Women In Crime: A Causal Explanation

Gender though a fundamental, is largely an ignored issue in the field of criminal justice system. The main reason for this neglect is a small number of women involved in criminal activities worldwide as compared to men. One of the most persistent research findings in criminology is that men commit much more crime than women. During the past decades there is an upsurge in number ofcrimes committed by women. A few researchers attribute this increase to economic and social independence of women in contemporary society. The literature review identifies the differences in the causes of crime for men and women. Women are likely to have different criminogenic needs because their routes into offending and reasons for offending are different to those of men. The main objective of this paper is to highlight the type of offences committed by females lodged in different prisons. A group of 200 women prisoners located in seven prisons in the state of Punjab, the state of Haryana, and the Union Territory of Chandigarh in India were interviewed. Results show that a majority of the women lodged in prisons committed crime for economic reasons. Economic necessity forced them to indulge in crime to fulfill their needs as well as of their dependent family members.