Opportunity Theory and Women’s Liberation
Views the increase in female criminality as the result of greater opportunities for women in the workforce.
(That previously characterized primarily as male crime) changed when women began participating more extensively in the workforce.
That female crime rates increased only in certain property crimes, and that the increase is explained
by opportunity theory—women had more chances to
engage in crimes such as larceny-theft, fraud, and embezzlement.
the increase in female criminality began before the women’s liberation movement and that women have been engaged primarily in traditional female crimes or, when engaging in traditional male crimes (such as murder), have assumed traditional female gender roles.