University lecturer blames police, judges for rise in women being arrested
A SYDNEY law lecturer and a feminist lawyer have blamed sexist cops and judicial officers for the rise in women being arrested for violent crimes.
NSW
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A SYDNEY law lecturer and a feminist lawyer have blamed sexist cops and judicial officers for the rise in women being arrested for violent crimes.
Sydney University associate professor Dr Rita Shackel and Anna Kerr, principal solicitor at the Feminist Legal Clinic, argued in a law journal article “the police and judiciary would appear to be delivering equality with a vengeance”.
The pair said that the number of women being arrested for domestic violence offences was increasing five times faster than male figures, blaming the increase on “pervasive systemic gender bias”.
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They also argued that women should be given more lenient sentences because they suffer more behind bars and complained “sentencing guidelines do not allow for a distinction to be made between male and female offenders”.
“There has been a significant increase in women who are themselves charged with family violence offences,” they wrote in the Australian Lawyers Alliance journal.
“Recent years have seen a concerted effort by law enforcement agencies to attempt to equalise the numbers — arguably not by reducing male offending, but by charging and jailing more women. The increased incarceration of women for violence-related offences … points to pervasive systemic gender bias and discrimination in the criminal justice process.”
NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics reported in March that the number of women on remand had more doubled between 2011 and 2017.
Ms Kerr and Ms Shackel’s article said the rights and freedoms of women were “under attack” by a system which did not distinguish between male and female violence.
“This approach fails to acknowledge the distinct characteristics of female defendants and the inherent dynamics of domestic violence — including women’s lower reoffending rates, their histories of trauma, increased suffering in custody and greater caregiving responsibilities.”
Ms Kerr told The Daily Telegraph the police and judiciary lacked understanding of power imbalances in domestic violence cases.
“The significant disparities in physical strength and resources between parties are not being taken into account.”
She said there should be a presumption in favour of bail for women primary caregivers.