what does chivalry thesis mean

Gender Differences in Crime – Chivalry Thesis

The chivalry thesis: examining gender differences in crime.

What is the Chivalry Thesis?

The chivalry thesis proposes that because of their perceived vulnerability as victims of male violence, female criminals are treated differently than their male counterparts by criminal justice systems. It suggests that police officers, prosecutors, judges, and juries are all more likely to treat female offenders with leniency due to their gender . In other words, it implies that men face harsher punishments for the same crimes than women do.

‘Men hate to accuse women and thus send them to their punishment, police officers dislike to arrest them, district attorneys to prosecute them, judges and juries to find them guilty, and so on’ – Pollak (1950)

Evidence Against the Chivalry Thesis

Despite early evidence in favor of the chivalry thesis, researchers have since found plenty of data that refutes this hypothesis. For example, a 1998 study by Heidensohn et al., which looked at 35 countries including England and Wales found no evidence that female offenders were consistently treated more lightly than male offenders. Similarly, studies conducted by Carlen (1992) and Walklate (1998) both concluded that there was no significant difference between how men and women were dealt with by criminal justice systems.

In addition to these empirical findings, functionalist sex role theory has also been used to explain gender differences in crime. According to this perspective, differences in offending patterns between men and women can be explained by looking at how society rewards particular types of behavior for each gender based on traditional gender roles—for example, males are rewarded for aggression while females are rewarded for passivity and obedience. This theory suggests that instead of being treated differently because they are female, women commit fewer offenses because they do not receive social approval or rewards for aggressive behavior like men do.

Feminist Explanations for Female Crime

The feminist perspective provides an additional explanation for why women commit fewer crimes than men—namely, patriarchal power structures prevent them from having access to resources necessary to engage in certain types of criminal activities such as drug dealing or theft from businesses (Smart & Neale 2006). Because these activities require some degree of financial independence or freedom from supervision (both of which are largely denied to most women), they are less likely to engage in such crimes than their male counterparts who have greater access to resources and autonomy within society (Smart & Neale 2006). Furthermore, feminists argue that due to patriarchal power structures like sexism and racism which limit economic opportunities for minority women particularly those living in poverty-stricken neighborhoods- many resorting illegal activities as a means of survival.(Smart & Neale 2006).

Gender Differences in Crime

Overall it appears clear from our discussion today that while there may have been some truth behind Pollak’s original chivalry thesis when it was first proposed back in 1950; further research has revealed a much more complex picture regarding gender differences in crime today. As we have seen here there is strong evidence against the notion that criminal justice systems treat female offenders differently than male ones but also important insights provided by functionalist sex role theory and feminist explanations which cast light on why certain behaviors may be seen as ‘deviant’ or ‘criminal’ depending on one’s gender identity or socioeconomic background respectively . All these factors combined prove just how nuanced an issue like this really is – one which requires further exploration if we ever hope to fully understand its implications both now and into the future .

Why not check out our video on Why Women Commit Less Crime Than Men? ​​

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Gender Bias and Punishment

Is there a gender bias in the criminal justice system ? Are women and men treated differently by the police and the courts? There are two thoughts on this issue:

The chivalry thesis – chivalry means treating others, especially women with courtesy, sympathy and respect. The chivalry theory states that women are treated more leniently than men by the criminal justice system. Male chivalry means that the police are less likely to charge women, and the courts will tend to give women a lighter sentence, even when they have committed the same offences as men.

An alternate theory is the double deviance theory. This argument states that women are treated more harshly by the criminal justice system. This is because they are guilty of being doubly deviant. They have deviated from accepted social norms by breaking the law and deviated from gender norms which state how woman should behave.

Many woman feel they have been treated harshly by the criminal justice system. They see it as a male-dominated institution and feel their treatment has been unsympathetic and unjust. (Heidensohn 2002)

The evidence:

After arrest, women are more likely than men to be cautioned rather than charged. They are less likely than men to be remanded in custody or committed for trial.

Woman offenders are more likely than men to be discharged or given a community sentence and less likely to be fined or sentenced to prison.

Woman sent to prison receive shorter sentences than men (Home Office). This suggests that the criminal justice system does treat woman more leniently.  However we need to take the seriousness of the offence and difference in offending history into account. The higher cautioning rate for woman and the lower likelihood of being remanded in custody or sent for trial reflects differences in the type of offence and past offences (Home Office). Female offences tend to be less serious and women are less likely to have a criminal record. This suggests that there is no sympathetic bias for or against women.

