gay men over transgender women. Since the vignette in the current study had some level of similarity to real world instances of the use of the transgender panic defense, further research should evaluate participant responses using a variety of potential vignettes to understand the role of the vignette in the current findings. For example, the current studies do not include Lesbian women as a victim condition. Inclusion of this identity may provide a meaningful comparison group to understand the role of gender identity.

Furthermore, future research should evaluate potential moderating effects that might explain some of the relationships observed. Namely, future research would benefit from explicitly measuring pre-existing prejudice levels of participants and looking for potential moderating effects based on preconceived notions about transgender individuals or gay men. While the present study included political orientation as a covariate, treating it as a moderator might yield interesting results.

Finally, it is possible that participants were more negative toward transgender men and gay men than transgender women as victims. While data suggests that the transgender panic defense is used more frequently when the victim is a transgender woman ( Mallory et al., 2021 ) and that transgender women elicit overall more negative attitudes than either transgender men or gay men ( Totton and Rios, 2021 ), it is possible that these effects do not carry over to perceptions of victimhood, in particular. Previous research has found that harassment of transgender women is viewed differently than harassment of cisgender heterosexual or lesbian women ( Mezzapelle and Reiman, 2022 ). Although this research did not explore attitudes toward transgender men or gay men, it does suggest that transgender women may face disparate victimhood perceptions for the same offense. Yet, this explanation is not in line with previous research demonstrating that anti-transgender prejudice is related to victim blame either ( Thomas et al., 2016 ). However, this is the first paper to our knowledge that compares attitudes toward transgender men, transgender women, and gay men in a mock jury paradigm, making the results challenging to directly compare to previous research.

Importantly, we believe it is critical that the findings of this paper not be used to imply that transgender women face less stigma in the legal system than their transgender or gay male counterparts. Rather, we suggest that taken together, the findings of this paper point to a need for more comprehensive research on attitudes surrounding transgender individuals, particularly in jury settings. Given the prolific rise in anti-transgender legislation ( Lavietes and Ramos, 2022 ; Human Rights Campaign, 2023 ), and the continued acceptance of the transgender panic defense in most US states ( Movement Advancement Project, 2023 ) better understanding of attitudes and treatment of transgender people within the legal system is critical.

Data availability statement

The raw data supporting the conclusions of this article will be made available by the authors, without undue reservation.

Ethics statement

The studies involving humans were approved by Amherst College Institutional Review Board. The studies were conducted in accordance with the local legislation and institutional requirements. The participants provided their written informed consent to participate in this study.

Author contributions

RT: Conceptualization, Formal analysis, Methodology, Project administration, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing. KM: Conceptualization, Methodology, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing.

The author(s) declare that no financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Publisher's note

All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Supplementary material

The Supplementary Material for this article can be found online at: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frsps.2024.1327799/full#supplementary-material

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Southern Poverty Law Center (2024). Anti-LGBTQ . Available online at: https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/ideology/anti-lgbtq (accessed July 1, 2024).

Taylor, K. (2007). Disgust is a factor in extreme prejudice. Br. J. Soc. Psychol. 46, 597–617. doi: 10.1348/014466606X156546

Teclaw, R., Price, M. C., and Osatuke, K. (2012). Demographic question placement: effect on item response rates and means of a veterans health administration survey. J. Bus. Psychol. 27, 281–290. doi: 10.1007/s10869-011-9249-y

The Williams Institute (2021). Transgender People Over Four Times More Likely Than Cisgender People to Be Victims of Violent Crime . Available online at: https://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/press/ncvs-trans-press-release/ (accessed August 24, 2023).

