Key Characteristics of Feminist Criminology Term Paper

Key Characteristics of Feminist Criminology - Term Paper Example Infanticide has historically been considered a sex-specific crime, or one that "actually excludes the members of one sex by legal definition." Carol Smart points out in her descriptions of the English legal system that infanticide is the one exception to equally applicable British law since it is an offense committable only by women. Some attribute this offense to the occasion when an unmarried mother must rid herself of a shameful secret through suffocation, strangulation, and the infliction of wounds or fractures to the skull as the most frequent forms of infanticide. (Coramae Richey) It is difficult for a woman to use physical strength in an assault, so she is forced to use a knife or a household product. The practice of throwing scarring solutions such as lye, gasoline, and acids is still a common practice used by women to equalize their lack of assaultive strength. Many violent women offenders wait until their male victims are asleep to perpetuate their assaults, which, in some cases, become homicides. (Coramae Richey) Very little is known about family violence, but recent examinations of the problem have revealed some startling cases of women who abuse their children, husband, and parents. The actual extent of family violence is generally unknown. The younger child is most often the victim, and while mothers are more likely (68 percent) than fathers (58 percent) to commit child abuse, both parents are equally capable of serious violence against their children. The thought of the 'little woman' beating up or battering her husband is cause for many deep guffaws, especially from men. Yet this form of spouse abuse is now believed to be more commonplace than previously imagined.