Women, brokerage and transnational organized crime. Empirical results from the Dutch Organized Crime Monitor

Illegal Entrepreneurship, Organized Crime and Social Control

“…Therefore, the fi ndings in this study seem to support those in different cultural contexts (see for example Steffensmeier, 1983 ;Kleemans et al, 2014 ) pointing to the fact that the circle of contacts of women in the criminal world tends to be more intense interpersonally.…”

“…Opportunities linked to personal connections forged by geographical/physical and socio-demographic proximity (Kleemans et al, 2014 ) or opportunities provided through one's employment in a legal business are crucial, since these legal businesses act as a platform upon which legal relationships between and among actors transform into illegal ones (see Kleemans & van de Bunt, 1999 ;. What von Lampe ( 2007 ) calls "social microcosm" of illegal entrepreneurs is of critical importance for participation in a trading scheme and for success: it can often act as non-monetary capital for the female entrepreneurs (and the business altogether) in a hostile environment in the illegal markets.…”

“…In the last two decades or so, an increasing number of academic studies have also focused on women's role in transnational organised crime settings (e.g. Zhang, Chin, & Miller, 2007 ;Kleemans, Kruisbergen, & Kowenberg, 2014 ) and within various organised crime structures such as the Italian mafi as (see for example Jamieson, 2000 ;Fiandaca, 2007 ; see also articles in a special issue of Trends in Organised Crime published in 2014). As Arsovska and Allum ( 2014 : 2) suggest, "we can conclude that women are no longer passive actors as once believed or perceived; yet the question remains as to the extent of their active engagement and involvement in criminal activities".…”

Female offenders of human trafficking and sexual exploitation

“…In the case of female perpetrators of drugs trafficking, financial motives play a role [1] and female perpetrators of human smuggling indicate that they wanted to help friends or have a financial motive [37]. In general, women can be involved in various criminal activities, such as drugs smuggling, human smuggling, and trafficking for sexual exploitation, and that they do not only fulfill supporting but also more prominent roles ([10]: 27-29; [11]).…”

Invisible Pirates: Women and the Gendered Roles of Somali Piracy

“…When their husbands die, the women assume the roles of financial investors either by directly taking over his role as investor or by utilizing an inheritance to begin investing in piracy. This may be considered an example of an "ascribed" brokerage link in that the women's marriages to their husbands precede their participation in organized crime activities (Kleemans, Kruisbergen, & Kouwenberg, 2014). Little is known about the characteristics or qualifications of the women financial investors of Somali piracy.…”