The growing challenge of female criminality in the UAE

Abstract

The issue of female criminality has grown internationally. As a result of its globalized nature, the UAE has also witnessed a growth of female crime rates. While the rates in the UAE are relatively low compared to international standards, it is one of the highest among GCC countries. Governments and international organizations have begun to give this issue more attention, due to its importance and the serious effects on society. However, the UAE government has not given the issue the required attention, and as a result further implications might result. The main objective of this thesis is to assess the issue of female criminality in the UAE and recommend what the UAE could do to mitigate its risk. First, the thesis presents the issue of female criminality at the international level with the aim of assessing its parameters, understanding the main laws, and learning from world’s best practices in terms of using alternative methods of punishment. Moving from the international level to the local level, this thesis will present figures that summarize female criminality in Abu Dhabi and Dubai between 2002 and 2012. This data served to produce a set of conclusions that helped in identifying the root causes of female criminality in the UAE. Based on such conclusions, and lessons learned from other countries, the thesis will introduce a framework for the UAE government to help prevent this issue from growing further. The issue of female criminality in the UAE is an early stage of drafting of political attention and currently requires relatively little effort to control compared to global levels. If it is given the required attention by the government the threat of rapid growth will no longer be a concern and thus the UAE will be in a leading position in the area of female-crime prevention.

Date of Award	Jun 2014
Original language	American English
Supervisor	Brett Steele (Supervisor)