Men and Women Inmates’ Accounts of Their Pathways to Crime: A Gender Analysis

ABSTRACT

Most of the research on gender differences in crime has been based on quantitative methods and focused on either women or men, but not both. In this qualitative study, we explored the association between gender and perceived pathways to crime. We employed a thematic analysis of 20 interviews with inmates, focusing on how they negotiated notions about femininity and masculinity while constructing their own pathways to crime. Men and women presented different pathways, but both oscillated between pathways guided by victimization and by power seeking. The findings suggest possible new directions regarding the use of gender binaries in criminology research and indicate the heavy toll of gender essentialism on both genders.

Notes

¹ The term Mizrahim is used to refer one of two main Jewish ethnic categories in Israeli society, namely, Jews who came to Israel from Middle Eastern and North African countries. In general, this group occupies the lower echelons of Israeli Jewish society (Levey and Sasson-Levy 2008).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Keren Gueta

KEREN GUETA is a Lecturer in the Department of Criminology at Bar-Ilan University. Her major areas of research are drug addiction among women, motherhood on the margins, and gender differences in crime. In addition to her academic roles, Dr. Gueta is a clinical criminologist and worked for the Israeli prisoner rehabilitation authority.

Gila Chen

GILA CHEN is a Senior lecturer in the Department of Criminology at Ashkelon Academic College. Her major areas of research are drug addiction and treatment, youth at-risk, women offenders, male and female inmates, and gender differences in crime and substance abuse, and child abuse. In addition to her academic roles, Dr. Chen is a short term psychotherapist.