Women In Prison Essays (Examples)

Women in Prison the Justice System Is

omen in Prison

The justice system is designed to enact punishment on those who have committed a crime. It is not supposed to be a gateway to a regime of state imposed terror. For many women incarcerated in the United States, the prison system is nothing less than a torture chamber. For these women, sexual abuse and gross misconduct at the hands of those who are supposed to protect them are commonplace.

omen in U.S. Prisons Statistics

Before engaging in the specifics of the injustices faced by many women in U.S. prisons we must first look at who is incarcerated. The omen and Global Rights eb site offers the following statistics on the female prison population.

In 1997, there were 138,000 women in prison in the United States. Most of these incarcerations were drug-related or self-defense.

The number of women incarcerated in the United States is TEN TIMES more than…… [Read More]

Women in Prison The Writer

Women in prison were often exposed to sexual abuse by their male supervisors. There were rapes, beatings and sexual favors for the return of food or clothing in many of the nation's female penitentiaries.

One prison chaplain who was visiting women in the New York prison system recorded in his diary the hardships of women in prisons during that period of American history (Dodge, 1999).

To be a male convict in this prison would be quite tolerable; but to be a female convict, for any protracted period, would be worse than death (Dodge, 1999)."

Prison officials routinely ignored any need of female prisoners and instead complained about the experiences they had supervising a female population.

As the female population of prisoners grew however, families and loved ones of those in prison began to demand change.

For the last century there have been many changes implemented in the female prison system.…… [Read More]

Prison Nurseries There Are Few Assets as

Prison Nurseries

There are few assets as precious to a nation as it children. Especially in the developed world. Social, care, and education systems are set up in such a way as to nurture the young ones to that they can grow and develop effectively to make the most of their lives and their future. Indeed, not making sure that children's lives can progress along optimal levels can result in dire consequences for a nation and its future. It affects everything from the economy to the moral fabric of a nation to not care for its children. It is also, however, a sad fact of the world today that not all children are born to loving parents, a home and family, or in otherwise ideal circumstances. Indeed, some children are born to mothers who are in prison. While there are many programs to care for these children, there is little…… [Read More]

Prison Industrial Complex

Prison Industrial Complex as Another Form of Mandatory Minimum Sentencing

US sentencing policies are still lean which has led to the federal government to incarcerate so many people. There are too many criminals committing too many crimes, and this explains why we have too many prisoners. Currently, the government's prison is holding 200,000-armed robbers, 150,000 sex offenders and 100 murderers (Davis, 2008). These people are enough to make fill a city. Many people have been opposed to the idea that these people should be released form prisons. U.S. have the largest number of violent offenders despite the recorded decline in crime rate. However, the number of people sent to prison for committing violent offences has gone down during the prison boom. In 2010, over 50% of people being taken to prison were violent offenders. America has enormous prison populations because the courts are sentencing individuals who have not committed violent…… [Read More]

Prison Conditions

Prison Conditions

There are two major issues that need to be addressed with regards to prison conditions. One is the whether humane conditions are provided and the other is concerned with the degree of rehabilitation that prisons facilitate. On both counts, U.S. prisons need to take actions to prevent abuse and to reduce the high number of repeat offenders as our prison populations swell beyond control.

According to Human Rights Watch, prisoners suffer from physical mistreatment, excessive disciplinary measures, intolerable physical conditions and inadequate medical and mental health care. Prisons are severely overcrowded and do not have adequate staffing.

Many local jails are unsafe, vermin-infested and lack areas where inmates can get exercise or fresh air. Violence by inmates and guards is common. Mentally ill inmates who comprise between six and fourteen percent of the incarcerated population do not receive adequate monitoring and treatment. Private prisons operate without sufficient control…… [Read More]

