1. Feminist criminology

Introduction
Crime and criminal justice are not gender-neutral concepts. Men and women experience crime differently due to biological, cultural, social, economic, and political factors. Historically, criminology focused mainly on male offenders while neglecting women’s experiences both as victims and offenders. Feminist criminology emerged to challenge this imbalance and to highlight the importance of gender in understanding crime, victimization, and justice systems.
This topic examines feminist criminology, the influence of gender on experiences with crime, gender-based violence, and the relationship between gender and policing.
Definition: 
Feminist criminology is a branch of criminology that studies crime, victimization, and the criminal justice system from a gender-sensitive perspective. It focuses particularly on women’s experiences and examines how inequality between men and women affects crime and justice.The Feminist criminologists argues that traditional criminology ignored women or treated them unfairly. They seeks to explain the following points
- Why women commit fewer crimes than men
- How women experience victimization
- How the criminal justice system treats women
- The impact of patriarchy and gender inequality on crime
Emergence of Feminist Criminology
Feminist criminology developed during the feminist movements of the 1960s and 1970s. Feminist scholars criticized traditional criminology theorist of neglecting women’s issues.
Earlier criminological theories often portrayed women as:
Naturally passive,Morally weak,Biologically inferior,Less intelligent
Feminist criminologists challenged these assumptions and demanded equal attention to women’s experiences in crime and justice.
Key Concepts in Feminist Criminology
Some of the focus concepts of Feminist Criminology are
1. Gender
This refers to socially constructed roles, expectations, and behaviors associated with men and women.They are ascribed on people not biological born with.
2. Patriarchy
Patriarchy is a social system in which men hold more power and authority than women in political, economic, and social institutions.This system is common with most African countries, Nigeria inclusive.Patriarchy encourages male dominance in all aspect of the society. 
3. Gender Inequality: This refers to unequal opportunities, rights, and treatment between men and women.
4. Victimization: Victimization means singling one out for unjust, unfair treatment.It includes suffering harm or abuse due to criminal acts.