Thomas, D. M., Amburgey, J., and Ellis, L. (2016). Anti-transgender prejudice mediates the association of just world beliefs and victim blame attribution. Int. J. Transgend. 17, 176–184. doi: 10.1080/15532739.2016.1232627

Tomei, J., and Cramer, R. J. (2016). Legal policies in conflict: the gay panic defense and hate crime legislation. J. For. Psychol. Pract. 16, 217–235. doi: 10.1080/15228932.2016.1192331

Totton, R., and Rios, K. (2021). Predictors of anti-transgender attitudes: identity-confusion and deception as aspects of distrust. Self Identity 20, 496–514. doi: 10.1080/15298868.2019.1621928

Totton, R. R., Rios, K., and Shogren, N. (2023). Distrusted disclosures: deception drives anti-transgender but not anti-atheist prejudice. Front. Psychol. 13:8427. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1006107

Truman, J., and Morgan, R. (2022). Violent Victimization by Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity , 2017–2020. Bureau of Justice Statistics. Available online at: https://bjs.ojp.gov/library/publications/violent-victimization-sexual-orientation-and-gender-identity-2017-2020#additional-details-0 (accessed August 28. 2023).

Keywords: transgender (attitudes toward), mock jury, unexpected findings, LGBTQ+, blame

Citation: Totton RR and McKeon K (2024) Unexpected judgments: the role of gender identity and provocation on blame and affect in a mock jury paradigm. Front. Soc. Psychol. 2:1327799. doi: 10.3389/frsps.2024.1327799

Received: 25 October 2023; Accepted: 11 July 2024; Published: 07 August 2024.

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Copyright © 2024 Totton and McKeon. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) . The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

*Correspondence: Rebecca R. Totton, rtotton@oberlin.edu

† ORCID: Rebecca R. Totton orcid.org/0000-0001-7297-6238

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

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• Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/fact-checking-tim-walzs-past-statements

Looking back at Tim Walz’s record and past statements

This fact check originally appeared on PolitiFact .

Vice President Kamala Harris has tapped Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate, capping a historically compressed vice presidential search.

Walz rocketed up the list of finalists on the strength of his folksy relatability, gubernatorial experience and congressional record representing a conservative-leaning district.

READ MORE: Harris selects Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as running mate

“I am proud to announce that I’ve asked @Tim_Walz to be my running mate,” Harris posted on X Aug. 6. “As a governor, a coach, a teacher, and a veteran, he’s delivered for working families like his. It’s great to have him on the team. Now let’s get to work.”

Walz rose to the rank of command sergeant major over 24 years in the U.S. Army National Guard and worked as a teacher and football coach. He was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives by ousting a Republican incumbent in a heavily rural district in 2006. Walz was elected governor in 2018 and was reelected in 2022.

“He’s a smart choice if they deploy him in two specific ways,” said Blois Olson, a political analyst for WCCO radio in Minneapolis-St. Paul. “Send him to rural areas to counter the polarization and the idea that only Republicans can win there. And have him keep the deep left base satisfied, which could be an issue with a very moody voting bloc.”

Olson said Walz’s rural experience and regular-guy vibes might be able to shave 2 to 4 percentage points off GOP electoral performance in rural Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin — three states considered crucial to a Democratic victory in November.

WATCH LIVE: Harris holds first rally with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz after choosing him as running mate

“The most recent Survey USA poll taken last month for KSTP-TV had Walz’ job approval at a healthy 56 percent,” said Steve Schier, a political scientist at Carleton College in Minnesota. “That said, Minnesota is quite a polarized state, and Republicans in the state despise him. He initially campaigned as a moderate in 2018 but has governed as a progressive.”

Walz was one of several potential vice presidential options floated since President Joe Biden announced he’d cede the nomination and endorsed Harris. Other frequently cited names were Gov. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

Now that he is Harris’ running mate, we are on the lookout for claims by and about Walz to fact-check — just as we are for Harris and former President Donald Trump and his vice presidential pick, Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio. Readers can email us suggestions to [email protected].

READ MORE: Fact-checking JD Vance’s past statements and relationship with Trump

Republicans have already begun to question Walz’s handling of the rioting following the murder of George Floyd while in Minneapolis police custody. Walz clashed with Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey over how to handle the unrest, but he sent the Minnesota National Guard to aid local law enforcement.

Who is Tim Walz?

Walz grew up in Nebraska but moved with his wife, Gwen, to Minnesota in 1996 to teach high school geography and coach football; his teams won two state championships.