Prison Libraries

Prison Libraries

hen most people think about prison libraries today they most likely recall the 1995 movie, "The Shawshank Redemption" which revolved around the library of Maine's state prison from 1947 through the late1960's (Shawshank pg). The movie portrayed the evolution of the library during some twenty years, as it went from a small cramped room housing a meager selection of books to larger quarters with vast selections of books, music and educational materials (Shawshank pg). This evolution would not and could not have taken place if not for the relentless solicitations by the movie's main character, Andy Dufresne. His tireless efforts resulted in donations from various organizations (Shawshank pg). The movie was an accurate depiction of a typical prison library. Until the last century, most were non-existent and the few that did exist were poorly stocked. Due to the funding shortages that have always faced federal and state prisons,…… [Read More]

Women in Policing

Women in Policing

women's initial police work followed work in prisons

Estelle B. Freedman's book, Their Sister's Keepers: Women's Prison eform in America, 1830-1930, focuses not on women emerging as police officers, but rather on women in prisons, and women who were employed by prisons to work with female inmates. On page 19, Freedman explains that in the late 19th Century, "sexual ideology began to suggest that purity came naturally to women, in contrast to men, who had to struggle to control their innate lust." It was argued by "influential Victorian authorities" that women did not have an appetite for sex, but rather they just went through the motions to have children. This attitude laid the groundwork for the vicious hatred society had for "impure women" who had the capacity "to unleash not just male sperm, but more importantly, the social disintegration that sexuality symbolized" (20).

And so, the "fallen…… [Read More]

Women in Jails Women in

Not only was it cost effective but the study also reported that offenders who were treated in the community setting were 43% less likely to reoffend compared to the prison population clearly suggesting the effectiveness of community-based sentences. [Amanda Noblet, 2008, pg 27]

Conclusion

The criminal justice system is clearly unprepared and ill equipped to manage the unique needs of women in prison. There is clearly a need for a specific focus on Mental illness, sexual violence and drug abuse, reproductive health and other issues that are very relevant to the incarcerated female population. Clearly our female correctional facilities are under resourced and over crowded and overcrowded prisons are not ideal for reformation but instead create more problems. Since majority of women prisoners are incarcerated for minor drug related offenses and property crimes, a more liberal and effective reformative approach should be pursued. Community based alternative sentencing programs should be…… [Read More]

Women at Five State Prison

5%, compared to 4.8% for males). (Chesney-Lind, 1998, p. 66)

The author also re-confirms the fact that data regarding of female inmate's indicate that as cited the passage of increased penalties for drug offenses has certainly been a major factor in this increase. Again, it is also important to see that implementation of these stricter sentencing reform initiatives which supposedly were devoted to reducing class and race disparities in male sentencing, pay very little attention to gender and the particular needs of women have been grievously overlooked. (Chesney-Lind, 1998; Aday, 2003)

The advent of mandatory sentencing schemes and strict punishment for drug offenses has been devastating to women. Many states have adopted harsh mandatory sentencing schemes. The Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which eliminated gender and family responsibility as factors for consideration at the time of sentencing, were adopted. (5) the policy of eliminating gender and family responsibility, combined with heightened penalties…… [Read More]

Women Offenders

delineation of the research hypotheses. The chapter will conclude with an outline of the remaining chapters.

Relevant Background Information

Increasingly, female offenders and issues associated with their incarceration have been identified as a problem of concern. Evidence suggests that female offenders represent a growing population within the U.S. penal system. Between 1986 and 1991, the number of female inmates in state prisons increased 75% (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 1994). Between 1981 and 1991, the number of females incarcerated in federal penal institutions also increased by 24%. Since 1980 the population of women inmates has increased by more than 200% (Gabel & Johnston, 1995). Women inmates currently account for 9% of the entire prison population and of this group, 57% are women of color.

