Women and wildlife crime 841
links between women as victims and their pathways to of- fending or co-offending (Barlow &Weare, 2019). It is there- fore important to be cognizant of this and to examine how the intersection of gender, socio-economic status, ethnic or racial affiliations, and education influences the participation of women in wildlife crime (e.g. Kruttschnitt, 2013). Filling the gap in our knowledge regarding the pathways into wild- life crime for women and their direct and indirect roles could lead to more responsive and effective law enforcement and help ensure that interventions are not biased or dispro- portionately detrimental to any one gender. Based on empirical and theoretical evidence there are numerous ways that women fulfil roles as protectors, such as serving as place managers while living and working in spaces shared with wildlife, holding formal and informal roles as rangers or community monitors, and serving as a handler or influencer for familial members that engage in risky wildlife crimes. Peer-reviewed, empirical data on the effectiveness, motivations, conduct and policing styles of women officers and of all-women enforcement units is non- existent, with consequences for individual women, biodi- versity conservation, and communities. There are additional gaps in knowledge regarding the roles that women serve in informal guardianship of wildlife. For example, the con- cept of handlers has received little attention in terms of criminological research (Tillyer & Eck, 2011) and is, to our knowledge, completely absent in empirical research in con- servation contexts. Handlers are people that use normative control of offenders, with their effectiveness increasing with social closeness and willingness to intervene because of per- sonal investment, among other factors (Tillyer & Eck, 2011). It is probable that groups such as the Akashinga and Black Mambas play a hybrid role as protectors and handlers, but research is warranted to clarify how thesewomen protectors function in the areas where they live, work and travel through (Fig. 1). There is a need for applied research into the victimiza-
tion, both primary and secondary, of women associated with green and conservation crimes and the resulting law enforcement response. The human security framework pro- posed by Cao & Wyatt (2016) can guide researchers and practitioners in thinking systematically through the many security implications associated with wildlife crime and responses to it (Table 2). Research from mainstream crim- inology associated with policing could provide valuable lessons for conservation law enforcement on training that supports the humane and just treatment of suspects, their significant others, and communities, to decrease secondary victimization. Future research should be mindful of coercive practices, in which traffickers use women as mules for illegal wildlife products, similar to thewell-documented exploitation of often vulnerable women as drug mules (e.g. Hübschle, 2014). Additional examples of victimization include the po- tential relationship between wildlife crime and transactional
sex practices, such as the fish-for-sex phenomenon, which have been linked to the spread of sexually transmitted dis- eases, issues of violence against women, and social exclusion in legal wildlife markets (Béné &Merten, 2008). Overall, we found that women as victims of wildlife crime is a matter that has been least explored in the peer-reviewed or other literature. This is consistent with a systematic review of peer-reviewed literature of women and wildlife trafficking in Africa (Agu & Gore, 2020). There is, therefore, a need for applied research on the victimization of women asso- ciated with wildlife crime in a variety of conservation contexts. We have outlined where future research should focus,
with priority questions regarding the roles of women as of- fenders, protectors and victims. Our review suggests that answers to these unasked questions would improve our understanding of the direct and indirect roles women play in wildlife crime. There is much to be learnt from the crim- inology literature on discerning the roles, motivations and typology of women offenders, women’s involvement in wildlife crime prevention and control, the effects of wildlife crime on women, and how to provide social support, re- sources and advocacy for victims. Other matters requiring attention relevant to conservation are the application of motivation-based typologies to women offenders, how gender may impact the differential assignment of respon- sibilities within law enforcement units, and the gendered nature of interactions of women within the criminal justice system (e.g. harsher sentences for crimes contrary to gender norms; Weare, 2013). Drawing on criminology can aid in our understanding of
and intervention forwomen aswildlife offenders, uncover the nuances of and pathways to women’s involvement in wildlife crime, and help us understand better the gendered nature of victimization of women by wildlife crimes. Understand- ing women’s roles as guardians or protectors could lead to novel and community-responsive solutions for interventions as well as increased community vigilance and resiliency to wildlife crime. Filling these knowledge gaps associated with women and wildlife crime could lead to recommendations, policy solutions, and directed support and resources tomiti- gate wildlife crime and provide advocacy for victims.
Acknowledgements We thank the Editor and the anonymous reviewers for their suggestions and feedback. This research received no specific grant from any funding agency, or commercial or not-for-profit sectors.
Author contributions Conception, literature search and review, writing: JSK, MAR; identification and review of theoretical models: JSK; search and review of news articles: MAR.
Conflicts of interest None.
Ethical standards This research abided by the Oryx guidelines on ethical standards.
Oryx, 2021, 55(6), 835–843 © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Fauna & Flora International doi:10.1017/S0030605321000193
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