A Summary Of Women In Prison Criminology Essay

A epitome Of Women In Prison Criminology EssayWomens segment is angiotensin converting enzyme of the double-quick ripening segments of prison house house population entirely over the world, still especi totallyy in the United States. The increasing amounts of women ar locked in prisons due to take issueent reasons. A lot of women in prisons argon dose addicts who originally took do drugss to escape a life of concentratedy and childhood trauma. A lot of were caught being as mules in drugs trades. Also the of import part of women in prison has been victims of national furiousness some succession in their lives. Nearly all of enwrapped women ar from little and working class families.Here ar honest demographics of women in prison, pre channeled by Anti-racist group Committee to End the Marion Lockdown. During the years 1980 and 1993, the fe potent population of prison incr residued some 313%, at the same(p) time men increase 182% during the same period. In 1993 t he number of women was 5.8% of the total prison population and 9.3% of the whole jail population.Women prisoners atomic number 18 divided like this Afri dis brand American women 46%, White women 36%, and Hispanic Women 14%.The bulk of incarce gaitd women atomic number 18 poor. So 53% of women in prisons and 74% of women in jails were unemployed people forrader incarceration.The imprisoning of women has a bad influence on her family. 67% of women in prisons are m early(a)s of children who are chthonic 18. 70% of these women (and that 50% of men) had hold of their dependent children before immurement. Statistics shows that 6% of women are pregnant at the spot when they go to prison.A big amount of incarcerated women had domestic violence. 32% of wrapped women (nearly 4,000 women) are in prisons because of murders of their husbands, ex-husbands or boyfriends.http//www-unix.oit.umass.edu/kastor/walking-steel-95/ws-women-in-prison.htmlWomen in prison anguish from violence, unlikeness and otherwise(a) kind of injustices. It is known that 57% of imprisoned women harbor had skanky and pro acheed informal and physical villainy. (3 Cristina Rathbone, A World Apart, Random House, whitethorn 2005, p. 22.). Being in prison, women are objects of sexual misconduct from correctional faculty and other prisoners. (4 GAO report Women in Prison Sexual Misconduct by Correctional Staff June 1999, p.9).Men and women are alike subjected to poundage but little attention has been given to the various demand and problems of imprisoned women as opposed to those of men. This omission whitethorn reflect the fact that women prisoners are a very slight minority of the overall prison population only four percent worldwide.Throughout the world, the governances in prison are nearly always created for the majority male prison population and that is why they dont tolerate for the women exigencys.Female prisoners grant different mental, physical, and horny deman d, non the same as men turn out. Prisons whitethorn be unable to offer adequate gestation period and ante-natal caution, or appropriate access to feminine hygiene products. Women can amaze different destinys relating to problems such as substance addiction, mental soundlyness, and enkindle management, sexual or physical abuse.Women in prisons guard a full(prenominal) level of mental diseases and are to a greater extent(prenominal) in all probability to fix been victims of all kinds of abuse than the superior general population and are at higher danger of self-harm and suicide. They whitethorn respond differently to security regimes and get hold of less(prenominal) unsmooth forms of physical restraint. In assortedsex prisons the security regime whitethorn be dis proportionately harsher for women because it is designed for men.Most women in prison are engenders and/or the main bursterr for children, thus it is particularly eventful that ways be found of aid th em to maintain family ties.Research shows that custodial sentences are not appropriate for legion(predicate) women and not strong in reducing offending or reoffending. The develop of imprisonment can arouse damaging effects for twain gos and their children and can infuriate mental health issues or problematic drug or alcohol addiction among women in prison.So, here is a description of all levels of imprisonment, the description of womens life in prison and the destiny of children of women in prison.1. hindrance of a muliebrity. Police officers whitethorn not ask whether the woman they are arresting has children or allow her time to explain to the children what is happening or make arrangements for their care. This increases the anxiety of some(prenominal) children and receives and makes the arrest much difficult for the officer.2. Pre- trial storage area. Women may be much likely to be placed in pre-trial detention than men. This is because on the indicators used to determine a persons likelihood of absconding before trial (such as secure employment and owning or renting property in ones own name) women tend to fix out lower. Factors such as feel for responsibilities are not taken into account.Even if a woman is exculpate at trial, she may see lost her job, her home or her place on mental health or drug rehabilitation programs in the meantime. For children, having a mother placed in pre-trial detention has many of the same effects as having a mother imprisoned following conviction.3. Sentencing. despite their statistically small proportion in the overall prison population, the rate of imprisonment of women is increasing rapidly. The reasons for this appear to be changes in sentencing policy and law of nature enforcement