Courtesy of Lee Bryant, Director of Sixth Form, Anglo-European School, Ingatestone, Essex

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Chivalry Thesis - Gender and Crime

Last updated 30 Nov 2022

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The concept of chivalry thesis as an explanation of why crime statistics show men commit many more criminal acts than women is explained in this video.

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• Crime and Deviance
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Chivalry, Masculinity, and the Importance of Maleness to Judicial Decision Making

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The chivalry thesis claims that women will be treated more leniently for committing certain crimes, generally shoplifting is often associated more with females than males, but the statistics suggest that males commit many more acts of theft than women, an

Using material from Item A and elsewhere, assess the value of ‘chivalry thesis ‘in understanding differences in crime.  gfg

Pollak (1950) was of the opinion that police and magistrates tended to be more ‘chivalrous’ and ‘lenient’ towards female offenders, resulting in sentence disparities, and as a result, criminal statistics underestimate the amount of female offending. (Item A).

Pollak (1961) argued that men – namely in this case police officers, magistrates and judges, are socialised to be protective towards women and thus are less likely to chare or prosecute them, and are also treated more leniently in court. Pollak goes further to argue that women are accustomed to deceiving men, for example in faking orgasms during sex, or lying in a relationship to gain material wealth. This skill in deceit mean that their crimes, such as poisoning and infanticide, are less easily uncovered (item A) leading to women being underrepresented in criminal statistics.

The chivalry thesis claims that women will be treated more leniently for committing certain crimes, generally shoplifting is often associated more with females than males, but the statistics suggest that males commit many more acts of theft than women, and this may be because females are let off with a warning rather than a conviction. This could be because the statistics of crime are so male dominated, a police officer may not think convicting a woman of petty theft is worth it, when there may be, in his opinion, a man selling drugs elsewhere, it may not be worth it in his view. Similarly, men are more likely to be convicted of theft because the criminal justice system seemingly victimises males over females, while it is probably more likely that males are more likely to commit crime than females, the gap between the crime rates between gender may not be as large as first assumed. It is also possible that female occurrences of shoplifting, as Pollak argues, never even come to the attention of the authorities, again because more often than not they are not reported.

Farrington and Morris (1983) which involved a study of ‘sentencing’ in Magistrates courts. They discovered in 1979, 6.6% of men, but only 2% of women found guilty of indictable offences were imprisoned. Although men received more severe sentences than women, the research found the differences disappeared when the severity of offences was taken into account. Although personal opinions of the judges, witness reports or specific details of the crimes in question may have played a role, this does show that to an extent women are more likely to be let off for an offence.

This is a preview of the whole essay

Hilary Allen (1989) based upon an examination criminal statistics of 1987, showed apparent leniency towards female offenders. For example, of people found guilty of indictable motoring offences, 73% of women, but only 54% of men were given fines, this difference resulting in more men being given prison sentences. Although these findings may not show the severity of the specific offences. Campbell through self report studies in 1976, of urban schoolgirls, compared to 16 year old males, these sources showed that 1.33 offences were committed by males for every 1.0 for females, this hugely contrasted to 1976 official figures on convictions, which showed 8.95 convictions for every female 1.0. This shows how official statistics can be greatly misleading, that although males may convict more crime, the gulf between the amount of offences shown by statistics, and popular opinion, is not as wide as it seems.

Although these studies do give evidence towards the chivalry thesis, the bulk of research does not give this indication. Steven box 1981, reviewed data from self report studies in UK and USA, and concluded that ‘the weight of evidence on women committing serious offences does not give clear support to the view that they receive differential and more favourable treatment from members of the public, police or judges’. Although it has to always be remembered that in a self report study, the validity and reliability relies upon the respondent’s ability and willingness to tell the truth, which is not always apparent.

To counter this, Buckle and Farrington carried out an observational study on shoplifting in a British department store in England 1981, found that only 1.4 % of the 361 females observed shoplifted, whereas 2.8% of the 361 males did. Although far too small of a sample to conclude anything categorically, it does provide evidence against the chivalry thesis.

A rather different, feminist view is that women are treated far more harshly by the criminal justice system than men, which often is the case in rape trials. Carol Smart argues that such trials ‘celebrate notions of male sexual need and female sexual capriciousness. ‘ The feminist view is often of the opinion that women are labelled as being dressed provocatively, being drunk when the rape occurred, or often the male in the case argues she did not object at the time of the incident, and by these happenings the male is let off. A similar feminist opinion is found in the case of domestic violence, in a study on domestic violence by Dobash and Dobash, it was found that police officers were ‘very unlikely to make an arrest when the offender has used violence against his wife. ‘(1979). this has spurred feminist campaigners to urge police officers to take cases of domestic violence more seriously.

