بررسي رابطه توسعه ي اقتصادي و اجتماعي با جرم زنان در ايران

Examining the Relationship of Socio-economic Development and Female Crime in Iran

Criminological theories as well as the historical experience of developing countries imply that alongside the process of development and the increase of women social participation, the gender ratio of criminality changes and the proportion of female among the criminal people increases. This paper examines the issue in Iran. In this regard, the relationship between the indices of socio-economic development and women social participation, on the one hand, and the ratio of female criminality (the proportion of convicted women to the whole convieted people) on the other, during a period of 20 years (1981-200 I) was examined. In addition to that, the number of women arrested by the police in different provinces is observed for four years, 1996, 1998, 2001, and 2003. The association of these arrests with the level of development of those provinces is inspected. The data revealed that according to 20-year period statistics, there is a negative correlation between the proportion of female crime and development variables. However, the comparison of the provinces with regard to the level of development suggested that the mean of arrested female in less developed provinces is less than that of other provinces and there is a weak positive relationship between development and female criminality. In general, the findings of country level data are inconsistent with the Western theories and experience. These findings require more inspections and explanations.