priorities, rather than a change in the amount or causticity of crime in which women are involved.Severity of sentence. Attitudes towards women criminals may precede to harsher sentences, including imprisonment for offe nces for which men would not be imprisoned. roughly discrimination against women reflects the societal refinement rather than specifically the criminal justice system thus contravening social more thans may lead to women being criminalised.Type of crime. In most countries, women are in prison for non-violent, property or drug offences. Generally, women have a lower involvement in serious violence, criminal damage and sea captain crime.Length of sentence. In many countries, a relatively high proportion of effeminate prisoners appear to serve fairly on the spur of the moment prison sentences. It should be borne in mind that a short sentence, for example six months, may be just as disruptive as a bimestrial sentence for a woman prisoner, who may lose her children, her job, and her home as a result of the sentence.4. Prisons. The number, type, geographical location and distribution of national prisons get out affect the quality of womens imprisonment. The provision in a country is ordinarily a practical matter of the resources available, and also reflects the penal philosophy of that country. both(prenominal) factors are outlined below.Location. Because in that location are a few(prenominal)er female prisoners at that place are fewer single-sex prisons for women. Women who are held in single-sex prisons are therefore more likely to be held considerable distances from their families and communities than men, making run acrossing and the maintenance of family ties more difficult. This is especially problematic for women who were the sole carers of dependent children before their imprisonment. It also affects other specific categories of female prisoners, such as juveniles, whose numbers are level(p) smaller.Level of security. Levels of security in prison are generally dictate in place to stop men escaping, which may mean that prisons are disproportionately harsher for women. In addition, the smaller number of womens prisons compared to mens means that there is less opportunity to provide institutions of different security classifications.The prisons regimes go away be goaded by the maximum security hirement, meaning that many women go away be held according to a security classification that is stricter than could be justified by any assessment of the risk that they pose.Shared facilities. Women with diverse bespeaks and a history of offending may be inappropriately held together under the same security regime. Sometimes women awaiting trial are held with women who have been sentenced, which is distant to better practice. Women who are detained in prisons which also hold men may be required to share facilities and attend classes with male prisoners. This is not a suitable environment for women who have fixd abuse or require strict insularity from men.Overcrowding. Prisons are often overcrowded and offer funkd do work facilities, and time spent out of cells. This pressure may also reduce the numbers of available r ehabilitative programmes educational, vocational, counselling as well as of drug and alcohol dependency programmes.Education, training and work. Prisons may offer a range of educational and work opportunities compulsory work or free work (either paid or unpaid). In single-sex prisons where there are few women, access to education, training and work opportunities may be severely limited. In mixed-sex prisons women may be required to attend classes or work with male prisoners. This may be unsuitable and change sur pillowcase threatening for some women.In some countries, women prisoners are given traditionally feminine jobs, such as catering or sewing. This is not a problem if there is a market for such skills outside the prison but jobs should not be allocated simply because of the gender of the prisoner. Women whose children live with them in prison may not be able to work or take education courses if there are no childcare facilities. Opportunities for prisoners awaiting trial and sentenced prisoners may also differ significantly.5. Physical health health careGeneral health and health care. Women prisoners suffer poor physical and mental health at evaluate and with a severity far exceeding those of male prisoners or of women in the general population. Some of this may be related to the reasons why they have been imprisoned, for example drug use and hence drug dependency and associated health problems. Sexual abuse and exploitation of women before and during imprisonment can lead to gynaecological problems, human immunodeficiency virus and other sexuallytransmitted diseases, motherhood, child-birth or abortion.Disease in prisons. Diseases and infections associated with overcrowding and poor health and hygiene conditions such as tuberculosis, hepatitis and HIV/AIDS, are supernumerary risks for women in prisons.Drug alcohol addiction. Prisoners are more likely to suffer from drug/alcohol addiction than in the community at large. living research indicat es that 75% of women who go to European prisons are already drug and alcohol users and that female prisoners are more likely to be given up to stickyer drugs than male prisoners.Health care provision. Standards of medical care inside prisons straggle greatly both from country to country and from prison to prison. When health care facilities are outside the prison they may offer better standards of provision, but they may create other problems such asThe shame and self-consciousness for women of being taken there in prison clothing or in handcuffs, particularly