Editorial: Female Offenders in a Changing Society

Recently, crimes committed by female offenders have been increasing, reaching the point that the ratio for some crimes, especially drugs and theft, is about 6:1 (male:female) (Greenfeld & Snell, 2000). Female offenders are involved in both misdemeanors and felonies: The misdemeanors are likely to include prostitution and drug offending, and the felonies are assault and battery, attempted man-slaughter, and murder. A sizeable number of female serial killers have been reported. In view of the above, it is natural to ask why those who, at times, have been referred to as the “gentle sex ” or the “angel of the house ” are progressively climb-ing the ladder of social criminality. What makes women, often assumed to be nonaggressive and able to control their feelings—at times to the point of being self-effacing—participants in the antisocial manifestations of behavior which, over the centuries, have basically been the prerogative of men? This does not imply that there have never been female offenders in the past. On the contrary, there have beenmotherswho kill their children,womenwho have poisoned other