Understanding Gender, Crime, and Justice

Merry Morash is Professor at the Michigan State University School of Criminal Justice, where she served as director from 1991 to 2001. She also is founder, Director and faculty instructor of the Michigan Victim Assistance Academy, which provides education for individuals who work with crime victims, and the Director of the Michigan Regional Community Policing Institute, and is Secretary of the Michigan DARE Advisory Board. Her primary research emphasis is on gender and crime, and current research is on domestic violence among Asian Americans and gender responsive programming for women offenders. She also has done extensive research on women in policing, and is currently engaged in research to follow up on women who participated in a study nearly a decade ago. She has recently served on the Domestic Violence Homicide Prevention Task Force, which was chaired by Michigan's Lt. Governor, and on the Advisory Board for the Michigan Judicial Institute bench book to assist judges in their work with crime victims. Dr. Morash is a coauthor of the textbooks, Juvenile Delinquency: Concepts and Control and Co-Editor of The Move to Community Policing: Making Change Happen, and has written and published extensively on women as offenders, police, and crime victims. Additional publications focus on assessment and implementation of criminal justice policy and juvenile delinquency programming and causation.

Preface 1. Key Questions About Gender, Crime and Justice Criteria used to select the theories that will be described Postmodern themes Brief overview Key terms Early theoretical work Injustices in Prior Policies and Practices Advances in Theory Ways of Knowing about gender, crime and justice Ways of Thinking about Gender, Crime, and Justice Organization of the chapters Key Terms Review and Discussion 2. Gender and the Law Introduction Laws against gender-relate victimization Laws related to reproduction and child protection Laws against prostitution Pornography and the law International law Law prohibiting consensual sexual activity between same sex adults Limits of the law Conclusion Key Terms Review and Discussion Websites to Explore 3. Gender-Related Victimization Description of gender-related victimization Fear and Everyday Violence Naming forms of gender-related victimization Denial of victimization Explaining gender-related victimization Immigration through marriage: The confluence of structural inequality, culture, and gender stereotypes Victimized offenders Effects of gender- and sexual orientation-related victimization Conclusion Key Terms Review and Discussion Websites to Explore 4. Social Movements and the Response to Victims of Gender-Related Crime Activists and social movements The Feminist Movement Movement activities aimed at diverse populations International priorities Backlash Conclusion Key Terms Review and Discussion Websites to explore 5. The Influence of Context and Individual Differences on Responses to Gender - Related Victimization Community characteristics and response to victims Organizational context and response to victims Individual-level influences on responses to victims Recasting victims as offenders Transforming the victim through court talk The media Victims exercising agency Constraints on agency Decisions about victims of gender-related crimes Too much criminal justice system? Conclusion Key Terms Review and Discussion Websites to explore 6. Explanations of Illegal Behavior Gender differences in amount and type of illegal behavior Economic marginalization Public policy and involvement in crime Questions answered by macro-level explanations The life course and pathways perspectives Gender identity and crime Biological explanations for females' and males' illegal behavior Offenders exercising agency in choosing to break the law Conclusion Key Terms Review and Discussion Websites to explore 7. Gender and Response to Lawbreakers Introduction Macro-level influences on responses to lawbreakers Organizational context and response to people who break the law Correctional and punitive responses Individual Level Explanations of Responses to Offenders Offenders' exercising agency: personal resources and decisions Conclusion Key Terms Review and Discussion Websites to explore 8. Advances and Challenges in Understanding Gender, Crime, and Justice Overview of advances Global perspective and globalization The relevance of context Intersections Agency and empowerment Complex theories Transgressing academic fields and theories within fields Gender and sexual orientation Research approaches Final comments on justice Public policy, legislation, and change Conclusion Key Terms Review and Discussion Websites to Explore Definitions References