CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1.  BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Gender is clearly seen as economic, social and cultural features, qualities and chances related with being either a male or female. Basically in most societies, men and women are totally different from each other and this is seen in their activities and business, and also their access to and control over resources, and partaking in decision-making. Gender is a power tool, a social institution and cultural construct.

The idea of gender is not constrained to the male or female species, but further breaks the bound to fully assess the correlations between them. This relationships has continuously been argued on by researchers, the layman, political parties, etc in the process of enforcing change in the political environment, economy, social and cultural environments at the local, national and supra national levels to mention but a few.

Crime is a specifically an interesting event and a huge problem in any society because it is in all ramification the opposite of good deed. This is basically true if we define crime broadly in terms of behavior in which individuals acquire resources from others by force, fraud, or stealth. Criminal acts do just the opposite of good. People who commit these acts intentionally harm others in other to satisfy their selfish interests.

Conventionally, crime is defined as acts forbidden by law that can be punishable by imprisonment. Murder, robbery, burglary, rape, drunken driving, child neglect, and failure to pay your taxes etcall are examples of crime. The behavioral definition of crime centers on, criminality, a specified personality profile that encourages all manner of crimes. Criminal behaviors comprises the use of force, fraud, or stealth to obtain material or symbolic resources. Furthermore, criminality is a style of strategic behavior characterized by self-centeredness, selfishness, indifference to the suffering and needs of others, the feeling of “I cannot achieve it on my own” and low self-control.

 Gender criminalities in Nigeria have caused The study of gender simply means having total knowledge of both the roles women and men play together with their responsibilities. A comparism on the impact of gender criminality in Nigeria has to do with the comparative analysis between male and female, these will also throw more light on gender inequalities in the society and how it encourages criminality in Nigerian prisons, Suleja prisons specifically. The term Gender inequality does not actually mean that all women are worse than all men, neither is the reverse. But to some degree, gender (being male or female) is a vital social separation described by the word inequality. Gender to a large extent influences people’s perspectives and their social expectations. Gender equality on the other hand has to do with women and men enjoying the same status and having equal human rights and also the opportunities for acknowledging their full right and humans and the ability to partake, contribute to national, political, economic, social, and cultural development, and also to benefit from the end results. Gender equality reduces crime and fosters unity, growth and development in the society.

 more harm than good to the citizens, inmates specifically. Among women, poverty is common.  Previous research works revealed that women account for over 70% of the world’s absolute poor. Women most times fall victims of frowning circumstances because they want retain the position enforced on them as the house keeper, baby making machines etc and keep their homes, provide for their children, and as such bear a disproportionate burden, trying to manage household consumption and production under conditions of recession.

Amongst various areas in which the parliamentarians play important roles in encouraging, supporting and protecting women’s rights, the discrimination against women and girls in the criminal justice system makes up a huge problem which is less seen addressed than others. These concerns range from discriminatory, gender inclined offences and reasons for detention to the impact of the lack of financial resources in order to prevent detention and a prison system that has been designed by men for male prisoners. The excessive increase in discrimination positions girls in situations where they are open to attacks.Nowadays, the circumstances in which women commit criminal offences are different from men. For this reason, a considerable number of women offenders are in prison as a direct or indirect outcome of the discrimination and deprivation, which is most times often experienced from theirspouses, their family members and the community. Crimes committed by women are related to poverty and most timesas a result of trying to survivein other to support their family and children. When it comes to the profile and background of women in prison, and the reasons for their imprisonment, it differscompletely from those of men. Just like the men, women prisoners basically come from economically and socially underprivilegedparts of society, together with drug peddlers/users, lower-level property offenders, and sex workers are overrepresented. To compare the male prison populations, women mainly commit minor crimes, theft and fraud and these are chiefly caused by emotional, physical, and/or sexual abuse which contributes to women’s criminal behaviour. Women (and girls) make up the minority of prisoners all over the world, amounting to an estimated 2 to 9% of national prison populations. Howbeit, the number of imprisoned women has drastically increased in some countries, and to a large extent higher than for men. For this reason, the specific needs and characteristics of women and girls which are the main reason of the criminal justice system have remained unacknowledged and unaddressed. Prison systems are on every occasion crafted for the majority male prison population which is not meant to be and is as a result of discrimination; from the framework of prisons, to security procedures, to facilities for healthcare, family contact, work and training. Consequently, a few numbers of prisons meet the specific needs of women prisoners, and most times do not get them ready for release with genderappropriate rehabilitation. The United Nations Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-custodial Measures for Women Offenders were embraced in December 2010 to in other to put things in place especially the lack of standards, however the international community till date are deficient of awareness and commitment to implementation. Gender roles has resulted to a scar on women in prison, and while their husbands, partnersoften support their husbands in prison and upon release as a matter of course, reciprocally women tend to be silenced by their spouse and often even the whole family if they are by any chance detained. At the same time, women are most times the sole caretaker of young children, which has resulted in a particular impact of even short periods of detention on children and the wider family.

