ABSTRACT
Despite the efforts of Second Wave feminists since the late 1960s to eradicate sexism, North America remains profoundly sexist in significant ways. In a sexist society, anything that can be used against women will be used against women (Caplan, 1993), and the legal system is rife with manifestations of sexism. In this chapter, I shall provide examples of this sexism as they relate directly or indirectly to criminal matters in particular, although some domestic matters will be mentioned, especially when they also include criminal aspects. It is important to do this because the widespread belief that sexism has been eradicated can blind one to the power that bias against women still has in the legal system. As illustrations of this, examples of the operation of sexism within some actual criminal cases, including juvenile crimes, will be given, and the matter of sexism’s relationship to failures to bring certain charges or to prosecute will be addressed.
