Design:
The study will be done through qualitative line of inquiry. Qualitative data provides a prosperous, thorough picture to be built up about why people act in certain ways, and their feelings about these actions, which provides the researcher with a clear understanding of the data. Qualitative data is also useful for studying limited data in-depth; for the purpose of this study to be accomplished, the data needs to be studied in-depth. Thematizing meanings is one of few shared generic skills across qualitative analysis (Holloway and Todres, 2003). The epistemological position of qualitative research is interpretivist and this will be particularly helpful in attempting to understand the struggles faced by female ex-offenders when they re-enter society and how they move past this to get back on their feet (Bryman, 2012). Due to the nature of the research, secondary data analysis will be employed through thematic analysis. Thematic analysis will be particularly useful in understanding how the women desist from crime to sort out their lives and move on from a life of crime “focuses on identifiable themes and patterns of living and talk and aims to generate descriptions of strategies and behaviours” (Hammersmith and Atkinson, 1995). In addition, it will also assist in understanding how prison life affects women’s behaviour when they are released to enter back into society.
Epistemological Position:
Braun and Clarke (2006) explain that, unlike grounded theory or
The ongoing role of prison within the UK Criminal Justice System is becoming increasingly unclear. On the one hand in the 21st century, it is considered to be a “state strategy for crime control, a deterrent for those contemplating crime and punitive response for those who have broken laws”McAvinchey (2011 pg.10). On the other hand, it is also supposed to have a rehabilitative purpose, the intended role of a prison is to rehabilitate the offender so that when they have completed their prison sentence, they can be successfully rehabilitated back into the community and live a crime free fulfilled life. Yet, when examining the vital statistics that underline an increase in prisoner population, it is clearly apparent that the system neither
Women in the concurrent prison are exposed to many issues, some as a result of their lives before ending up in prison, others from ending up in prison itself. Women in prison have experienced mental and physical abuse, unstable family, issues with work and school and many other issues. Studies shows that national surveys made of women prisoners find that a high rate of them were mothers, half of them having kids under the age of eighteen. Inmates are sent to prison on different locations creating an obstacle on transportation, economic issues and the bond between these.
This dissertation will study a number of issues surrounding drug intervention programs, gen-der and mental health issues but first I want to introduce female involvement within the crimi-nal justice system (CJS) in the context of their drug addiction and will look at theories which have helped shape criminologists perspectives of female offenders throughout the years.
It is no secret that the United States’ criminal justice system is majorly flawed in more ways than one. We hear of all of the injustice that many civilians face on a day to day basis, which mostly surrounds the problems related to men, but what about women? Why don’t we hear about the tribulations and sufferings that our women undergo on a day to day basis within our criminal justice system? As mentioned in an article from the American Jail Association, investigation in fields ranging from subjects of general and mental health, substance abuse and addiction relating to drugs and prescriptions, and physical violence against women combined with examination and practice in the criminal justice field, have discovered that women offenders experience challenges that are not only different from their male counterparts, but also greatly influence their involvement in criminal justice systems, including jails and prisons (Ney, 2014). This information alone provides a basis to why imprisoned women should be more of a topic. This literature review will examine the several ways in which women who are incarcerated experience emotional trauma; and in some ways, abuse. My hypothesis is that most of the trauma encountered by incarcerated women majorly branches from preceding events and occurrences that happened prior to becoming imprisoned, and that they worsen as a result of improper treatment and resources within
After visiting www.womenandprison.org a website created by incarcerated women, I learn the ins and outs of what are some of the leading factors for women and prisons now. Most of the women interviewed have a brutal past with drug addiction, prostitution or abuse. These are the main reasons women today still are being incarcerated. However gender experience in prison expressed by women is very painful. Unlike men women suffer from the state of mind where they are home sick. Those who tend to have made families back home it begins to be tougher for women to be separate from her child. Also it is said to be all mind games a lot of women loose a sense of social control where they are no longer accepting to the reasoning which has brought them to
This study will address the the Ministry of Justice’s need for obtaining a research on the impact of incarceration on whanau of adults confined to prison. There is limited literature on the impact of incarcerated parents on the children. Moreover, children of incarcerated parents also often have experience systems outside of criminal justice system, such as mental and public health, child welfare, education systems, state housing and youth justice. Children’s experiences of loss and trauma could help to understand why this may be the case. This will create
Mothers are more than happy to be sent to a rehabilitation centre then prison as this would be seen as a easy escape from prison but also being able to still stay at home whilst attending rehabilitation centres, with community work offered to convicted offenders too it is proved that women finish community work more than males and are able to cope with the work as they see a means of not going to prison. Women are a target to pressure and over half of women within the criminal justice system have suffered from ‘domestic violence, compared with a quarter of men’ and with a quarter of having ‘experienced sexual abuse in comparison to just under a tenth of male prisoners’. (Corston, 2007). Mothers feel more pain of imprisonment then fathers/males this is because the role as a mother can be as primary carers. Worry
Incarceration has been a pending issue amongst western civilization’s history for some time and today continues to raise a wide range of important questions. Incarceration of individuals have become a tremendous tax payer concern along with the incarceration of the drug war, convictions of street gangs, and the rest of the individuals who have broken the law and harmed other innocent individuals. However, the question is always a concern of men incarceration and hardly addressed of women being incarcerated. Not to say that what men can do women can do better, but studies have shown a drastic increase in women becoming incarcerated throughout a range of years. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures research on Children Of Incarcerated Parents by Steve Christian, a study by national survey had reported in August 2008, that during that time, the number of children with a mother in prison increased by 131 percent, from 63,900 to 147,400 (Christian, 2009). Society has always drawn its focus on convicts constantly trying to pin a wrong on an individual’s plate of life, but has never become curious to ask why an individual has become incarcerated and whom it has affected. The drastic increase of women becoming incarcerated have come from numerous of backgrounds in which their choices have led to affect their children as well as their children’s development and in addition affected their own development.
