ABSTRACT
Traditionally, women are seen as nurturers and men are seen as combatants. In American society, young females are routinely regarded as “less criminal” than young males, and their crimes are perceived as less serious (Freiburger 2010). However, there are now many more role models for aggression in women. Women are increasingly participating in armed forces combat on the frontlines of conicts, movies now commonly portray female heroines who wield weapons, and female participation in aggressive contact sports such as boxing is becoming more accepted. As society evolves in its acceptance of strong females who exhibit
what would traditionally be regarded as “male” traits, recent crime statistics suggest that the rate of women perpetrating violence is also increasing (Friedman et al. 2013). In 2011, U.S. law enforcement made 534,704 arrests for violent crimes; women accounted for 19.6% of the violent oenders (Federal Bureau of Investigation 2011). Although women currently account for less than 10% of the incarcerated population in the United States, the number of incarcerated women is increasing (Carson and Sabol 2012). Women are the fastest-growing segment population in jails and prisons.