Pollak’s full chivalry thesis is in short, slightly sexist as it states that ‘women are particularly adept at hiding their crimes, this is attributed to female biology ‘. Because of his inadequate analysis the theory has been subject to a heavy and fierce amount of criticism. Frances Hiedensohn 1985 slated the theory greatly, stating that is was based on analysis that had very little evidence and many unsupported assumptions, she regarded it as being based upon an unsubstantiated stereotypical image of women. In conclusion, although some parts of Pollak’s chivalry thesis, namely the parts saying women are naturally more likely to conceal crime are quite unsupported and base, studies associated with the theory have hinted that women are often in some cases treated more leniently by the criminal justice system. Although the extent of this cannot really be measured, statistics would have us believe that the gap between male and female criminality is huge, but upon closer investigation this is not the case. Reasons for this may be that criminology and sociology is largely dominated by males that the research is done on males by males, leading to an underrepresentation on female crime, or that perhaps female crimes are comparatively seen as trivial and are not deemed worthy of research. Whichever way it is looked it, there is a case for the argument that females are often not treated as harshly as males upon committing crime, but of course the opposite argument could be valid also.

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Matthew Wilkin

Overall this is a really strong essay. The content never drifts from the focus of the question, there is a good even debate on both sides of the discussion and the use of the item has been applied well. The studies applied are also very effective and support the evidence throughout. At times there is opportunity to apply key terms such as iceberg theory or the hidden figure of crime.

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• Word Count 1144
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• Level AS and A Level
• Subject Sociology

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Gender and the criminal Justice System

• An alternative approach is looking into how the criminal Justice system (CJS) treats women is known as the chivalry thesis.
• The chivalry thesis says that women are treated more leniently than men by the CJS, such as treating women with my sympathy and respect, and so they are less likely to be convicted.
• Anderson (1976) suggests that the CJS is male dominated and so has a stereotypical view of women as being helpless and naïve. Therefore women are more likely to be let off for offences.
• Female offenders are generally treated less seriously than male offenders, and seen as less of a threat. This means that they are more likely to receive minor punishments such as cautioning and warnings.

(-) Heidenson came up with the double deviance theory. This is a criticism of the chivalry thesis as it instead argued that women are in fact treated worse by the CJS than men as female criminals are seen as doubly deviant. They have deviated from both their social norms as well as their gender norms.

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The History Hit Miscellany of Facts, Figures and Fascinating Finds

The Knight’s Code: What Does Chivalry Really Mean?

Laura Mackenzie

19 jun 2018.

Chivalry today might mean opening a door for someone or picking up the bill in a restaurant but in the medieval period it mean something a little different…

Developed between the late 11th century and early 12th century, chivalry was an informal code of conduct associated with knights . Although some historians have since tried to define the chivalric code more strictly, in the Middle Ages it was a somewhat ambiguous concept and never written down in any kind of universally-recognised document.

At its heart, however, the code held an idealised image of the knight as a noble warrior who was not only fair in his dealings on the battlefield but also with women and God.

Where did the concept of chivalry come from?

Chivalry had its roots in the idealisation of cavalrymen in the Holy Roman Empire. Indeed, the term itself derives from the Old French term “chevalerie”, roughly meaning “ horse soldiery”.

But as a code of conduct for knights, chivalry was strongly influenced by the Crusades, a series of military expeditions beginning in the late 11th century that were organised by western European Christians in an effort to counter the spread of Islam.

As a result, the chivalric code encompassed both piety and other virtues promoted by religion at that time, as well as military skill. It also placed great emphasis on courtesy and governed the dealings between knights and women.

Fact vs fiction

The idea of courtly love has been a popular topic for artists.

This latter aspect of chivalry included “courtly love”, a tradition that actually started out as a literary invention but developed into a set of real-life practices. It referred to a love between knights and married gentlewomen that was seen as ennobling.

The concept of chivalry was not necessarily one that reflected the true goings on of the time or any period that came before it, however. As today, the word summoned up images of a golden bygone era that in reality did not truly exist.

It is telling that the best examples of chivalry are perhaps seen in the tales of King Arthur – largely the product of myth and fiction.

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