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The life of female prisoners before jail essay
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Gender within the criminal justice system
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“Gender violence is one of the world’s most common human rights abuses. Women worldwide ages 15 through 44 are more likely to die or be maimed because of male violence than because of cancer, malaria, war, and traffic accidents combined… people can perceive violence against women as evil and tolerate it at the same time” (Belknap, page 288). This quote depicts the many obstacles that women face when victimized in the criminal justice (CJ) system. Candace Kruttschnitt explores the study of female victimization, male and female offending, neutrality of theories, and how the media plays into the gendering of crime. Kruttschnitt points out the question of whether gender disparities and if they are handled in a more neutral manner or if they need
It is important though that we don’t forget to pay special attention to the profound impact that some of the earliest women working in prisons, jails and juvenile institutions have made, and the paths they have paved for women in generations to come. One woman in particular, Margaret Moore, fought through sexism, racism and faced significant oppression to become the “first woman to be superintendent of a male prison in Pennsylvania, Deputy Commissioner (overseeing seven prisons and about 10,000 prisoners) in Pennsylvania and Director of the District of Columbia Department of Corrections” (Belknap, page 480). Cheesman tracked three major changes in the late 1960s that lead to the hiring of women into men’s prisons. These included the “1969 recommendations by the Joint Commission on Correctional Manpower and Training to integrate women into guard positions, Title VII in 1972 which allowed the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission the power to prosecute title VII violators in federal courts, and guidelines established by the National Advisory Commission on Criminal Justice Standards and Goals to recruit and hire women in all areas of prison/jail work in 1973” (Belknap, page 481). It is inspiring and heroic women, like Moore, as well as legislative changes, implemented to protect woman from sexist discrimination in the workplace, that give all women the courage to stand up and fight for equality, justice, and a better future, in terms of employment opportunities, for the generations of women to
The next big show that everyone seems to be talking about nowadays is “Orange is the new black.” A show that is centered on what citizens think a day in the life in a women’s prison is. But in all reality a women’s prison isn’t something to joke around about. Prison is defined as a correctional facility designed for confinement that is primarily ran by the state. Women serve their sentences in women’s prisons where men serve theirs in men’s prisons. According to Ashley Dugger an online introduction to criminal justice professor there is about 4,500 prisons in the United States alone. Of those 4,500 only 170 of them are solely women’s prisons.
As cited in Padavic and Reskin’s article Women and Men at Work, discrimination against women in the workplace was a serious issue. They suffered as a result of inferior titles, wages and respect. This “glass ceiling” made it extremely hard for woman to break into higher offices in government organizations, yet O’Conner remained persistent. She finally found a position as a deputy county attorney and began to thrive in the legal field; even landing a seat on the Arizona State Senate where she became the first woman to serve as the state’s Majority Leader. In 1979, she worked on Arizona’s Court of Appeals until she was ultimately appointed to the Supreme Court in 1981.
National data gives us an indication of the severity of this issue. When 1 in 5-woman report being victims of severe physical violence (NISVS, 2010), we must ask ourselves if enough is being done to prevent this from occurring. From a historical point, there has always almost been a distinction from men on woman violence. Based on the disparity of cases reported, male inflicted violence on females is much higher and prevalent. When the perpetrators of DV, and IPV are predominately males, we can no longer dismissed this issue as a cultural, or
“Most modem sentencing systems in the United States express an explicit commitment to ensuring that a defendant 's sentence is not affected by the defendant 's race or gender (Hessick, 2010).” Even though individuals are protected through the Bill of Rights and Sentencing Reform Acts, there are still disparities in sentencing within the criminal justice systems. Often, race and gender bias negatively affects sentencing.