The majority of women are arrested for nonviolent crimes. Typical offenses include fraud, use of illegal drugs, and prostitution (Singer, Bussey, Song, & Lunghofer, 1995). Evidence also…… [Read More]

Women's Issues in the Criminal

Studies indicate that there are more poor women in prison than ever before, and this puts women at risk to become mothers younger, and to have more instability in relationships and family life as their relationships progress. Authors Travis and Visher continue, "Imprisoned offenders are disproportionately from impoverished backgrounds, which places them at greater risk for early and nonmarital parenthood. Early transitions to parenthood are clearly linked to later instability in marriage and relationships and welfare dependency (Travis and Visher, 2005, p. 222-223). Thus, incarcerating more women is putting more families at risk, and creating a vicious circle of poverty, despair, and hopelessness that can simply lead to more criminal activity and incarceration. In addition, this leads to overcrowding of prisons and higher costs for the criminal justice system that must now administer and support more females in prison, rather than on probations, which is what many received before the…… [Read More]

Women and Violence Natural Born

Yet, one should take into account a cetain pat of the statement, egading the status of the victims. The expession "low net woth people" must not, by any chance and even if it's the case of citing an authoity, appea in an aticle. No matte the status and the position of a peson in the society's hieachy, life is the most valuable good one has and has the same impotance fo all pees.

In geneal, the aticle can eceive a positive eview. It is objective and the case is clealy exposed, it does not contain ielevant pieces of infomation and it does not insist on mino details. The lack of desciption fo potagonists leads to ceating no peconceptions. Futhemoe, media does not oughly exploit the stoy. One can not assume thee is sensitiveness in naating the case, but as mentioned befoe, the aticle elies on objectiveness. Howeve, the only aspect…… [Read More]

Women in American History in

In colonial America, formal education for girls historically has been secondary to that for boys. In colonial America girls learned to read and write at dame schools. They could attend the master's schools for boys when there was room, usually during the summer when most of the boys were working. (Women's International Center)

During the latter half of the Republic Era, rapid economic growth presented new opportunities for northern white women. Previously limited to homework or to household-related jobs like cleaning and cooking, some young women now became school teachers or mill workers. One destination for young farm women was the Lowell mills in Massachusetts, at the falls of the Merrimac River. An unnamed rural crossroads in 1823, Lowell by 1830 boasted ten mills and three thousand operatives, nearly all of them female. (oyer)

eginning in the 19th century, the required educational preparation, particularly for the practice of medicine, increased.…… [Read More]

Women Today and Yesterday in

Her we see resentment emerge even in death. Love was an "unsolved mystery" (636) for Louise and she had no problem giving up the "possession of self-assertion which she suddenly recognized as the strongest impulse of her being" (636). Louise appreciates a life without love because love is nothing but a hindrance. Contemporary women simply cannot relate to marriage being so much like an ownership deal. omen enjoy marriage and love and men have learned to recognize the potential of women outside the home. omen look forward to marriage because they know they are not sacrificing anything when they do it. Marriage is more like a sharing of two persons rather than a husband lording his power over his wife. In short, something is wrong when the death of a spouse brings joy instead of sorrow. Through this observation, we see how important a sense of self is for every…… [Read More]

Women of Today Have Come Along Way

Women of today have come along way because society has recognized that they have voices as well as men do. From the entire world, women have maintained their place due to the new customs that have arisen over the years. They have been able to go vote and work, which puts them as equals with men For example, South Korea; there is a female president instead of a make. Therefore, women have overcome the stereotypes that society has created from sixty years ago. No matter what country or culture women are in, it has been proven during the last two decades they are no longer inferior when it comes to being equals with men. In other words, regardless of what society throws at women, they become stronger and more powerful every day.

In Mexico, Mexicans place a high value on family and traditional values. lthough women make up an increasingly…… [Read More]

Women and Acts of Violent Crimes

Women and Acts of Violent Crimes in the Year Of

The increased involvement of women involved in violent crimes in the year of 2013 has led to the development of more equitable services in a system primarily created from research based on male adolescent offenders (Sondheimer, 2001). Studying women and violent crimes has been crucial to understanding their acts compared to men. Statistics show that there is a growing amount of violence coming from women in the past two years when compared to women. Since 2012 the amount of female defendants convicted of felonies in State courts has grown at more than 2 times the rate of rise in male defendants. In 2013 an estimated 960,000 women were under the care, control, or custody of correctional agencies & probation or parole organizations verseeing 75% of these offenders in the community. The entire equals a rate of around 1 woman involved…… [Read More]

Women in Abusive Relationship

omen in Abusive Relationships

According to a report in the Public Broadcasting Service, the home is one of the "most dangerous places for a woman" (PBS). That is because of the legacy of domestic abuse that many women have had to go through, and are going through today. Indeed, the U.S. Department of Justice reports that two-thirds of violent attacks against women are perpetrated by someone that woman knows. Every year about 1,500 women are actually killed by boyfriends or husbands, the Justice Department explains. And every year nearly 2 million men "beat their partners," according to the FBI. This paper reviews the statistics, the reasons that women decide to stay in those relationships, and what alternatives there are for her.

