... based around liberal feminism and particularly the debate of 'the new female offender', as brought to light by Adler, 1975. The essay will critically assess why feminist perspectives in criminology are relevant and detail the use of them in relation to female offending. In any discussion of the relationship between feminism and criminology it is important to recognise the complexities in their relationship. There is no one feminism and no one criminology. "Different schools of thought within the sphere of feminism have developed out of different political and theoretical traditions. Central to all feminist criminology is the commitment to ending sex-based discrimination in society towards women" (source adapted from Tierney, 1996:163). There are feminists who have made a strong case for abandoning criminology (Smart, 1990), or who, because of resistance to a feminist transformation of the discipline of criminology, see fundamental incompatibilities between feminism and criminology (Stanko, ...

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