This chapter addresses complexities and continuing concerns in thinking about feminist perspectives and contributions to criminology. It charts feminist contributions to criminology over time, dwelling on paradigmatic shifts in substantive, epistemological, and methodological terms, and the ways in which feminism has transformed criminological research and practice. The chapter explores contemporary feminist research agendas focused on issues of powerlessness, justice, and inequality, addressing research on violence against women, digital technology, human trafficking, migration, and criminal justice. The notion of feminist criminology as a transitional phase towards a more humanistic stance in relation to crime and justice in a globalized context is also explored.
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17. Feminist criminology: Inequalities, powerlessness, and justice
Michele Burman and Loraine Gelsthorpe
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23. Social harm and zemiology
Victoria Canning, Paddy Hillyard, and Steve Tombs
Over the past two decades, Zemiology—the study of social harm—has proliferated internationally. Many scholars and activists alike have come to recognize the limitations of state-centric definitions of crime and shed light instead on many forms of harm which often go unseen and undocumented, and yet can be more far reaching and devastating in impact. This chapter therefore introduces the foundations of the epistemological shift to social harm studies, and the development of Zemiology. It goes on to outline typologies and dimensions of harm and highlights the avoidable and preventable nature of many such harms. Finally, the chapter concludes by considering the centrality of action-oriented research and activism in addressing, mitigating and ultimately preventing the endemic nature of such harms going forward.
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8. Drug use, drug problems, drug control: A political economy perspective
Toby Seddon and Alex Stevens
This chapter presents an overview of the phenomenon of illicit drugs and their control. We show that drugs are not just a matter of crime, morality, or health but rather are also a global commodity the use and control of which continue to run along lines shaped by inequalities of geography, wealth and power. Viewing the drug problem through the lens of political economy, and in global and historical perspective, provides a clearer view of the issue. It allows us to see how some facets of the problem are exaggerated (e.g. crime and health harms) whilst others are under-stated (e.g. pleasure, harms to producer countries in the Global South). It also sheds new light on why some policy approaches and interventions continue to fail and why others may be more promising. Lastly, the prospects for radical alternatives to prohibition through drug law reform are considered.