The Abuse of omen -- Background Information

The Public Broadcasting Service story indicates that 95% of victims of domestic violence are women, and that women are "7 to 10…… [Read More]

Women's and Gender Studies

omen and Gender Studies

Of all the technologies and cultural phenomena human beings have created, language, and particularly writing, is arguably the most powerful, because it is the means by which all human experience is expressed and ordered. As such, controlling who is allowed to write, and in a modern context, be published, is one of the most effective means of controlling society. This fact was painfully clear to women writers throughout history because women were frequently prohibited from receiving the same education as men, and as the struggle for gender equality began to read a critical mass near the end of the nineteenth century, control over women's access to education and writing became a central theme in a number of authors' works, whether they considered themselves feminists or not. In particular, Charlotte Perkins Gilman's 1892 story The Yellow allpaper features this theme prominently, and Virginia oolf's extended essay A…… [Read More]

Women's Rights Movement in the 1970s

omen's Rights Movement In The 1970s

In A People's History of the United States, Zinn begins his narrative of the liberation of women with the women's suffrage movement of the early twentieth century. However, according to Zinn, even after women were granted their vote, their identity was still largely measured by their success in living up to the idealized role models of wife and mother till the overt feminist movement of the late 1960s. Till then, the only time that women were allowed to break the traditional stereotype mold of femininity and domesticity was during periods such as war, civil strife or extreme economic conditions (Zinn, 503-6).

Zinn, in his account, gives a detailed description of the events that occurred in the 1960s. omen of all ages took active part in the civil rights movement of the sixties, which in a sense laid the ground for women collectively voicing their…… [Read More]

Women and Children Are Facing Abuse All

Women and children are facing abuse all over the world, astonishingly, in countries where rights against abuse are more pronounced than in any other country. We are going to take the case of the abuse of immigrant women and children, mainly those who struggle to get into the United States of America through the Mexican border.

It's only in the 21st century that we have to come to notice the rapid increase of women and children immigrants moving out for job opportunities.

Men, usually get work as laborers in industries of some kind while the women or children have to do odd and low jobs just to make ends meet and earn enough money to send or take back to their family. They usually find work as hired help in places like Grande valley, El Paso, San Diego, and everly Hills. (Jane Juffer, 1988)

Furthermore, women face daily harassments by…… [Read More]

Women's Rights Cases for Gender

The United States Supreme Court ruled in favor of Illinois and argued that the Fourteenth Amendment was designed to protect against race discrimination only…" Gibson, 2007, Background to Muller v. Oregon section ¶ 1). The Court ruled that the Fourteenth Amendment did not include the protection of women's rights.

The following depicts Justice Bradley's concurring opinion regarding Bradwell's

Man is, or should be, woman's protector and defender. The natural and proper timidity and delicacy which belongs to the female sex evidently unfits it for many of the occupations of civil life. The constitution of the family organization, which is founded in the divine ordinance, as well in the nature of things, indicates the domestic sphere as that which properly belongs to the domain and functions of womanhood.... The paramount destiny and mission of woman are to fulfill the noble and benign offices of wife and mother. This is the law…… [Read More]

Women Who Kill Their Children

hen their state of denial lifts, they are often wracked with remorse for what they've done.