He was 42 when he ran for Congress, a decision sparked by a 2004 incident at an appearance by President George W. Bush. “Walz took two students to the event, where Bush campaign staffers demanded to know whether he supported the president and barred the students from entering after discovering one had a sticker for Democratic candidate John Kerry,” according to the Almanac of American Politics. “Walz suggested it might be bad PR for the Bush campaign to bar an Army veteran, and he and the students were allowed in. Walz said the experience sparked his interest in politics, first as a volunteer for the Kerry campaign and then as a congressional candidate.”

Walz’s ideological profile is nuanced. The other highest-profile finalist for Harris’ running mate, Shapiro, was pegged as somewhat more moderate and bipartisan than Walz. An Emerson College poll released in July found Shapiro with 49 percent approval overall in his state, including a strong 46 percent approval from independents and 22 percent from Republicans.

When he was elected to Congress, Walz represented a district that had sent Republicans to Washington for 102 of the previous 114 years, according to the Almanac of American Politics. Representing that constituency, Walz was able to win the National Rifle Association’s endorsement and he voted for the Keystone XL pipeline — two positions that have become highly unusual in today’s Democratic Party.

During his first gubernatorial term, Walz worked with legislative Republicans, which produced some bipartisan achievements, including $275 million for roads and bridges, additional funds for opioid treatment and prevention, and a middle-income tax cut.

In 2022, Walz won a second term by a 52 percent to 45 percent margin. Democrats also flipped the state Senate, providing him with unified Democratic control in the Legislature. This enabled Walz to enact a progressive wish list of policies, including classifying abortion as a “fundamental right,” a requirement that utilities produce carbon-free energy by 2040, paid family leave and legalizing recreational marijuana. He also signed an executive order safeguarding access to gender-affirming health care for transgender residents.

After Harris’ announcement, the Trump campaign attacked Walz’s legislative record in a campaign email: “Kamala Harris just doubled-down on her radical vision for America by tapping another left-wing extremist as her VP nominee.”

Olson noted that Walz “only has one veto in six years. He doesn’t say ‘no’ to the left, after being a moderate. That’s a reason he’s now beloved by the left.”

Democrats have controlled the Minnesota state Legislature’s lower chamber during Walz’ entire tenure. However, Republicans controlled the state Senate for his first four years in office.

Walz’s meteoric three-week rise on the national scene stemmed after calling Trump, Vance and other Republicans in their circle “weird.”

In a July 23 interview on MSNBC, Walz predicted that Harris would win older, white voters because she was talking about substance, including schools, jobs and environmental policy.

“These are weird people on the other side,” Walz said. “They want to take books away. They want to be in your exam room. That’s what it comes down to. And don’t, you know, get sugarcoating this. These are weird ideas.”

Days later on MSNBC , Walz reiterated the point: “You know there’s something wrong with people when they talk about freedom. Freedom to be in your bedroom. Freedom to be in your exam room. Freedom to tell your kids what they can read. That stuff is weird. They come across weird. They seem obsessed with this.”

Other Democrats, including the Harris campaign, amplified the “weird” message, quickly making Walz a star in online Democratic circles.

Walz also attracted notice for being a self-styled fix-it guy who has helped pull a car out of a ditch and given advice about how to save money on car repairs . He staged a bill signing for free breakfast and lunch for students surrounded by cheering children .

Schier said he expects Walz to be a compatible ticket-mate who won’t upstage the presidential nominee. “Walz will be a loyal companion to Harris,” Schier said.

One thing Walz does not bring to the table is a critical state for the Democratic ticket. In 2024, election analysts universally rate Minnesota as leaning or likely Democratic. By contrast, Shapiro’s state of Pennsylvania is not only one of a handful of battleground states but also the one with the biggest haul of electoral votes, at 19. Another finalist, Kelly, represents another battleground state with nine electoral votes, Arizona.

Fact-checking Walz

We have not put Walz on our Truth-O-Meter. However, days after Floyd’s murder, we wrote a story about how a false claim about out-of-state protestors was spread by Minnesota officials, including Walz, and then national politicians, including Trump.

At a May 2020 news conference, Walz said he understood that the catalyst for the protests was “Minnesotans’ inability to deal with inequalities, inequities and quite honestly the racism that has persisted.” But there was an issue with “everybody from everywhere else.”

