Sex and Secrets

This book is both a detailed study of criminal acts involving Australian women since 1880 and a feminist analysis of their social and political significance. Based on previously unpublished archival documents, including court reports, coroners' reports, and those of prisons and child welfare organizations, Allen's findings show that infanticide, prostitution, and sexual and other assaults nvolving women have been much more prevalent than generally believed. Contending that this lack of official attention is due to the crimes' connection with the sexual relationships between men and women, Allen demonstrates that such a false perception of their incidence has disguised their significance in the processes of social change that have occured over the last century. This study will be of particular value for courses in women's studies, criminology, and the sociology of law and of gender.