Abstract

GRILO, Mariana  and  POIARES, Nuno. Women and Deviance: Sexual crimes and magistrates. Ex aequo [online]. 2022, n.45, pp.65-82.  Epub July 18, 2022. ISSN 0874-5560.  https://doi.org/10.22355/exaequo.2022.45.06.

In this article we aim to test the chivalry thesis and the evil woman thesis in order to determine if the offender’s gender has an influence on how legal professionals respond to sexual crimes, specifically against minors. For this exploratory and explanatory research study, we collected data through a comparative analysis of 9 court decisions and a questionnaire survey that involved the responses of 430 participants. Similarly to what is commonly suggested in the literature, in our study we conclude that women who perpetrate sexual crimes are treated more leniently, and that their role as mothers is one of the factors that influence such treatment.

Keywords : Female offender; sexual violence; chivalry thesis; Evil Woman thesis; magistracy..

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