“We’re going to start releasing who some of these people are, and they’ll be able to start tracing that history of where they’re at, and what they’re doing on the ‘dark web’ and how they’re organizing,” Walz said. “I think our best estimate right now that I heard is about 20 percent that are Minnesotans and about 80 percent are outside.”

The statistic soon fell apart.

Within hours, local TV station KARE reported that Minneapolis-based police tallies of those arrested for rioting, unlawful assembly, and burglary-related crimes from May 29 to May 30 showed that 86 percent of those arrested listed Minnesota as their address. Twelve out of 18 people arrested in St. Paul were from Minnesota.

Confronted with these numbers, the officials walked back their comments that evening or did not repeat them. In a news conference, Walz did not repeat his earlier 80 percent assertion. KARE-TV wrote that Walz said the estimate was based in part on law enforcement intelligence information and that the state would monitor developments.

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• Crime, justice and law
• Modern slavery: NRM and DtN statistics, April to June 2024
• Home Office

Annex: Independent child trafficking guardianship statistics, year ending March 2024

Published 8 August 2024

© Crown copyright 2024

This publication is licensed under the terms of the Open Government Licence v3.0 except where otherwise stated. To view this licence, visit nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3 or write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: [email protected] .

Where we have identified any third party copyright information you will need to obtain permission from the copyright holders concerned.

This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/modern-slavery-nrm-and-dtn-statistics-april-to-june-2024/annex-independent-child-trafficking-guardianship-statistics-year-ending-march-2024

1. Introduction

The Independent child trafficking guardianship ( ICTG ) service is currently rolled out in selected sites across England and the whole of Wales [footnote 1] . Independent child trafficking guardians ( ICTGs ) provide an independent source of advice and support for children who are suspected of being victims of modern slavery, irrespective of nationality or immigration status. They advocate on the child’s behalf and work to ensure their best interests are reflected in the decision-making undertaken by public authorities involved in their care, whilst helping them orient criminal justice, immigration and social care systems.

The service is currently delivered by Barnardo’s and is funded by the Home Office. To date, 3 evaluations of the ICTG service have been published which have assessed changes made to the service as it has been rolled out [footnote 2] .

Within ICTG sites, if a child is suspected to be a victim of modern slavery, they are referred to the ICTG service. The child should also be referred to the local authority through normal safeguarding routes, and also referred by first responders to the National Referral Mechanism ( NRM ), the UK’s framework to identify and support potential victims of modern slavery [footnote 3] .

The ICTG service records a range of data throughout a child’s journey in the service including their age, exploitation type and nationality, to allow the service to make informed decisions about the support they require. Length of support and reasons for closure are recorded at the end of the child’s stay in the ICTG service. This annex provides an overview of statistics for children referred to the ICTG service in the year ending March 2024 (April 2023 to March 2024). The ‘Annex: Independent child trafficking guardianship statistics, year ending March 2024: data tables’ are also published, containing quarterly statistics from January 2017 to March 2024.

2. Referrals

2.1 overall.

In the year ending March 2024, there were 2,478 referrals of potential child victims of modern slavery to the ICTG service. This was a 7% decrease from the year ending March 2023 (2,674). From January 2017 to March 2024, the ICTG service received 9,008 referrals for potential child victims of modern slavery.

When referrals are received by Barnardo’s, they are assessed as needing either direct support or indirect support. The ICTG service model provides one-to-one direct support for children with no parental responsibility in the UK, and indirect support for children for whom there is someone with parental responsibility in the UK (comprising of strategic work with professionals working with a child). In exceptional circumstances, children with a figure of parental responsibility in the UK can receive direct support, based on vulnerability factors.

In the year ending March 2024, 60% (1,480) of referrals were assessed as needing indirect support, and 40% (998) were assessed as needing direct support (figure 1; data table 1A). Referrals to the ICTG service increased steeply from April to June 2021 due to the expansion of the service to cover two-thirds of local authorities in England and Wales. However, they have since decreased and broadly stabilised.

