Gender Issues in the Law and Order Arena

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Gender issues in the law and order arena
Recommended ways of solving gender issues in the law and order arena
Conclusion
Reference List

Introduction

Gender is a term used to refer to the “psychological, social and cultural differences between males and females” (Miller, 1999, p.78). Gender is a socially constructed term whose development begins as early as during childhood. Therefore, the topic of gender inequality has been of global concern in the recent past. This is because the female gender has realized that they can as well perform the duties that are done by their male counterparts. It was due to this that the women organized the 1995 Beijing conference so as to fight gender inequality. This campaign was organized to make it known to the whole world that the female gender needed the same rights and position as the males (Taylor et al, 1999, p.342).

Despite their claims, it still remains a fact that women can never equate the male and especially in some fields of duty. The most common, is the law and order arena where women are still the minority. This is therefore an analysis of the gender issues that affect the service providers and especially of the female gender during their duty of service in the law and order arena by critically looking at the circumstances and hindrances they face in their line of duty. A recommendation on possible ways of solving the gender issues in the law and order arena will also be discussed.

Gender issues in the law and order arena

The law and enforcement arena is considered to have higher incidences of gender inequality issues as compared to other fields of duty. Not very long ago the law enforcement sector had hardly any females in their enforcement teams (Miller, 1999, p.107). However, things have changed since women have joined the law and order arena just like other professions. This is evidenced by research conducted in the United States which indicated that 12.7 percent of the police officers in USA were women as at 2002 from the previous 9 percent in 1990.

The growth rate is however very minimal indicating that it will take a few more years before gender equality is attained in the law and order arena. Nevertheless, despite their entry in the ‘male-based’ profession women have continued to face discrimination because of their newness in the job. This discrimination begins with being accorded to low ranks in the sector with low wages to make them feel inferior.

The main concern in the law and order arena as mentioned above is that the women who work as law enforcers face so many challenges in their line of duty. Most of these challenges such as male prejudice, sexual harassment, differential treatment, gender discriminations among others pose a difficult time for them. Their male counterparts usually want to make them feel that the family is more important than the career they want to engage in (Taylor et al, 1999, p.581).

This therefore makes most of the women to suffer silently without reporting due to the “code of silence in law enforcement agencies” as well as the retaliation they get from the males when they happen to report such wrong doing. For example, the working environment for the women working in the law and order arena is made hostile through sexist jokes from the fellow workers or even inmates in the case of a female prison warder.

Other than this, they are prone to being sexually harassed by being asked to offer sex in exchange to certain favors in the work place. In addition is the issue of gender discrimination, whereby the females are restricted from working in certain areas of the law and order arena (Farrell and Sterba, 2008, p.109). For instance, it is very rare to find female warders in the male prisons. At the same time, the high profile jobs in the field of law and order such as the magistrates and high court judges have for a long time been preserved for the males and not females. Not very long ago, people preferred being dealing with male attorneys or lawyers as compared to the female ones.

Women in the field of law and order also face the challenge of double standards whereby they need to have families which they have to take care of. Take the example of the women in the army who will go to fight in other countries may be on a peace keeping mission and take a period of at least three years. This way, such women will not be able to provide for the family if any and in most cases they end up being single women or their husbands are forced to remarry. At the same time, this line of duty is not favorable for women who would want to get children and raise them. This is because, the type of work done does not offer adequate time for maternity leaves and time for the children as they grow up.

Last but not least is the fact that, women working in the field of law and order are prone to many risks because of the duties they perform. For one, they deal with the law breakers who have nothing to lose and are capable of doing anything. It is definite that a criminal would respect and have fear for the male law enforcers as compared to the female ones. Thus cases of female law enforcers being beaten or even killed in their line of duty have not come as a surprise to many.

All these issues of gender in the law and order arena have not arisen in vain. “This is because the female law enforcers are perceived to be physically weak for the job description in addition to being very emotional and passive” (Police Employment, 2011, p.1). Despite the fact that in most applications for law enforcement jobs have description requirement that favor the males, women have been able to venture into this field and end up performing well as the males.

This has also been facilitated by the global competition whereby both parents have to provide for their families. And since the population has a higher percentage of the females who end up flooding the ‘female-oriented professions’ the others are left with no option but to join the professions earlier thought to be male-oriented. As a result, these women perform well in those positions since that is their source of daily bread. As for other females, “joining the law and order arena could be as a result of their own passion or from their role models” (Miller, 1999, p.102). In rare occasions, other women would join the law and order arena so as to provide better services to the general public.

Recommended ways of solving gender issues in the law and order arena

“The question ‘Can women officers perform their jobs, effectively and efficiently?’ has been in the minds of many people” (The feminist majority foundation, 1997, p.1). To be frank enough, one would feel safer with a male police officer than a female one. However, this notion can be overcome by ensuring that the females in the law enforcement perform in the same way or even better than their male counterparts.

This could be achieved by improving the law enforcement training for the females so that they come out fit for the job. In addition to this, education programs should be taught in such a way that they lead to a positive attitude of the way female officers are perceived by the public (The feminist majority foundation, 1997, p.1). This will create the notion that all law enforcers are equal and the same regardless of their gender.

Conclusion

From the above discussion, it can be clearly seen that the arena of law and order has been facing issues of gender equality and equity with women being discriminated. This discrimination has led to most women keep off this line of duty yet they would just be performing well as their male counterparts. However, the recent campaigns have been opened for the few women who are strong to venture into this arena. The venturing of women into the law and order arena can be considered as large social change (The feminist majority foundation, 1997, p.1). This is because have been in the past deemed to work in the less dangerous areas such as nurses, receptionists or even be stay at home moms.

Reference List

Farrell, W.and Sterba, J. (2008). Does Feminism Discriminate Against Men? A Debate, Oxford University Press

Miller, L. (1999) Gender and Community Policing: Walking the Talk. Boston, Northeastern University Press.

Police Employment. (2011). Women in Law Enforcement. Web.

Taylor, B., Rush, S and Munro, R. (1999). Feminist jurisprudence, women and the law: Critical essays, research agenda and bibliography. Wm. S. Hein Publishing.

The feminist majority foundation (1997). The Status of Women in Policing. Web.

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Gender Issues in the Law and Order Arena

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