The Role of the Family in Crime Causation: A Comparative Study of ‘Family of Orientation’ and ‘Family of Procreation’ (A Study of Women Prisoners in the Central Jails of Rajasthan)

Family life and marriage are often considered to be an important lever for criminal desistance, especially among men. The mechanisms that lead to desistance from crime may be general in nature, but men and women do not necessarily respond in a similar way relative to marital status. This paper extends the hypothesis of familial relationships and desistance in crime and provides a perspective to foster understanding of the influence that ‘family of orientation’ and ‘family of procreation’ makes in crime committed by women. For this purpose various factors, including family size, family environment, relationship with family members, gender role in family, family history of crime, spouse relationship, and the role of in-laws are considered. This paper uses both quantitative data and qualitative narratives to justify the proposition that marriage increases the possibilities of crime commitment in women therefore ‘family of procreation’ plays an important role in inducing criminal activities among women