double standard in society of women sex offenders - Thomas...

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Double Standard of women sex offenders: Why are they not equal to male offenders?
It is estimated though only 4% of sex crimes committed are by women which
means an overwhelming 96% are by men. (Wilkins, 1). Recently cases of women sex
offenders have been constantly in the media: female sex offenders, teachers having sex
with their minor students and usually getting a lighter sentence that many see as a
“double standard.” A few years ago it used to shock us that a woman could commit such
a crime but now this case is becoming all too familiar in today’s society. Women who
commit these crimes today names’ become tabloid headlines: Mary K. Letourneau, Debra
LaFave, Pamela Diehl-Moore and others (Morris , 1). I hypothesized the reasons women
get preferential treatment as sex offenders into a few key ideas: women are viewed as the
weaker sex, female sex offenders are less likely to be reported, older women (especially
teachers) are thought of as more of a fantasy and women as nurturers and they are
thought of as victims rather than criminals. This bias can affect society because people
who commit crimes on such a serious issue deserve punishment and should not be
favored or issue a lighter sentence simply because they are a beautiful woman.
The decade long wave of sexual offenses committed by women — teachers in
particular have exposed a cultural double standard: The public is more willing to accept
the female abuser's claim that she had a "relationship" with the victim. And in cases in
which the male is a teenager, the sexual abuse is more likely to be dismissed as a rite of
passage. The questionable, yet overriding assumption, is that women predators are
somehow different from men, but why is this? (Moris, 2). Perhaps one of the most
popular cases of a woman sexual predator was Debra Lafave, a beautiful 23 year-old

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teacher who had sex with her 14 year-old student. Why does this double standard exist
and why are there less cases of women sex offenders? Through analyzing females sex
offenders cases
The sad fact is that many times in society women are thought of as the weaker
sex. Even through fairy tales women are portrayed as the weaker sex. In fairy tales
typically the princess waits to be saved by her “prince charming” because she is too weak
to save herself. Why do women feel the need for a second person in the room with a
doctor during a physical exam (Wilkins, 1)? It’s different for a female doctor because
women are not viewed as sexual predators because it seems incomprehensible that the
"weaker" or "softer" gender could be capable of these crimes. Women are seen as the
gender that "needs" to be protected and cared for. As crazy as it may seem, some of the
women involved in the teacher sex scandals are seen as victims of their students. While I
am not disputing that some women may be victims of a student, it is more likely the other
way around.