The final circumstance that Resnick lists is uncommon but not unheard of among mothers who kill their children: spousal revenge. Though this is rare among women, one recent case that highlights it is the case of an Ontario mother, Elaine Campione, who drowned her two daughters in the bathtub, allegedly to keep her ex-husband from getting custody and to inflict intense suffering upon him. She even made a video only minutes after the murders, asking her ex-husband if he was "happy now" (CTV News 2010).

ith all of these circumstances potentially leading parents, especially mothers, to murder their children, legal prosecution and defense of these cases can be difficult -- at times, heart-wrenching. In the cases of mothers who have killed their children, the great majority of the defenses center around pleas of insanity.…… [Read More]

Women and the Book of Judges

Women in the Book Of Judges

Prof Name

The Book of Judges talks about ancient Israel, and how they extended their territory by acquiring lands from the non-Israelites. The book narrates how Israelites conquered and reclaimed their lost land from non-Israelites and how they used to turn from God whenever they are satisfied. But it is written in the Bible that, the guilty are by no means cleared, as Exodus (34:7) says this is the reason why the Lord used several Kings and Judges like Deborah to help the people of Israel find their way back to Him. As the book reveals, it is evident that most of the judges were men (as they were most of the times referred to as Judges). The book talks about a great woman Deborah, also referred to as the "bee," as a key judge in the entire book. This book unveils the importance…… [Read More]

Gender-Specific Therapy for Women Prisoners Research Question

Gender-Specific Therapy for Women Prisoners

ESEACH QUESTION AND JUSTIFICATION

On average, women make up about 7% of the total federal and state incarcerated population in the United States. This has increased since the 1980s due to stricter and more severe laws that focus on recreational drug use, a lack of community programs, and fewer treatment centers available for outpatients (Zaitow and Thomas, eds., 2003). According to the National Women's Law Centers, women prisoners report a higher than statistically normal history of domestic violence in their immediate past, and the fastest growing prison population with a disproportionate number of non-Whites forming over 60% of the population. In fact, over 30% of women in prison are serving sentences for murder involving a spouse or partner. The incarceration of women presents far different cultural and sociological issues than those of men -- issues with children, family, sexual politics and more (NWLC, 2012).

The…… [Read More]

Role of Prostitution Laws in Criminalizing Women

Criminalization occurs when women are treated like offenders rather than victims when they defend themselves against abusive males. Criminalized women are made to feel like they are the ones responsible for situations such as damage to property, child exposure to violence, immigration status issues, reputational damage, homelessness, and poverty occurring as a direct result of male violence. We have heard of numerous cases -- for instance, where women living with abusive partners are accused of failing to protect their children, and are held responsible in the unfortunate event that the children fall victim to, or witness disturbing episodes of domestic violence. The situation is no different in the prison system, where these women are incarcerated upon conviction. ather than strive to address the social injustices such as poverty, sexual and domestic abuse, and psychological issues that drive such women to commit crime, we dedicate our attention to making their lives…… [Read More]

Pocatello Prison Case Study

Pocatello, Idaho New Women's Prisons

ISSUES, COST, ENEFITS

New Women's Prisons in Pocatello, Idaho

Approximately 8 years ago, former State Corrections Director Tom eauclair defended the need for three new prisons at the Pocatello Women's Correctional Center before the Joint-Finance Appropriations Committee (Russell, 2005). If lawmakers would approve the proposal, the additional 300 beds to the existing privately-run prison near oise, a new 400-bed prison for female inmates and a 1,500-bed new prison for male inmates. These additional structures would cost almost $160 million Director eauclair emphasized that these structures were needed in the five succeeding years in order to manage prisoners safely. He said that every State prison is overbooked, with the corrections department then having 360 more inmates than beds. At that time, the State had 6,502 inmates, which was an increase from 2,900 in 1994. Director eauclair said they expected the population to increase by 30 every…… [Read More]

Analyzing the Women Prisoners

Incarcerated Women

The number of people incarcerated in the United States has been on the rise and women have greatly contributed to this trend. Through their increased numbers in jail it is estimated that their numbers grow annually by about 8%. Women from minority groups form the major part of this population. These are the women who come from low economic backgrounds and areas neglected politically. The women of color are the majority of those incarcerated. They come from neighborhoods that are typically poor, have little access to mental health facilities and receive little or minimal help from social services. These women make up the larger proportion of inmates at jails, prisons, and detention centers. Irwin (2009) and Jenness (2010) states that these women are in jail for committing non-violent offences related to poverty, drug abuse and being abused domestically.

