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85 J. Crim. L. & Criminology 1 (1994-1995)
Issue 1

handle is hein.journals/jclc85 and id is 11 raw text is: 0091-4169/94/8501-0001 THE JouRNAL OF CRIMTNAL LAW & CRMINoLoGY Vol. 85, No. 1 Copyright © 1994 by Northwestern University. School of Law Printed in U.S.A. SYMPOSIUM: GENDER ISSUES AND THE CRIMINAL LAW FOREWORD: THE MEANING OF GENDER EQUALITY IN CRIMINAL LAW DOROTHY E. ROBERTS* This Symposium reflects a growing interest in the criminal law's treatment of women, both as victims and as offenders. Feminist legal analyses of crime have concentrated on men's violence against wo- men, perhaps because it so directly imposes patriarchal power.1 Femi- nists have challenged the male perspective that structured the definition of rape and discounted the harm of domestic violence. Now feminist legal scholars are examining the punishment of female lawbreakers as another site of gender inequality. This interest in crim- inal law makes sense. Although the law generally compels and legiti- mates prevailing relationships of power, the criminal law most directly mandates socially acceptable behavior. Criminal law also helps to shape the way we perceive women's proper role. The articles presented in this Symposium explore a spectrum of issues raised by this inquiry into gender and criminal law. Michelle Oberman's arti- cle, Turning Girls Into Women: Re-Evaluating Modern Statutory Rape Law, reconsiders statutory rape laws in light of current evidence that ado- lescent girls are especially vulnerable to male sexual aggression.2 Deborah W. Denno's article, Gender, Crime, and the Criminal Law De- fenses, studies the reasons for gender disparities in the commission of crime and considers the consequences for women's culpability for * Fellow, Program in Ethics and the Professions, Harvard University;, Professor, Rutgers University School of Law-Newark. BA 1977, Yale College;J.D. 1980, Harvard Law School. 1 Kathleen Daly & Meda Chesney-Lind, Feminism and Criminology, 5 Jusr. Q. 497, 513 (1988). 2 Michelle Oberman, Turning Girls Into Women: Re-Evaluating Modern Statutory Rape Law Reform, 85 J. Caim. L. & CRIMINOLOGY 15 (1994).