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The Invisible Woman
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The Invisible Woman
Gender, Crime, and Justice

Fifth Edition
August 2020 | 568 pages | SAGE Publications, Inc
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Now with SAGE Publishing!

The Invisible Woman: Gender, Crime, and Justice offers a thorough exploration of the theories and issues regarding the experiences of women and girls with the criminal justice system as victims, offenders, and criminal justice professionals. Working to counter the "invisibility" of women in criminal justice, this definitive text utilizes a feminist perspective that incorporates current research, theory, and the intersections of sexism with racism, classism, and other types of oppression. Focusing on empowerment of marginalized populations, author Joanne Belknap’s gendered approach to the criminal justice system examines how to improve the visibility of women and to promote their role in society.


Included with this title:

The password-protected Instructor Resource Site (formally known as SAGE Edge) offers access to all text-specific resources, including a test bank and editable, chapter-specific PowerPoint® slides. Learn more.

 
Preface and Acknowledgments
 
New to This Edition
 
About the Author
 
Part I: Introduction
 
Chapter 1: Gendering Criminology Through an Intersectional Lens
Diversity Among Women and Girls

 
What Is Feminism?

 
Women and Girls’ Invisibility

 
Sex Versus Gender

 
What Are Feminist Methods?

 
The Effect of Societal Images on Women Regarding Crime

 
Summary

 
 
Part II: Women And Girls’ Offending
 
Chapter 2: Theories Part I: Positivist, Evolutionary, Strain, Differential Association, Social Control, and Women’s Emancipation Theories
The Original and Positivist Studies

 
Biosocial and Evolutionary (Psychological) Theories (BSETs)

 
Strain Theories

 
Differential Association Theory (DAT) and Social Learning Theory (SLT)

 
Social Control Theories (SCTs)

 
Women’s Liberation/Emancipation Hypothesis (WLEH)

 
Summary

 
 
Chapter 3: Theories Part II: Critical, Labeling, Cycle of Violence, Life Course, Pathways, and Masculinity Theories
Agency and Resiliency

 
Critical Theories

 
Labeling Theory (LT)

 
Developmental and Adverse Life Events Theories

 
Masculinity Theory (MT)

 
Summary

 
 
Chapter 4: Accounting for Gender–Crime Patterns
Measuring Crime

 
The Roles of Gender Regarding Co-Offenders, Age, Race, Class, Sexuality, and Mental Illness

 
Summary

 
 
Chapter 5: The Context of Women and Girls’ Offending for Specific Crimes
Drugs and Alcohol: Substance Use, Abuse, and Selling (SUAS)

 
Theft, Burglary, and Robbery

 
White-Collar Crimes (WCCs)

 
Sex Work and Prostitution

 
Aggression and Assault

 
Child Abductions/Kidnappings

 
Homicides

 
Girls and Women in Gangs

 
Summary

 
 
Chapter 6: Processing Women and Girls in the Criminal Legal System
Hypotheses of Gender Discrimination in the CLS

 
Chivalry Is Complicated

 
The Legacy of Racism and Confounding Measures of Race/Ethnicity

 
Criminal Laws and Gender Discrimination

 
Processing Youthful Defendants/Offenders

 
Empirical Findings on Gender Differences in Adult Crime Processing

 
Chivalry Remains Complicated

 
Summary

 
 
Chapter 7: Incarcerating, Punishing, and “Treating” Offending Women and Girls
The History of Incarcerating Women and Girls

 
Rates of Incarceration

 
The Women’s Prison Regime

 
Educational, Vocational, and Recreational Programs

 
Health Needs and Access to Services

 
The Prison Subculture

 
Sexual Abuse of Women and Girls While Incarcerated

 
Summary

 
 
Part III: Gender-Based Abuse
 
Chapter 8: Gender-Based Abuse (GBA)
Defining Gender-Based Abuse (GBA)

 
Culture, Gender Inequality, and GBA

 
Rates of GBA and the Fear of Crime

 
Focusing on Intersectional GBA: The History and Its Legacy

 
Trafficking

 
Corporate and Environmental GBA

 
Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG)

 
What Does Feminist Reform Look Like?