Parker and M. Kristen Hefner write about how the intersectionality of class, race and gender affect homicide rates at a macro level of White and African American females between the years of 1990-2000. As well as using an intersectional framework, Parker and Hefner explore how the contemporary economic, social and policy changes can differently affect black and white female homicide rates. The study reveals many interesting facts and shows how intersectionality can change how we understand crime today. Firstly, it is found that an increase in resource deprivation saw a 27% increase in white female offending and a 39% increase in black female offending. Resource deprivation includes the declining number of domestic violence shelters available to women. Some feminist scholars have criticised these domestic violence services as being “based on white, middle-class, female standards” (Parker & Hefner, 2013, p. 247) as they do not take into account the structural difficulties that only minority women face. The fact that these services do not take into account the culturally specific difficulties that minority women face, some women may feel that their only option is to turn to crime. This can explain why the rate of black female offending is much higher than that of white female offending when they are deprived of
As it is in the case of the majority of violent crimes, (Davies and Rogers, 2006) perpetrators of violent crimes, and especially sexual assault related crimes exert additional force by threatening the victim or their families. Male victims also must contend with an additional sense of shame and embarrassment in being identified with a crime that has been typically portrayed in the media as happening to women. This places men at a disadvantage in the reporting process, because their safety and the safety of others is compromised further if the crime is not reported. (Messerschmitt, 2009)
He claimed that the statistics seriously under-estimated the extent of female criminality. From an examination of official figures in a number of different countries he claimed to have identified certain crimes that are usually committed by women but are particularly likely to be unreported. Pollak went on to give reasons as to why there should be an under-recording of female crime. 1. He argues that the police, magistrates and other law enforcement officials tend to be men.
Since 1970, there has been an increasing and alarming rise 138 percent of violent crimes committed by women. Still, while the equivalent percentage compared to male violence is small 15 percent to 85 percent the fact that the numbers have elevated so drastically points to something changing in society.
The violation of both cultural and gendered norms, results in women offenders to be labelled as mad, bad, or sad, and as the sexualised female offender, masculinised female offender, mad female offender, and the victimised female offender, by the criminal justice system and society to explain their criminality (Weare, 2013). The case studies of Tania Witika, Macsyna King and sex workers in New Zealand demonstrates how discrimination can impact upon women’s experience within the criminal justice system, as stereotypes determines which kinds of women are more likely to be arrested, found guilty, imprisoned or referred for psychiatric treatment (Carraine et al., 2012).
Men represent eight hundred ninety-six out of every one hundred thousand prison inmates, while women represent only fifty-six out of one hundred thousand. The rates have increased eight hundred percent since the war on drugs was initiated. Even among women prisoners, racial disparities are glaring. Hispanic and African American women have astronomically higher chances of incarceration than white women. Women are also more likely to be arrested for drug and economic crimes, such as possession or embezzlement (McGrath, 10/29). According to the chivalry hypothesis, the low rates of prosecuted female offenders reflect the leniency with which law enforcement treats women offenders (McGrath, 10/29). Gender differences in aggression and empathy play into the public perception of the ideal offender, and women do not fit the profile. Rather than applying the law equally across genders, police buy into the socially constructed view of women: meek, gentle, caring, empathic, and definitely not capable of cruel criminality (McGrath,
Classical and contemporary theory helps to explain gendered crime patterns. The feminist school of criminology argue criminology and criminal theory is very masculine, all studies into criminal behaviour, have been developed from male statistics and tested on males. Very little research is conducted into female criminality, this may be because women who commit crime are more likely to be seen as evil or mentally ill rather than criminal, this is because women are labe...
Women in Prison. Washington, D.C.: Bureau of Justice Statistics Varnam, Steve. Our prisons are a crime (reforming the prison system). Editorial. Christianity Today 21 June 1993
Erin G., 2010, A Woman Doing Life: Notes from a Prison for Women: The Southwest Journal of Criminal Justice. New York: Oxford University Press, 2010. Pp. vi, 202, Vol. 8(2)175.
... In conclusion, women throughout the decades have strived, from protesting to going on trials, to pointing out their rights. “Will women soon be treated equally as men?” A day when women and men having the same rights is still under way and has a far way to go as of the antebellum period. However, what makes women so unique, especially during this era, is the numerous of contributions these respectful women played a part in in order to see dramatic changes in America’s society.
Women’s equality has made huge advancements in the United States in the past decade. One of the most influential persons to the movement has been a woman named Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Ruth faced gender discrimination many times throughout her career and worked hard to ensure that discrimination based on a person’s gender would be eliminated for future generations. Ginsburg not only worked to fight for women’s equality but fought for the rights of men, as well, in order to show that equality was a human right’s issue and not just a problem that women faced. Though she faced hardships and discrimination, Ruth never stopped working and, thanks to her equality, is a much closer reality than it was fifty years ago.