Historical Examination of Gendered Perceptions of Crime and Moral Regulation in Canada
Authors: Dowd Annie 
Published: May 2022

Law has historically reflected the moral values of a society; however, this concept is complicated when one considers how socially established values were also largely gendered. This research project illustrates how social values of femininity and female sexuality shaped gendered perceptions of crime throughout Canada, particularly during the late interwar through postwar periods (1930’s-1950’s). Specifically, it examines how the Ontario Female Refuges Act and the Andrew Mercer Reformatory, as significant legal infrastructures, reflected and reinforced perceptions of “female crime.” Findings support the central analysis of the project; how the perception of “female crime” as synonymous with moral and sexual deviance threatened embedded social structures of the patriarchal family and traditional gender roles, inciting moral fear. An intersectional lens is employed to highlight how perception and regulation manifested uniquely upon Indigenous women in Canada. This examination was conducted through historiographical research, a study of prominent works concerning the history of female regulation in Canada, and an interrogation of primary documents, notably relevant legislation of the period. The objective of this research is to offer a historical analysis of female criminalization in Canada, which can be employed to trace and interrogate historical perceptions of “female crime” and the tangible impacts that follow, as they continue to lurk in the contemporary criminal justice system.

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