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The gender patterns of crime rates over time received unprecedented attention with the advent of Adler’s (1975) and R. J. Simon’s (1975) women’s “liberation” emancipation hypothesis (WLEH) (described in Chapter 2). “Moral panic” in the last third of the 20th century (about the time of the WLEH), whereby fears about advancing gender equality resulted in harsher policies targeting women and girls (Kruttschnitt, Gartner, & Hussemann, 2008). Figure 4.2 portrays the possible options in assessing gender patterns of offending over time. Gender stability (Option A) is any pattern where the gender rates are stable over time. Stated alternatively, they covary: rising, falling, and staying flat together¹. For example, we might expect that in an era of “get-tough-on-crime” policies or in times of economic depression, men’s and women’s crime rates would be equally affected—unless the policy of economic hardship was likely to affect one gender more than another. With gender divergence (Option B), the gender gap widens over time, meaning gender differences/gaps in crime rates are increasing. Gender convergence (Option C), consistent with WLEH, describes any time that the gender gap is decreasing, where gender–crime rates approach each other. A final possibility, no trend (Option D), is when there is no gendered trend or pattern over time.²

¹ O’Brien (1999, p. 100) labels this phenomenon “co-integration,” where the gender trends maintain a linked relationship with each other over time.

² Option D, “no trend” is from O’Brien (1999).

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Figure 4.2 ● Examples of Comparing Gender Patterns Over Time