# PTE Reading MCS #20: Gender Disparities in...

Reading: Multiple Choice, Single Answer #20 - Level 3 - Feeds Reading

> Read the text and answer the question by choosing one option. Only one answer is correct.

Even as the number of females processed through juvenile courts climbs steadily, an implicit consensus remains among scholars in criminal justice that male adolescents define the delinquency problem in the United States. We suggest two reasons why this view persists. First, female adolescents are accused primarily of victimless crimes, such as truancy, that do not involve clear-cut damage to persons or property. If committed by adults, these actions are not even considered prosecutable; if committed by juvenile males, they have traditionally been looked on leniently by the courts. Thus, ironically, the plight of female delinquents receives little scrutiny because they are accused of committing relatively minor offenses. Second, the courts have long justified so-called preventive intervention into the lives of young females viewed as antisocial with the rationale that women are especially vulnerable. Traditional stereotypes of women as the weaker and more dependent sex have led to earlier intervention and longer periods of misdirected supervision for female delinquents than for males.

The passage suggests that scholars in criminal justice could be criticized for which of the following?

- Underestimating the seriousness of the juvenile crime
- Rationalizing the distinction made between juveniles and adults in the legal system
- Concerning themselves too little with the prevention of juvenile delinquency
- Focusing on those whose crimes have involved damage to persons or property

## Answer

Focusing on those whose crimes have involved damage to persons or property

## Explanation

The passage explains that the scholarly focus on delinquency is tied to crimes involving clear-cut damage. Because female offenses are often categorized as victimless, they are excluded from the primary definition of the problem.

## Hints

- Look for the sentence that explains why scholars view male adolescents as the primary focus of the delinquency problem.
- Consider how the text defines the types of crimes that typically capture the attention of criminal justice scholars.

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