Gender Differentials in Criminal Behaviour in Nigeria
No Thumbnail Available
Date
2016-09-28
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Pathways to African Feminism and Development, Journal of African Women's Studies Centre. University of Nairobi
Abstract
The relationship between gender and crime is intense and persistent. Both women
and men commit and are victims of crime, but their perspectives, understanding, and
interpretation of the crime are likely to be different. While attempts have been made
to explain the causes and horrible implications of crime in Nigerian society, not
much has been done in terms of research to link gender with commission of crime.
Thus, this paper examines the relationship between gender and crime in Nigeria. The
paper enunciates the reasons for gender differential in crime and also uses the
containment theory and the opportunity theory of female criminality to explain these
differences. The Nigerian Prisons Service Statistics on all inmates across all the
prisons in Nigeria was considered. Using the available data, the paper contends that
women’s crime rates are far lower than men’s crime rates. The paper concludes with
suggestions on how to reduce the crime rate of men, by them being closely
supervised and discouraged from misbehaviour. Men should also be socialized
heavily towards greater empathy.
Description
Keywords
Women, Men, Delinquency, Behaviour
Citation
Rasheed, S. R. L. A., Abdullateef, R., Ganiyu, O. A., & Abdulbaqi, S. Z. (2016). Gender Differentials in Criminal Behaviour in Nigeria. Pathways to African Feminism and Development, Journal of African Women's Studies Centre, 1(4).