This project examines gender differences in recorded crime and changing concepts of crime and gender and the public roles of men and women in England (London area), the Netherlands (Amsterdam) (1811-1913), Italy (Bologna) (1813-1913) and France (Le Havre) (1815-1913). After ca. 1795-1811, due to Napoleon’s centralisation policies, many countries in Western Europe introduced a national judicial system, resulting in important changes regarding prosecution policies and the administration of crime. In order to include this crucial period, national statistics, criminal registers, and prison records of various areas in England, France, Italy and the Netherlands between ca. 1811 and 1913 will be examined. This research will highlight the prosecution policies and their incidence over male and female crime rates.
Sources
- National statistics and criminal registers: 1. England (London area): The Old Bailey Online (http://www.oldbaileyonline.org/). 2. The Netherlands (Amsterdam): Dutch criminal court records after 1811 (Eerste Aanleg), 3. France (Le Havre): Records of the Criminal Court (Tribunal de Première Instance). 4. Italy: Criminal records of Bologna, 1813-1913, held at the Archivio di Stato di Bologna.
- Various primary sources and printed sources: laws and legislation; treatises and literature on crime, poverty and migrants; medical and psychiatric reports; scientific works by criminologists; and normative essays on the (ideal) behaviour of men, women and children.
- Secondary literature on the ideologies and practices of the public roles of men and women in Europe, and the impact of moral norms, family structure, labour participation, living standards, and urbanisation.
Result
Comparative monograph in English on crime and gender and prosecution policies in Europe 1811-1913.