 1.2.    STATEMENT OF THE  PROBLEM

 Criminality in Nigeria has been an age long problem that has significantly affected the development of the country both economically, politically and otherwise. The issue of criminality has taken a surprisingly upward surge in Nigeria owing to the increase in the wave of crime and other illicit practices. This high level of criminal tendencies in Nigeria has negatively affected the international image of the country and thus preventing or making it difficult for us to enjoy the goodwill of other developed countries of the world. The issues of criminality has led to high security concerns as the lives and properties of innocent Nigerian can no longer be protected unlike in other countries of the world, this has gone a long way in reducing the level of investment into the country thus leading to poor economic growth and hardship.

  1.3.    AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

 The major aim of the study is to examine the impact of gender criminality in Nigeria. Other specific objectives of the study are as follows;

1. To determine if women receive preferential treatment in sentencing over men and to explain this disparity if it exists.
2. To examine if crime in Nigeria is gender related
3. To determine the negative impact of criminality in Nigeria.
4. To compare the gender differences in the Nigerian prisons as regards to issues of criminality in Nigeria.
5. To recommend ways of ensuring the reduction of total eradication of criminality in Nigeria.

1.4.    RESEARCH QUESTIONS

1. What is the impact of criminality in Nigeria?
2. Do women receive preferential treatment in sentencing over men?
3. Is crime in Nigeria is gender related?
4. What is the negative impact of criminality in Nigeria?
5. Is there a difference in gender as regards crime in Nigeria?
6. What are the ways of ensuring the reduction of total eradication of criminality in Nigeria?

1.5.    RESEARCH HYPOTHESES

 H0: There is no significant difference in gender in terms of criminality in Nigeria.

 H1: There is a significant difference in gender in terms of criminality in Nigeria.

 H0: There is no significant impact of gender criminality in Nigeria.

 H1: There is a significant impact of gender criminality in Nigeria.

  1.6.    SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

 The study would be of immense importance to government at all levels, the Nigerian prison service and relevant stakeholders as it would reveal the impact of gender criminality on Nigeria. The study would also benefit students, researchers and scholars who are interested in developing further research on the subject matter.

  1.7.    SCOPE OF THE STUDY

 The study is restricted to the impact of gender criminality in Nigeria using a case study of Suleja prisons in Minna, Niger state.

1.8  LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

 Financial constraint: Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview)

Time constraint: The researcher will simultaneously engage in this study with other academic work. This consequently will cut down on the time devoted for the research work.

 1.9    DEFINITION OF TERMS

GENDER: the state of being male or female (typically used with reference to social and cultural differences rather than biological ones).

CRIMINAL:  an act or the commission of an act that is forbidden or the omission of a duty that is commanded by a public law and that makes the offender liable to punishment by that law

PRISON: a building to which people are legally committed as a punishment for a crime or while awaiting trial.

SOCIAL VICES: is a practice, behaviour, or habit generally considered immoral, sinful, criminal, rude, taboo, depraved, or degrading in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character trait, a defect, an infirmity, or a bad or unhealthy habit (such as an addiction to smoking).