Gender And Crime: Sexual Assault Assessment Answer

The individuals who do not have proper control over their mind and body are considered to be indulged in unlawful or illegal attitudes (Burton, et al., 1998). However, there is a great variation in the percentage involvement of men and women in various types of crime. It is the well maintained criteria of the society about males that they should earn money for the welfare of the family and females should take care of the family. This is the basic reason why the rate of females involving in criminal activities is less. In all the countries, the percentage of women involving in various crimes is considered to be less than the percentage of men committing crimes. This distinction is equally similar for all the countries and for all the racial groups and cultural communities (Net Industries, 2016). Particularly in Australia, the rate of offending has increased by 2% till 2015 and it is continuously increasing (abs, 2016). The rate of percentage of wrongdoers involved in kidnappings and harassment is the maximum out of the total number of offences occurring every year.

The rate of sexual assault of women in Australia is twice the rate of sexual assault all over the world. According to the report of NSW Rape Crisis Centre, Australian women above the age of 15 years are victims of rape and sexual assault. The report of Australian Institute of Family Studies mentioned that sexual violence is the most prevalent crime over there and it involves child sexual abuse, sexual exploitation and sexual assault but such crimes are not reported due to various reasons (Australian Institute of Family Studies, 2016). The attitudes and perceptions of the society believe in justifying such acts especially in case of females. The Australian Bureau of Statistics reported that sexual assault is a major offence and is approximately nine percent of the total violent criminal acts (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 1998). The main victims are the females in cases of sexual assault and the offenders are mainly the males all over the World. Taking into consideration all these facts, it is obvious that the rate of women victimization is much more in comparison to males in case of sexual assault. However, males can also be the victims of sexual assault but few of them report it to the police. In Victoria, evidences from help line services for crime victims advocate that a huge proportion of men are the victim of sexual assault. Out of approximately 40% male victims of sexual assault who call on help line numbers, only 6 to 7% complaint it to the police ( Victoria Police Service, 1992).

Discussion

In Psychology, distinction between mental status of men and women committing crime varies according to the general criteria of the society about men and women. It is a fact that the individual committing crimes of any degree are mentally ill but there are various other reasons also due to which some individuals tend to commit crime such as poverty, lack of education, lack of adequate facilities, as well as improper guidance. The involvement of females in criminal behaviors is more likely to be due to the mental, physical, or sexual harassment during a phase of their life but the rate of their involvement is still lower in comparison to males except in prostitution. There are various categories of crimes in which the ratio of males and females remain approximately same such as in frauds, theft, shoplifting etc. Due to increase in population, expenses, lack of financial resources and education, the rate of crime is increasing day by day.

Differences in the Types of Crimes Committed by Men and Women

There is a distinction between the types of crimes committed by males and females. In Victoria, Queensland, and South Australia in the year 2009-10, out of total crimes occurred, 75% were conducted by the males only and the percentage of females was 25% (Australian Institute of Criminology, 2012). Trends of total number of offences occurring show similar patterns for both the genders (Australian Institute of Criminology, 2001).

The representation of females has been low in the categories of serious crimes. Including prostitution, females get involved in minor category of crimes such as fraud, larceny-theft, and cheatings. The rate of percentage of women indulging in such activities is increasing day by day. The crime of shoplifting is the most common criminal activity which comes under the category of thefts and frauds. Fraudulent acts done by women include forgery and frauds. Such kind of illegal acts attuned with the traditional roles of the women as consumers.

The opinion about the trends of crimes regarding the proportion of males and females vary from person to person. In case of minor crimes such as in property related crimes, the percentage of females participating in crimes is continuously increasing since 1960s. Females are found to be involved in substance abuse related crimes also but their percentage remains low and consistent. The National Crime Victimization Survey reported that females are less involved in severe offences and cause less destruction to the society in the form of less monetary loss. Moreover, there are very less chances of them becoming a repeat offenders and are less likely to be indulging in the criminal activities for long duration in comparison to males. On the other hand, males are more aggressive in nature and are more likely to be involved in serious and violent crimes. Males are more likely to be involved in criminal gangs and doing violent crimes such as murder, kidnappings, hijacks etc. In such crimes, men play the lead characters and females usually assist them in such activities. Although the rate of crime is equally similar for males and females but the involvement of men and women in variety of crimes is different.

Differences in Males and Females Committing Sexual Assaults

Sexual assault is the most prevalent crime in the category of violent crimes in Australia. The survey which is conducted by the Personal Safety Survey determines the nature and extent of the physical as well as mental harassment experienced by the males and females due to sexual assault since 15 years of age. It also measures the impact of such acts over the victims and actions taken by them subsequent to such actions. According to one of the Surveys conducted in Australia in 2011, out of total reported crimes of sexual assault, 85% were reported by females. In 2012, the highest rate of sexual assault was reported in New South Wales, out of which maximum victims were women (CASA Forum, 2016). Data collected by ABS in 2005 shows that one in every six women and one in every twenty men becomes victims of sexual assault since the age of fifteen years. The report shows that the percentage of women victims is far more than the percentage of men victims of sexual assault. It also depicts that chief offenders are men in sexual assault cases and major victims are women. In majority of the cases of sexual assault, men are more likely to be victimized by their known while females are more likely to be assaulted by their known (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2006).

Conclusion

Sexual assault is the most common crime in category of violent crimes in Australia. There are various other crimes also which affects the society and these crimes can easily be differentiated according to their nature and extent whether they are more likely to be committed by men or women. In overall crime rate, the trends are similar in males and females but there is specification in the category-wise distribution of criminal activities among them. Males are more likely to be active and leading in violent and aggressive acts while females are more likely to be involved in minor category of less violent crimes.

References

Victoria Police Service, 1992. Code of Practice for Sexual Assault, Melbourne: s.n.

abs, 2016. Australian offender numbers continued to rise. [Online]
Available at: https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/mf/4519.0/
[Accessed 2016].

Australian Bureau of Statistics, 1998. Recorded Crime Australia 1997, Canberra: Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2006. Personal Safety Survey, s.l.: s.n.

Australian Institute of Criminology, 2001. Sexual Violence in Australia, s.l.: s.n.

Australian Institute of Criminology, 2012. Chapter 4: Selected offender profiles, s.l.: Australian Institute of Criminology.

Australian Institute of Family Studies, 2016. Sexual Violence Research, s.l.: s.n.

Burton, V. S. et al., 1998. Gender, self control, and crime. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 35(2), pp. 123-147.

CASA Forum, 2016. Fact Sheet: Statistics about sexual assault, s.l.: CASA Forum.

Net Industries, 2016. Gender and Crime - Differences Between Male And Female Offending Patterns, s.l.: Law Library.