if they have to wait in public areas inwardly the hospital.Shortages of prison staff reducing the availability of escorts for women to attend hospital.Male prison staff accompanying female prisoners and being present during medical consultations and examinations.perceived lack of security in civilian institutions leading to women being restrain to beds, even during child-birth.Sexual health. Universally HIV among women p risoners is higher than in the general population.HIV positive women risk passing the disease onto their babies and unborn children. Womens high rates of drug addiction expose them to the risk of catching HIV through sharing needles.Female health hygiene. The prison may not provide for the sanitary needs of women or women may have to give birth for their own sanitary provision.Women who are menstruating or going through the menopause need regular daily showers. It is humiliating for women to have to use washables and toilet facilities in the presence of others, most particularly during menstruation. They should also be able to change their bed linen frequently.Older women may go through the menopause part imprisoned, and their medical and/or psychological needs need to be identified and met at this time.They may also have particular health care needs such as ductless gland replacement therapy or solid food supplements.Pregnancy and childbirth. Pregnant women in prisons need sp ecial resources and attention to diet, exercise, clothing, medication and medical care.Prison is not an well-off place to be pregnant and the inflexibility of a prison regime is incompatible with the needs and care of a pregnant body.It is more difficult to catch up on missed sleep and missed meals and hard to take baths or showers as often as needed.It may be difficult for the prison to transport prisoners to health care checks and scans, ante-natal classes and post-natal care.Ante-natal and post-natal care may not be seen as medical priorities by prison staff.It may be difficult for a prisoner to see a midwife. warning signal staff to a medical problem, even the onset of labour, may be difficult, particularly at night.The stress of imprisonment can have a deleterious relate on the development of a pregnancy.Restraining pregnant women in the same way as other women prisoners may endanger both the woman and the fetus.6. Mental health. Mental health problems are more paste among w omen prisoners than in the prison for men or in the general prison. A lot of women have problems with lower-level of mental health, such as personality disorder, which do not qualify them for a psychiatric bed. Such women may need access to treatments and therapy designed specifically for them, and even in women-only prisons conditions may not be ideal. Women can be extremely worried about what will happen to their children, especially in the early stages of detention. Research has suggested that this can exacerbate or bring on mental health problems.Depression, self-harm and suicide. Doctors are more likely to diagnose depression in women than in men (even when they have similar scores on standardized measures of depression) and more likely to bring down mood altering psychotropic drugs to women than to men. Outside prison men are more likely to commit suicide than women but the position is reverse inside prison, and self-harm in prison is a huge problem and more prevalent among women in prison.7. Violence and vulnerability. In those countries where all prisoners are under fire(predicate) to torture and inhuman and degrading treatment, women (and juvenile female) prisoners are particularly at risk, both from male prisoners and from male prison guards. The power imbalance surrounded by prisoners and guards together with the closelyd nature of prisons provide opportunities for harassment, exploitation, abuse, prostitution, rape and indecent ravish of female prisoners by staff, both male and female.They may also be subjected to abuse and exploitation from other prisoners, both male and female.Even in countries where this is not the case, such as in the UK, women prisoners are vulnerable to other prisoners. A high proportion of UK women prisoners tell that they feel unsafe.The issues about preventative and security of female prisoners include Location of female cells in mixed prisons.Location and use of shared facilities, in particular showers and toilets. Whether male prison guards hold finish off positions over female prisoners (posts which permit or require them to be in physical proximity to the prisoners, sometimes unsupervised by other, female, staff).Strip searches women prisoners as a group are more likely than other women generally and/or male prisoners to have experienced sexual assault this makes strip-searching especially traumatic for them.The existence or lack of effective supervision and complaints mechanisms which enable prisoners to complain without exposing them to intimidation or gain abuse for example, seeing a doctor in the presence of guards means that violence towards and abuse of prisoners by guards is less likely to be reported by the prisoner.Women who are subject to sexual abuse or exploitation shell the added problems relating to the risk of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases, the interrogative moods of pregnancy and child-birth or abortion, and all the associated physical, mental and emotiona l health issues.8. Mothers in prison. Most women in prison around the world are mothers. Women are more likely to be the sole or primary carer for children and this factor makes the prison experience significantly different for women. The effects of maternal imprisonment on their families are