Are women different?

While the differences between men and women in their capacity for frequency and seriousness of antisocial behaviour have probably been exaggerated by social structures and over reliance on official criminal statistics as the principal indicator, some differences are almost certainly robust. Mental disorder may be the greatest leveller in this respect, but even so specialist psychiatric services for offender patients are unlikely to be called upon to deal with more than a very small group of women. Some of the implications for service provision are discussed. Women's role in child care may be one of the most important issues, but currently receives minimal attention.