International Social Science Journal (Chinese Edition)

No.1, 2024

The Synergy Between Feminist Criminology and the Tripartite Cybercrime Framework

(Abstract)

Suleman Lazarus

This article is a theoretical treatment of feminist epistemology of crime, which advocates the centrality of gender as a theoretical starting point for the investigating of digital crimes. It does so by exploring the synergy between the feminist perspectives and the Tripartite Cybercrime Framework (TCF) (which argues that three possible factors motivate cybercrimes – socioeconomic, psychosocial, and geopolitical) to critique mainstream criminology and the meaning of the term “cybercrime.” Additionally, the article examines gender gaps in online harassment, cyber-bullying, cyber-fraud, revenge porn, and cyber-stalking to demonstrate that who is victimised, why, and to what effect are the critical starting points for the analysis of the connections between gender and crimes. In turn, it uses the lens of intersectionality to acknowledge that, while conceptions of gender and crime interact, they intersect with other categories (e.g., sexuality) to provide additional layers of explanation.