Figure 1: Number of ICTG referrals

Source: Barnardo’s, Home Office

• Statistics are provided from 2017, the year Barnardo’s began delivering the roll out of the ICTG service.
• From 2019 to 2020 the ICTG service model was amended to introduce the provision of indirect work, as a result of an assessment undertaken of the service .

2.2 ICTG sites

The ICTG service covers a range of local authorities in England and Wales responsible for the safeguarding of children, which are broadly grouped into ‘sites’. A full list of sites can be found in the Interim guidance for ICTGs .

In the year ending March 2024, referrals were most common for children in the sites of Greater London (25%; 627), East Midlands (13%; 313) and Wales (11%; 266) (figure 2; data table 2A).

A small number of referrals may come from outside an ICTG site, or a child may be transferred to a new local authority outside an ICTG site while in the service, meaning the local authority responsible for a child may change. For the former, these cases are closed after immediate safeguarding advice and guidance has been provided to the referee. For the latter, Barnardo’s will support with the transfer of information for that child and their general transition, before closing the case.

Figure 2: Number of ICTG referrals by site, year ending March 2024

• Areas in white are those in England where the ICTG service does not currently operate.
• The London Borough of Croydon is included in Greater London.

2.3 Age group

Of the 2,478 referrals for children to the ICTG service in the year ending March 2024, the majority were aged 15 to 17 (80%; 1,971), with 20% (496) aged 14 or below (data table 3A).

Between 2021 and 2024, the ICTG service delivered a pilot that enabled those who needed support to continue to receive it following their eighteenth birthday. This was piloted in ICTG sites in Greater London (including the London Borough of Croydon), the North (Merseyside, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire) and the Midlands (Warwickshire and West Midlands).

In the year ending March 2024, 78% (1,933) of referrals to the ICTG service were for males and 22% (545) were for females (data table 4A).

2.5 Nationality

The most common nationality for referrals to the ICTG service in the year ending March 2024 was UK (52%; 1,279). Of UK nationals, 77% (985) were male and 23% (294) were female.

In the year ending March 2024, the second most common nationality was Vietnamese (7%; 184). Of these, 62% (115) were male and 38% (69) were female. The third most common nationality was Sudanese (7%; 163). Of these, 99% (162) were male and 1% (1) were female (figure 3; data table 5A).

Figure 3: Number of ICTG referrals by nationality, year ending March 2024

• Less commonly referred nationalities are grouped as ‘Other’.

2.6 Unaccompanied asylum-seeking children

An unaccompanied asylum-seeking child (UASC) is a person aged 17 and under who is applying for asylum, is separated from both parents, and is not being cared for by an adult who in law or by custom has responsibility to do so. In the year ending March 2024, 39% (966) of the referrals to the ICTG service were recorded as being a UASC.

2.7 Location of exploitation

When children are referred to the ICTG service, their exploitation is recorded as either occurring in the UK, overseas, or a combination of both. In the year ending March 2024, exploitation which took place exclusively in the UK was most often recorded, accounting for 59% (1,469) of all those received. Referrals for UK exploitation rose steeply in the year ending March 2022 but have since generally fallen.

An additional 29% (709) of children were recorded as experiencing exploitation both in the UK and overseas in the year ending March 2024.

A small number of children (2) had their exploitation recorded as taking place exclusively overseas, whose numbers have consistently been lower than those recorded as experiencing exploitation exclusively in the UK. Their number has been declining since June to December 2022 and there were no referrals recorded for exploitation exclusively overseas between January to March 2024 (figure 4; data table 6A).

Figure 4: Number of ICTG referrals by location of exploitation

• These statistics refer to information recorded at the point of referral, and information may change over time as the child discloses more about their circumstances and experiences.
• Graph excludes referrals with ‘other’ recorded as the location of exploitation.

2.8 Exploitation type

Children referred to the ICTG service report experiencing a range of exploitation types as set out in the modern slavery statutory guidance . While children may often experience multiple exploitation types, these statistics refer to the primary exploitation type. In the year ending March 2024, the most reported primary exploitation type was criminal (49%; 1,225). Of those who reported criminal exploitation, 93% (1,136) were male and 7% (89) were female.

