Gender Disparities in Sentencing: An Exploration of Differences in the Case Characteristics Defining a Criminal Case and Their Effect on Sentence Severity

Criminal justice system is not gender neutral. Female and male offenders are often differently treated. This research is aimed to study gender disparities in the construction of cases, the effect of gender in receiving an immediate custodial sentence and to explain whether disparities are legitimate or not. For this analysis, I used the samples of theft, robbery, driving, death and arson from the Crown Court Sentencing Survey (2011–2015). The biggest gender disparities were found in the outcome and mitigating factors. Male offenders received more immediate custody and female more suspended sentence and custody orders. The results shown that women were about half as likely to receive an immediate custody compared to men after controlling for age, type of offence, previous convictions, all aggravating and mitigating factors, and guilty plea. Although it could be a display of discrimination basis on gender, the obstacles faced by women in society must be considered.