generally more disruptive than the effects of paternal imprisonment. This is not adequately recognized by the criminal justice system.Since the numbers of women who are sent to a prison are rather low and the tendency to vent women to prison for lesser nonviolent offences is increasing, so the woman herself can not understand the possibility of imprisonment as the outcome of her deeds. That is why the woman doesnt have the opportunity to make any preparations or provision for her kids before being taken into handle. Such fact can be a cause of additional stress for her and her kids.Prison visits from children. Visiting prisons can be a difficult and frustrating experience for children. So, tr aveling for a long distance, entering a grim building, being searched, spending time in a harsh adult environment with a mother that one might not even be able to touch may be extremely distressing to a child. This in turn may make the childs carer less inclined to undertake this arduous task, as well as leaving the mother distraught and reluctant to have further visits from the child.Furthermore, the new carers may have their own family responsibilities, as well as financial constraints, which put strains on taking in additional children (leading to children pathetic from one carer to some other) and in particular adding to the financial, time and emotional burdens of taking children to visit their imprisoned mother.Evidence suggests that the children of imprisoned mothers, and particularly those who are taken into sound out care during the mothers imprisonment, are at significantly greater risk of underdeveloped criminal behavior in adulthood than other children.9. Children of imprisoned mothers. The rights and best interests of the children of women prisoners are rarely considered during criminal justice processes, even though agnatic imprisonment has a major impact on their lives. There are three optionsThe child has to go to prison with the mother, and the consequence of that.The child is stray from the mother, and the consequence of that.Where there is more than one child and they are tough differently i.e. one goes to prison with the mother, the other is separated, and the consequences of that.Within each of these, there are then a number of matters to be considered which are encapsulated in the table overleaf.Children separated from their mother. Children left in the community may be looked after by their father, grand levys, other relatives or friends of the family, taken into state care or left without carers.Siblings may be separated from each other in order to make the situation not to difficult, or they may be taken into State institutions. A prisoner living in insecure or rented accommodation will usually lose this when s/he enters prison and getting accommodation when released is often difficult. A mother whose children have been placed in the care of the state or another person usually cannot reclaim bondage without appropriate accommodation, so even a short prison term may lead to ineradicable separation of families.Registering details of prisoners children is not part of the reception procedure in many countries. Some prisoners may not disclose this information voluntarily for fear that their children will be permanently taken away from them. As a result, governments do not make social provision or policies which address the problem of children with incarcerated cites.The imprisonment of the mother has a great impact on the children it affects every aspect of their lives and not just the relationships with their mother. It feels the same as while the bereavement, but with less support, from the new carer, teach ers, and other people. Children of imprisoned parents have an increased tendency to showing self-asserting and anti-social behaviour compared to the general population.Researchers have found that the effects of parental imprisonment can be serious. Studies of prisoners children consistently report that children experience a range of psychosocial problems during the imprisonment of a parent, including depression, hyperactivity, aggressive behaviour, withdrawal, regression, clinging behaviour, problems with sleeping and eating, running away, truancy, low school grades and delinquency. The impact on the children will, of course, exchange according to their age, surrounding family and community response, environment and individual character.Babies and children in prison. Some women may spend part or all of a pregnancy in prison and give birth while still constituent their sentence. The bonding of an infant with her/his primary carer is essential for her/his long term emotional develo pment and should be given high priority. If mothers give birth while serving their sentence, or are imprisoned when they have a vitiate or infantile child, that baby or young child may come into the prison to live with them. Special resources and facilities available to mother and babies in prison varies, but usually consist of accommodation within a specialized Mother and Baby Unit (MBU). Toys are sometimes provided for the children and the mother may have more freedom in terms of staying in an unlocked room, having access to a kitchen in which she can prepare food for the child etc.Because of the small number of women in prison who have children living with them, the number of MBUs is low, meaning that a mother may be imprisoned a long way from the rest of her family. This creates problems regarding prison visits and maintaining contact with any older children in the family. Additional concerns about babies and children living in prison are the effect this has on their developme nt physical, mental and emotional.How