The second most reported primary exploitation type in the year ending March 2024 was labour (18%; 440), of which 90% (397) were male and 10% (43) were female. The third most reported primary exploitation type (when excluding exploitation that was not specified or unknown) was sexual (8%; 209). Of those who reported sexual exploitation, 9% (18) were male and 91% (191) were female (figure 5; data table 7A).

Figure 5: Number of ICTG referrals by exploitation type, year ending March 2024

• Less commonly reported exploitation types are grouped as ‘Other’.
• ‘Not specified or unknown’ often includes children who had their exploitation disrupted before it was undertaken in the UK, and the child or professional did not know what the intended exploitation might be.

3.1 Reasons for support ending

In the year ending March 2024, 3,503 children had their ICTG cases closed. Support for a child in the ICTG service may end for a variety of reasons. This includes instances where further work by the service is not required because the child’s needs had been met; the child receives a negative decision in the NRM ; or the child turns 18 (unless they qualified for support as part of the post-18 support pilot) [footnote 4] . The Interim guidance for ICTGs details more information on exiting and transition from the ICTG service.

Of the 3,503 ICTG cases closed in the year ending March 2024, the most common reason for closure was that further work was not required because the child’s needs have been met (34%; 1,196). An additional 18% (615) were closed because the child had turned 18, and 12% (413) were closed because there were no trafficking concerns (data table 8A).

3.2 Support length

Of the 3,503 ICTG cases closed in the year ending March 2024, the average (median) time spent by children in support was 5 months. The average time spent did not differ between male or female children. Moreover, the average time spent did not vary greatly by those reporting the most common exploitation types; for those reporting either criminal exploitation or labour exploitation, the duration in the service was 5 months, while for those reporting sexual exploitation it was 6 months. The average time spent in the service was greater for those receiving direct support (7 months) than those receiving indirect support (5 months).

Overall, of the 3,503 ICTG cases closed in the year ending March 2024 (for direct and indirect support combined), around a third of the children stayed in the service for 3 months or less (32%; 1,131). An additional 22% (782) spent between 4 and 6 months, 23% (794) between 7 and 12 months, 19% (663) between 13 and 24 months, and 4% (133) 25 months or more (figure 6; data table 9A).

Figure 6: Number of closed ICTG cases by support length, year ending March 2024

• Months are rounded up. For example, if a child stayed 3 months and 2 days, they will be shown as 4 months in the graph.
• Includes all cases who received direct or indirect support.

4. Quality information

These statistics are produced in accordance with quality requirements of the Code of Practice for Statistics. It uses guidance published on the Government Analysis Function, which considers 5 aspects of quality:

• accuracy and reliability
• timeliness and punctuality
• accessibility and clarity
• coherence and comparability

This section also discusses data sources, production and quality assurance of statistics.

Statistics on children supported by the ICTG service are used to build a picture of how potential child victims of modern slavery are supported in England and Wales. The information is also used to contribute to an understanding of the profile of children supported. The statistics do not capture the children who are supported by other schemes outside of the ICTG service.

Accuracy and reliability

Data is based on an extract from Barnardo’s taken in April 2024. These statistics are taken from a database which is updated and cleaned to reflect changes that have been introduced to the service model, and to remove any duplicates. As such, the statistics are subject to change over time and so may differ from data included in previous evaluations.

All percentages in this bulletin are rounded to the nearest whole percentage point.

Timeliness and punctuality

These statistics were published 4 months after a data extract was taken from Barnardo’s. This allowed time for the statistics to be collated and quality assured.

Accessibility and clarity

This bulletin has been published to reflect accessibility criteria outlined in guidance published by the Government Analysis Function.

Coherence and comparability

Detailed statistical breakdowns are provided from 2017 as this is when Barnardo’s was contracted to run the ICTG service.

Broadly consistent data recording practises (with exception of changes to ICTG site coverage) allow for meaningful comparisons over time. ICTG sites have changed over time to include more or different local authorities, so it is recommendation that caution is taken when comparing statistics across different years.

Data source

ICTG data is taken from an administrative database maintained by Barnardo’s. Referral forms record information about children, such as age, exploitation type and nationality. Further information is sought from the ICTG assessment team. Length of support and closure reasons are recorded at the end of the child’s stay in the ICTG Service.