Resettlement has been an important element in prison life throughout England and Wales for many years. It is when “prisoners and their families receive assistance and support from the prison and probation services and voluntary agencies to help them prepare for life after prison” (Justice, 2002). The objective is to hopefully lead prisoners towards recidivism, which will hopefully return ex-offenders to normal life, employment and housing. Criminological and social research done by Social Exclusion Unit (SEU) identified the following factors to be what influenced reoffending. These are; education, employment, drug and alcohol misuse, mental and physical health, housing, financial support, debt and family networks. The aim of this essay is to discuss the impact that resettlement has in imprisonment today by looking at the factors within prison life and also looking at the effects that resettlement has on the prisoners.
There have been many changes in the treatment of offenders by the Criminal Justice System in England and Wales, particularly the treatment of female offenders. The handling of women within the criminal justice system has been closely tied to their social characteristics, and to what might be described as their ‘social construction’. On the other hand, women who compromise more than half of the world’s population, account for only 15% of criminal activity and as a consequence, relatively little attention has been given to them. This essay will explore how this has changed from a historical point of view to modern times, with exploration from cross-culture comparisons and an overview of the treatments of females in prisons.
The study of recidivism amongst women in prison is important because most research focuses on the male population. The reasons for the “revolving door” phenomenon are different for women; therefore, their treatment should be more gender focused and specific to their needs. Judging by the rates at which women recidivate, you could assume that somewhere along the way the system has failed them. What role does drug use, motherhood, mental health, physical, sexual, and mental abuse play in the recidivism of female inmates?
According to Yamatiani and Spieldnes (2011) the biggest issues faced by women exiting incarceration were stable housing and long-term, legal employment. It was also noted that women suffer from issues such as sexual trauma and problems connecting with their children more often than their male counterparts (Bloom, Owen,
It has already been established that the prison population for female offenders is growing, but the complexity of the population is changing as well. Special populations make up the group of female offenders, specifically including middle-aged inmates, physically ill inmates, and of course mentally ill inmates (Lewis, 200). The pathology of these women vary, many struggle or previously struggled with substance abuse, psychosis,
Women are an increasingly visible segment of the prison population confined in not just Amderican prsions but also prisons worldwide. Their numbers are increasing at such a rate that far outstrips even the remarkable rate of growth among incarcerated men. In a interview with the Independent, Carol Hedderman, professor of criminology at the University of Leicester, said “looking at the growing number of women in jail could eventually help lower the prison population overall” (Branagh, 2010). In response to the growing number of female imprisonment in this assignment I will analyise the key weaknesses in the criminal justice system stating why women end up in prisons, and when they do what disadavatages to they face by being in the system. There are a number of factors that I will discus such as the dispersal of prisons and how they result to isolation the women inmates face, how the system deals with mothers with new born or children on a whole. Also how gender inequality plays a key role in the prisons and finally I will disucss other methods of punishements for women which control the over crowded women population and can help improve the criminal justice process.
The involvement of females in crime and as the committers of crime was once a rare phenomenon but in recent years a dramatic increase has been seen all over the world. In England and Wales statistics have shown between 1994 and 2006 female crimes have steadily increased and have since continued to do so (MOJ 2009). Many sociological explanations and interpretations have arisen to coincide this surge in female offending as to understand its recent development in society. This assignment will look at different feminist explanations and critically evaluate them and their value in understanding female crime.