 
Summary

 
 
Chapter 9: Focusing on Sexual Abuse
Defining Sexual Abuse

 
Historical Developments in Defining Rape and Other Sexual Abuses

 
Another Look at Rape Myths and a Rape Culture

 
Statistics on Sexual Abuse

 
Child Sexual Abuse (CSA)

 
College Sexual Abuse

 
Marital/Spousal/Partner Rape

 
Sexual Harassment

 
Sexual Abuse and the Criminal Legal System (CLS)

 
Summary

 
 
Chapter 10: Intimate Partner Abuse (IPA) and Stalking
Defining Intimate Partner Abuse (IPA) and Stalking

 
The Significance of Coercion/Coercive Control

 
IPA Tactics

 
Stalking Tactics

 
The Historical Identification of IPA and Stalking as Social Problems

 
The Frequency of IPA and Stalking

 
Walker’s Cycle Theory of Violence

 
IPA and Stalking Abusers

 
IPA and Stalking Victims/Survivors

 
Inhibitors to Leaving/Returning to an Abusive Relationship and What Helps Survivors Leave

 
IPA and Stalking and the Criminal Legal System (CLS)

 
Summary

 
 
Part IV: Women Working In The Criminal Legal System
 
Chapter 11: Women Working in Prisons and Jails
A Brief History of Sex/Gender Discrimination in the Paid Labor Force

 
Comparing Racial and Gender Workplace Discrimination

 
The Matron Role: Women’s Breaking Into CLS Jobs Through Sexist Stereotypical Positions

 
Women as Token Workers

 
Women Trailblazers

 
The Significant Role of Legislative and Court Rulings on Women’s Work in the CLS

 
Prisoner Privacy and Prison Safety: Legal Resistance to Women Guards

 
Gender Similarities and Differences in Guards’ Job Performance and Attitudes

 
Summary

 
 
Chapter 12: Women Working in Policing and Law Enforcement
What Is Policing?

 
Women Breaking Into Police Work

 
Police Officer Identities

 
Title VII and Other Legislation and Policies

 
Resistance to Women in Policing

 
Sexual Harassment

 
Gender and Stress

 
Gender Differences in Job Performance

 
Classifications of Women Police Officers

 
Women’s Representation in Policing

 
The Intersection of Racism and Sexual Identity With Gender and Sexism

 
Summary

 
 
Chapter 13: Women Working in the Courts
The History of Women on Juries

 
The History of Women’s Access to Legal Education and Training

 
Women in Law Schools Since the 1950s

 
Women Attorneys

 
Women Judges

 
Looking for Gender Differences in Judges’ Decision-Making

 
Women Law Professors

 
Summary

 
 
Part V: Conclusions
 
Chapter 14: Effecting Change
Improving Theoretical Approaches

 
Improving Research Methods

 
Two Strategies Cutting Across Offending, Victimization, and CLS Workers

 
Changing the Risks for and Responses to Girls and Women’s Offending

 
Changing Responses to Gender-Based Abuse (GBA)

 
Changes for Women Working in the Criminal Legal System (CLS)

 
Summary

 
 
References
 
Index

This book was used in the previous iteration of this course and has a lot of the themes I want touch upon as well. It explains the disparity of women and the justice system whether it be corrections, policing or the courts effectively

Mr Robert Green
School of Criminal Justice, Rutgers University Newark
August 11, 2024
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Several chapters in this text addresses intersectionality, masculinity and categorizing young girls and women in the context of how this course is taught. The book is a compliment to journal articles and popular culture readings assigned in this class.

Dr Vida Samuel
Communications, Univ Of Connecticut-Stamford
October 27, 2021
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Key features
NEW AND KEY FEATURES:
  • New and timely topics are examined, including queer criminology, anti-carceral/abolitionist feminism, structural sexism, adultification, environmental criminology, the #MeToo movement, revenge porn, and trauma-informed care.
  • A renewed focus on marginalized populations is included with new discussions of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls, children of incarcerated women, IPA tactics by perpetrators against immigrant, LGBTQI+, and people with disabilities, non-binary gender identities, and transphobia in policing.
  • New data and research throughout provide readers with an up-to-date perspective on gender and the criminal justice system today.
  • Chapter 4 from the previous edition is now separated into two new chapters (Chapter 4: Accounting for Gender Crime Patterns and Chapter 5: The Context of Women’s and Girls’ Offending).
  • Built on the powerful theme of “invisible women” and featuring a strong feminist perspective, this definitive text offers a comprehensive survey of multidisciplinary research and theory on female offenders, victims, and criminal justice workers.

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