Statistical production

This statistical bulletin has been produced to the highest professional standards and is free from political interference. It has been produced by statisticians working in the Home Office Analysis & Insight Directorate under the Home Office’s Statement of compliance with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics , which covers Home Office policy on revisions and other matters.

Data is cleaned using reproducible and tested code. The code reformats data for statistical production, such as by grouping the data into categories (for example age groups) and standardises spelling. Following this, the statistics are collated and outputted as a bulletin with accompanying graphs.

The Chief Statistician, as Head of Profession, reports to the National Statistician regarding all professional statistical matters and oversees all Home Office National Statistics products regarding the Code, being responsible for their timing, content and methodology.

Quality assurance

Data cleaning and grouping is done using reproducible code, which is split into sections to first provide a cleaned dataset, and then produce the bulletin and graphs. The latter 2 are manually cross-checked with the dataset. Reproducible code also allows analytical colleagues to test and validate the production.

5. Related publications

An evaluation of ICTGs for early adopter sites was published in July 2019. Additionally, an assessment of ICTGs was published in October 2020, and an ICTG Modern Slavery Act evaluation was published in May 2024.

Latest and previous statistical releases can be found in the National Referral Mechanism statistics collection.

Raw NRM data is published on UK Data Service .

Statistics and analysis of the devolved decision-making pilot for child victims of modern slavery was published in November 2023.

Feedback and enquiries

We are always looking to improve the accessibility of our documents. If you find any problems, or have any feedback, relating to accessibility, or general questions regarding this publication, please email us [email protected]

For press enquires: [email protected] ; 02070353535

A full list of ICTG sites can be found in the Interim guidance .  ↩

An evaluation of ICTGs for early adopter sites was published in July 2019. A further assessment of ICTGs was published in October 2020, and an ICTG Modern Slavery Act evaluation was published in May 2024.  ↩

First responder organisations are designated organisations that help support potential victims of modern slavery by referring individuals into the NRM .  ↩

As recommended in the Independent Review of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 , cases of missing children are kept open until the child is found. Therefore, children whose closure reason indicates they were missing at closure was normally because they turned 18.  ↩

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Where Tim Walz Stands on the Issues

As governor of Minnesota, he has enacted policies to secure abortion protections, provide free meals for schoolchildren, allow recreational marijuana and set renewable energy goals.

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By Maggie Astor

• Aug. 6, 2024

Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota, the newly announced running mate to Vice President Kamala Harris, has worked with his state’s Democratic-controlled Legislature to enact an ambitious agenda of liberal policies: free college tuition for low-income students, free meals for schoolchildren, legal recreational marijuana and protections for transgender people.

“You don’t win elections to bank political capital,” Mr. Walz wrote last year about his approach to governing. “You win elections to burn political capital and improve lives.”

Republicans have slammed these policies as big-government liberalism and accused Mr. Walz of taking a hard left turn since he represented a politically divided district in Congress years ago.

Here is an overview of where Mr. Walz stands on some key issues.

Mr. Walz signed a bill last year that guaranteed Minnesotans a “fundamental right to make autonomous decisions” about reproductive health care on issues such as abortion, contraception and fertility treatments.

Abortion was already protected by a Minnesota Supreme Court decision, but the new law guarded against a future court reversing that precedent as the U.S. Supreme Court did with Roe v. Wade, and Mr. Walz said this year that he was also open to an amendment to the state’s Constitution that would codify abortion rights.

Another bill he signed legally shields patients, and their medical providers, if they receive an abortion in Minnesota after traveling from a state where abortion is banned.

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Jacqueline Sebire, Jesenia M Pizarro, Policing Domestic Violence Special Edition Editorial: Seven years on—Reflections on progress in domestic abuse research and practice, Policing: A Journal of Policy and Practice , Volume 18, 2024, paae082, https://doi.org/10.1093/police/paae082

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The last Special Edition of Policing, dedicated to Domestic Abuse, was published in 2016. This edition presented research centred on the practicalities of police and law enforcement agencies when dealing with domestic abuse. The issue included papers on risk assessment, the use of technology to improve investigations, perpetrator profiling, and police culture. In the issue’s editorial the guest editors’ note that, ‘Despite a great deal of research over the last 30 years, we still have major gaps in understanding the most effective strategies, in developing and implementing the best risk assessments and delivering the best victim and offender approaches’ ( Baldry and Sebire, 2016). There was a call for researchers and practitioners to support an evidence base for understanding ‘what works’ when policing domestic abuse.

