11. Feminist Criminology
11.9 Discussion Questions
Dr. Rochelle Stevenson; Dr. Jennifer Kusz; Dr. Tara Lyons; and Dr. Sheri Fabian
- We find young people in particular often feel uncomfortable identifying as feminists. What is your definition of feminism and why do you think people may reject the label?
- Consider the offence of theft. How would each of the six feminist perspectives explain the role and impact of gender?
- How can we use feminist criminology to understand the #MeToo movement – both the offenders and the victims?
- While Crenshaw talks about intersectionality within education (Kimberlé Crenshaw: What is Intersectionality?), how can we think about the same ideas within the criminal justice system?
- Thinking about intersectionality, what are some ways Black, Indigenous, and women of colour may be harmed by policy changes such as mandatory domestic violence charging, or the criminalisation of sex work?
- As noted in the case study of MMIWG, in 1996, the RCAP asked “Why in a society where justice is supposed to be blind are the inmates of our prisons selected so overwhelmingly from a single ethnic group [Indigenous peoples]?” (Hamilton & Sinclair, 1996). Today we know that Indigenous peoples continue to be over-represented throughout the criminal justice system at alarming rates, and these rates are now even more pronounced for Indigenous women. How can the information about feminism and feminist criminology presented in this chapter help explain these findings?