Women, Crime, and Criminal Justice

Description

Esteemed criminologists Renzetti and Goodstein's volume of original essays covers a broad range of topics of concern to those who study women, crime, and criminal justice. The book's approach affords the reader an opportunity to review alternative perspectives on women and justice--and compare them to more traditional explanations. This expands the reader's knowledge base, spurs discussions, and addresses cutting-edge topics. Contributors include leading feminist criminologists such as Meda Chensey-Lind, Kathleen Ferraro, Nancy Jurik, Susan Martin, Susan Miller, Barbara Owen, and Elizabeth Stanko.

Coverage includes topics typically not found in other books on women, crime, and justice--such as corporate violence against women, violence against women as a human rights issue, battered women charged with crimes, and international law. All essays in the volume emphasize (1) the intersection of gender, race/ethnicity, and social class in the etiology of women's crime, (2) victimization, and (3) involvement in the criminal justice system.

A brief introduction precedes every reading; discussion questions follow. These encourage students to think critically about what they have read and go beyond the essay to learn more about the topics addressed. The book is divided into three sections. Each section features a thought-provoking introduction by the editors that provides a general overview and frames each selection in a larger context, which helps the reader understand the relevance of the selections that follow.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction: Women, Crime, and Criminal Justice: An Overview, Lynne Goodstein
Part I: Connecting Gender and Crime
2. Women, Danger, and Criminology, Elizabeth A. Stanko
3. 'Out of Sight/Out of Mind': Girls in the Juvenile Justice System, Meda Chesney-Lind
4. Girls and Gangs, Rodney K. Brunson and Jody Miller
5. Doing Crime and Being Victimized: Agency and Victimization in Women's Illicit Lives and in the Legal Treatment of Women in Prostitution, Lisa Sanchez
6. Gender and Violence, Candace Kruttschnitt
7. Crime and Punishment in the Lives of Women Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) Users: Exploring the Gender, Lifestyle, and Legal Issues, Richard F. Mancuso and Brenda A. Miller
8. Explaining Female Offending, Darrell Steffensmeier and Lisa Broidy
Part II: Crimes Against Women
9. Woman Battering: More Than a Family Problem, Kathleen J. Ferraro
10. Sexual Assault, Julie Allison and Irene Kollenbroich-Shea
11. Corporate Violence Against Women, Linda Rynbrandt and Ronald C. Kramer
12. Understanding Violence Against Women: Universal Human Rights and International Law, Judith Bessant and Sandy Cook
Part III: Gender, Law, and Criminal Justice
13. Female Crime Trends, 1960-1995, Darrell Steffensmeier
14. Gender and Law, Frances Bernat
15. Women, Race, and Criminal Justice Processing, Evelyn Gilbert
16. When Victims Become Defendants: Battered Women Charged With Crimes, Sue Osthoff
17. Perspectives on Women in Prison, Barbara Owen
18. Gender and Policing, Susan L. Miller
19. Femininities, Masculinities, and Organizational Conflict: Women in Criminal Justice Occupations, Nancy C. Jurik and Susan E. Martin