Since there is still no comprehensive global database, we are unable to measure the number of lives lost to domestic abuse over the 8 years since that last Special Edition. A conservative and somewhat sobering estimate is approximately 376,000 women ( United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, 2021). However, public awareness, researcher understanding, and practitioner expertise have continued to develop at pace in the interim, adding to the evidence base of what works. Seismic global events have also impacted the research and policing of domestic abuse. Coronavirus disease 2019 and its associated lockdowns, restrictions on movements, and service provision have developed our understanding of domestic abuse within the context of a global pandemic ( Kourti et al. , 2023). The #MeTo movement opened up public debate and awareness of gender-based violence ( Wilcox et al. , 2021). However, despite these new insights, the perennial challenges associated with policing domestic abuse, such as risk assessment, best use of technology, and what works recognized in the 2016 issue, remain very much on the research agenda.

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Wage Insurance for Displaced Workers

Wage insurance (WI) aims to mitigate the negative impacts of job loss and to encourage reentry into the labor market by providing partial income replacement to displaced workers who are reemployed at a new wage that is lower than their prior wage. Whether it achieves this goal in practice, however, remains unclear; it could also result in worse job matches and persistently low wages after benefits expire.

In Wage Insurance for Displaced Workers (NBER Working Paper 32464), Benjamin G. Hyman , Brian K. Kovak , and Adam Leive study the impacts of wage insurance in the context of the US Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) Program, which compensates workers who become unemployed as a result of international trade.

Workers must be 50 or older to qualify for TAA wage insurance, which pays up to half of the difference between their pre- and post-separation wages for up to two years. The researchers use administrative data on TAA petitions combined with linked employer-employee Census Bureau data to compare outcomes for workers just above and just below the age eligibility cutoff. To account for the possibility that other public programs may also be differentially available to those over the age of 50, they also compare workers above and below age 50 whose petitions for TAA were denied.

Eligibility for wage insurance through the US Trade Adjustment Assistance Program increases displaced workers’ earnings by $18,000 (26 percent) over the four years following displacement.

The researchers estimate that during the two years following displacement, wage insurance eligibility increases the likelihood that a worker will be employed by between 8 and 17 percentage points. They do not find any effect on employment four years after an unemployment spell begins. Program eligibility also increases the proportion of displaced workers’ prior earnings that are replaced by income from a new job by 10 percentage points. On average, cumulative earnings rise by over $18,000 (26 percent) during the four years following displacement.

These effects are driven by shorter unemployment durations among workers who are eligible for wage insurance. Compared to WI-ineligible workers, eligible workers experience initial nonemployment spells that are about one calendar quarter shorter, and total time out of employment in the four years after separation that is about 1.26 quarters shorter.

The researchers estimate that the reduced outlays on unemployment insurance as a result of quicker job finding and the long-term revenue gain from taxing a worker’s increased earnings more than cover the cost of wage insurance benefits and administrative program costs.

—Abigail Hiller

This research was supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. SES-1851679. The researchers acknowledge support from the UVA Bankard Fund for Political Economy and the Block Center for Technology and Society at Carnegie Mellon University. This paper was made possible (in part) by a grant from the Carnegie Corporation of New York. This research uses data from the Census Bureau’s Longitudinal Employer-Household Dynamics Program, which was partially supported by National Science Foundation Grants SES-9978093, SES-0339191 and ITR-0427889; National Institute on Aging Grant AG018854; and grants from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. This research was performed at a Federal Statistical Research Data Center under FSRDC Project Number 1762. (CBDRB-FY23-P1762-R10162, CBDRB-FY23-P1762-R10429, CBDRB-FY23-P1762-R10845, CBDRB-FY24-P1762-R11193).

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