long babies or young children can reside in prison with their mothers or even whether they can do so at all varies good across countries. The separation of mother and child can be a very traumatic experience for them both.Some countries try and make the separation process as gradual as possible, in order to ease the pain and trauma of separation.Babies and young children who are living in prison with their mother also require specialized health care. Women who know that their children will be removed from them shortly after birth may exhibit mental health problems and/or reject the baby or lose it to bond with it.10. Maintaining links with family. When imprisoned mothers are the primary carer of children, separation from their mothers is usually more traumatic than if the father is incarcerated this is of course much worse where the mother is the sole carer. Research has shown that if family ties are maintained, the chances of prisoners re- offending upon release are lowered, so it is important to take measures to try to preserve these ties. Problems in maintaining these links includeDoing so through letters is hard for those with low literacy skills, and self vidently problematic in relation to young children.Overcoming what is often a greater distance in the midst of the woman and her family.11. Specific groups of prisoners. strange nationals. Foreign national women prisoners may be either resident or non-resident in the country where they are imprisoned. unwashed difficulties may be appeard by both male and female foreign national prisoners, such as problems relating to language and misunderstandings surrounding the customs and cultures of the host country, which may lead to isolation. In prisons where the prisoners are dependent on external assistance, whether for basics such as food, hygiene products and clothing, or for small luxuries, women without family at hand to visit not only face the direct problems of not having such items, but are vulnerable to exploitation by other prisoners or prison guards in order to receive the necessities for living.Foreign national women who are not resident in the country of imprisonment may often be very far away from their children and families, make them anguish and anxiety. Their children may not have the financial means to come and visit them. Telephone calls may be prohibitively expensive for both the mother and her children and difficult to arrange because of time differences. If the children are too young to read and write, then communication via letters is not an option.Many women foreign nationals in prison are there for drug smuggling and may have left their children in the temporary care of friends or family, expecting to output in a few days. Imprisonment may put a womans family (children and others) in significant danger from the people who employed her to smuggle drugs. occupier foreign national women can face deportation when they have stainless their sentence, which means further separation from their families, or their having to relocate as well.Transgender prisoners. Transgender prisoners face particular difficulties and pose special challenges to the prison system precisely because of the question as to their classification as male or female prisoners.racial minorities/ autochthonic prisoners. In many countries with indigenous populations, indigenous women represent the fastest growing segment of the prison population. Their double minority status within the prison system, being both indigenous and women, means that where training and other programmes exist they may have to choose between those intended for indigenous men or for non-indigenous women. They may also have different needs from other women prisoners.12. Post-release issues. Women leaving prison receive varying degrees of support from the prison and social services. They may face many problems in addition to the pressures which may have caused th em to commit their initial crime, such as getting a job, finding accommodation, staying drug or alcohol free and regaining custody of children who have been in state care during their imprisonment. Even a short prison term may lead to the mother losing the rented accommodation in which she had been living, and it is common for a mother to be unable to regain custody of her children if she does not have anywhere to live. This makes it very difficult for women to resume mean(prenominal) lives outside of prison, and may be a factor which contributes to re-offending.Although all released prisoners face issues surrounding their efforts to reintegrate into society, for parents these may be compounded by the need to reconcile with children who may have changed (as well as grown up) during their absence. These children may have taken on new roles in the family and developed close relation-ships with alternative carers, both of which can cause tension if the returning parent tries to go bac k to the way things were. Reoffending by parents can also have a devastating impact on their children, as they lose their parent for a second time.As it was written above, the female population in the U.S. prison is escalating faster than the male population. According to statistics, the U.S. has 10 times more women in prison than the combined nations of Western Europe. (http//www-personal.umich.edu/lormand/agenda/0107/womenprison.htm. Phillis Engelbert, Women inPrison, Agenda, July/ opulent 2001).Women are sent to prison for different crimes, but there they need a specialized care and treatment. A lot of women have drug and alcohol problems and need to be treated accordingly. A lot of women in prison have children and this is one more reason for special treatment.