The Female Offender by Lisa Pasko, Meda Chesney-Lind (2003, Paperback)

Scholarship in criminology over the last few decades has often left little room for research and theory on how female offenders are perceived and handled in the criminal justice system. In truth, one out of every four juveniles arrested is female and the population of women in prison has tripled in the past decade. Co-authored by Meda Chesney-Lind, one of the pioneers in the development of the feminist theoretical perspective in criminology, the subject matter of The Female Offender: Girls, Women and Crime, Second Edition redresses the balance by providing critical insight into these issues.

In an engaging style, authors Meda Chesney-Lind and Lisa Pasko explore gender and cultural factors in women's lives that often precede criminal behavior and address the question of whether female offenders are more violent today than in the past. The authors provide a revealing look at how public discomfort with the idea of women as criminals significantly impacts the treatment received by this offender population.

Features and Benefits:

• Covers not only adult female offenders, but also how the interaction of sexism, racism, and social class inequalities results in girls becoming criminal offenders
• Focuses on consequences of the imprisonment binge that has resulted in an increasing number of girls and women being incarcerated
• Updated throughout with recent research and theories, new or expanded federal and state programs, and statistical data for such things as violence against girls and women, girls' gang membership, incarceration rates, and crimes perpetrated by girls and women

Bringing much-needed attention to the state of these often "invisible" wrongdoers, The Female Offender enlightens and intrigues readers including academics, researchers, and students in the areas of criminology, criminal justice, sociology, and women's studies. Likewise, anyone seeking cutting-edge information about a growing offender population will want to read this book.