Gender Gap Trends for Violent Crimes, 1980 to 2003

Abstract

The authors examine 1980 to 2003 trends in female-to-male interpersonal violence reported in Uniform Crime Reports (UCR) arrest statistics and National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) victimization data. Augmented Dickey-Fuller time-series techniques and intuitive plot displays show much overlap yet differences in each source's portrayal of trends in female violence levels and the gender gap. Both sources show little or no change in the gender gap for homicide and rape/sexual assault, whereas UCR police counts show a sharp rise in female-to-male arrests for criminal assault during the past one to two decades-but that rise is not borne out in NCVS counts. Net-widening policy shifts have apparently escalated the arrest proneness of females for "criminal assault" (e.g., policing physical attacks/threats of marginal seriousness that women in relative terms are more likely to commit); rather than women having become any more violent, official data increasingly mask differences in violent offending by men and women.

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“…However, gender gap trends in violent crime in official police data may be biased, since they reflect both changes in criminal behaviors and policy practices (Steffensmeier et al, 2006). Nevertheless, gender patterns of violent offending as registered by the National Crime Victimization Survey compared with uniform crime data in the United States indicate that the trends showing narrowing gender gaps were similar in the two data sources.…”

“…Over the past three decades, control policy has shifted away from the penal-welfare model (based on a rehabilitative perspective) toward a more proactive and risk management policy (Feld, 2009;Steffensmeier et al, 2006). This "new culture of crime control," as termed by Garland (2001), has led to mass arrests and higher rates of imprisonment in the late 20th century (Beckett, 1997;Feld, 1999;Garland, 2001;Hogeveen, 2005).…”

“…During the last two decades there has been an escalation in the number of messages produced by the entertainment media and movies which depict and even glorify female violent activity (e.g., "Charlie's Angels," "Kill Bill"). These messages have an influence on gender-role expectations and may amplify attitudes toward and perceptions of gender equality in violent behavior (Hall, 2004;Lauritsen, et al, 2009;Steffensmeier et al, 2005Steffensmeier et al, , 2006.…”

“…Nevertheless, the debate regarding the gender gap in violent offending persists and is far from settled. Some scholars claim that the gap between females and males is mostly characterized by stability (Steffensmeier, 1993;Steffensmeier et al, 2005Steffensmeier et al, , 2006 while others argue that it is closing over time (Heimer, 2000;Lauristen et al, 2009;O'Brien, 1999).…”

“…Recently, trends of female violent crime have received increased attention. Indeed, there is growing evidence that female rates of nonlethal violence have climbed over the last decades (Gavazzi & Chesney-Lind, 2006;Lauritsen et al, 2009;Morse, 2002;Schaffner, 1999;Steffensmeier et al, 2005Steffensmeier et al, , 2006). An examination of official police data in the United States has showed that between the years 1980 and 2000 female rates of arrests have increased for simple assault from 21% to 33%, and from 15% to 24% for aggravated assault.…”