INTRODUCTION

Criminalization was not a new issue for all countries, especially the Philippines. Both
men and women are jailed for different reason and crimes they committed. However, across
different cultures, the issue regarding women committing crimes and being punished for it
actually receives little attention to its counterpart, men. And the increase in the number of
women and girls in prison worldwide raises questions about criminal codes, the functioning of
criminal justice systems, and socio-economic factors affecting crime rates. Given this issue,
knowing what lies behind this data and other premises were crucial to figure out the reason and
to provide intervention for this issue to be at least minimized and understand on better
perspective. Also, to know the role of gender and equality – whether it is related to this crime or
whether inequality has something to do with this. Gender is defined as the social and cultural
construction of behaviors, roles, and identities associated with femininity and masculinity.
Meanwhile, crime is a legal category, as opposed to a moral one, that pertains to “a kind of
behavior which is poorly regarded in the community compared to most other acts, and behavior
where this poor regard is institutionalized”.
Women are always less likely than men to commit criminal acts. This stereotype also
gives the idea that gender has something to do with crime committed by a person. However,
instead of having the basis depending on this idea, finding out the cause, the crime committed by
women, the age bracket and general status of women who commit crime, the contributory factors
and the proper intervention was essential in forming the conclusion and understanding regarding
this issue. Also, knowing what is the role of education, social relationship, social media, stable
jobs and legal employment as the contributory factors that somehow affect the idea of “crime” in
the mind of women. What are the circumstances that pushes women to jail?
In the Philippines context, number of laws, programs and campaigns had been crafted to
guarantee the protection of women against any abuse. However, research shows that women’s
violence is often directed against intimate partners or family members out of self-defense. As
acknowledged by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes
and consequences, there is a strong link between violence against women and women's
imprisonment. That reason will be analyze based on the data to be presented in this paper. To
have a more concrete and sensible outcome in this topic, facts and figure gathered was based on
the limited scope about the crimes committed by women in the Municipality of Sipocot. It is to
ensure that data is accurate and accessible for the researcher to generate factual information and
conclusion based on this. These information was needed to provide proper intervention, approach
and promote awareness as future law enforcers.