Female Crime Victims: Fears

1
Female Crime Victims Fears Realities

• Dr. Michelle Meloy

2
Female Crime Victims

• Female victims are often invisible
• Battering and sexual assault are the most
  underreported of all crimes and these are crimes
  that disproportionately impact women
• Gender socialization males taught to be
  aggressive (linked to criminality) and females
  rewarded for being submissive (linked to
  victimization)

3
Female Crime Victims

• Gendered offending/victimization patterns linked
  to power control
• The continual threat of violence results in high
  levels of fear among women
• Discussion point Is womens fear of crime
  rational or irrational?
• Discussion point How does fear of crime limit
  and control women?

4
Just World Hypothesis

• Helps explain victim blaming
• We want to believe that we get what we deserve
• When bad things happen, it makes us feel safer to
  think the victim did something bad to cause it
• How does the Madonna vs. Whore duality work
  within this hypothesis?

5
Victim Blaming

• Give an example of a case when the media or the
  public engaged in victim blaming.