Violent crime becoming androgynous

Jun 10, 2010, 13:47 GMT

Sydney - You don't know whether to be happy or sad: there are now more women in Australian universities than men, more of them in top jobs than ever before - and more in the courts for drink driving and for violent crime.

Bureau of Crime Statistics figures show violent crime involving young females rising at an annual rate of 15 per cent over the past five years while the contrasting figures for men have stayed the same.

It's not just an Australian phenomenon. Britain's Youth Justice Board has reported that personal violent attacks by girls rose 48 per cent between 2003 and 2008 with a quarter of violent attacks in Britain now involving a female.

'We've now taken away the expectation that women will behave differently to men,' Charles Darwin University psychologist Peter Forster said. 'It used to be that one of the biggest differences was that women were more peaceful, they were peacemakers.

'That kind of inhibition to be violent has gradually diminished to the point where it no longer inhibits women at all,' the Darwin-based researcher said.

Forster, whose expertise is in violence among young women, suggests that the drive for sexual equality is behind a trend that sees more women behaving badly. He says it is a myth that higher levels of testosterone make men more aggressive and lower levels make women more passive.

Julia Gillard, Australia's first ever female deputy prime minister, was playing up the positive side of emancipation when she took over the running of the country while the prime minister was out of the country.

'I think it's probably a moment that many Australian women will probably stop and reflect on,' Gillard told reporters. 'Obviously, I think, for Australian women, particularly for girls, it's just further evidence that women in our society can aspire to be anything.'