Thesis Statement

This paper will focus on the ethnography of…… [Read More]

Holloway Hmp Holloway Road Prison

The Home Office website was also a good source of informstion in this regard. A very good article that shed light on the more negative view of Holloway prison as well as units in other prisons was Getting it right? Services for pregnant women, new mothers, and babies in prison. An extremely useful report that deals specifically with Holloway prison was REPORT ON AN UNANNOUNCED FOLLOW-UP INSPECTION OF HM PRISON HOLLOWAY 11 -- 15 December 2000

Y HM INSPECTORATE OF PRISONS. This report provide some telling and insightful data that invaluable in terms of assessing the value and function of the mother and baby units in this prison.

4. Theoretical aspects

There are many theoretical aspects that pertain to the issue of mother and child units at a prison such as Holloway. In general terms, and from a criminological perspective, there is the view that units of this kind are…… [Read More]

Treatment of Women Offenders The

CAEFS takes the position that women with mental health problems do not belong in prisons and that the treatment, support and assistance they need should be provided to them in the community, rather than in prison.

Recommendation #2)

The above statement clearly outlines central problem areas that should be the focus of investigation. As this study and others emphasize, women who enter prison with mental issues and problems require intensive support. However, this is at present not the case and many women prisoners who suffer from mental problems are not afforded the necessary support and adequate intensive therapy. Some critics also suggest that alternatives be investigated for women with mental issues. "... The public need for the appearance of retribution may deter government from considering alternatives to sentencing persons with mental disabilities to imprisonment." www.elizabethfry.ca/submissn/dawn/17.htm" (ibid)

Another factor which relates to mental and psychological issues is that women experience stress…… [Read More]

Drug Prison Email L Jones Officer

Of course, I completely understand the volatile nature of the prison vs. rehab debate. However, I believe that if you take a look at the information available. Specifically check out the publications from Deputy Director of the Prison Reform Trust, Nick Flynn -- especially, "Drugs in Prison, Another Quick Fix (2005)." Also, consider the 2002 Corrections Today article by Jeff Goodale. I trust that both of these writers will present my point quite will.

In short, I urge you to consider my opinion regarding an alternative sentencing option for offenders like Mr. Smith. In my opinion one of the states in-patient, minimum security rehabilitation centers may be more appropriate. Please let me know what you think.

Thank you very much for your time.

Sincerely:

Officer Betty Rumble

orks Cited

Goodale, Jeff. (2002). The prison that drugs built: Illinois designs a new women's prison for the new reality. Corrections Today. August.…… [Read More]

Women First Wave Susan B

She is the daughter of Alice Walker, who wrote the Color Purple. She took her mother's maiden name at the age of 18. Rebecca graduated cum laude from Yale University in 1993, and moved on to co-found the Third Wave Foundation. She is considered to be one of the founding leaders of third-wave feminism. In addition to her contributing editorship for Ms. Magazine, Walker's work has also been published by Harper's, Essence, Glamour, Interview, Buddhadharma, Vibe, Child, and Mademoiselle magazines. Her relationship with her mother has been strained because of various public indictments the younger Walker made against her. Nevertheless, some believe that Rebecca might not have been as famous or powerful today without her ties to the illustrious Alice Walker.

Jennifer Baumgardner is a prominent voice for women and girls. She works as a writer, speaker and activist. During 1993-1997, she worked as the youngest editor at Ms. Magazine,…… [Read More]

Woman Will Reside as President

Under eno's direction, on April 22, 2000, under the scrutiny of national and international media and news cameras:

"Armed INS officers entered the home (where the child had been living with close relatives) before dawn and within three minutes carried Elian out to a waiting government van. Hours later, the boy was reunited with his father at Andrews Air Force Base near Washington, D.C., and eventually they returned to Cuba (Emert 2005 p. 144)."

eno's role in handling the case of Gonzalez was highly controversial and politically provocative. eno withstood with the assault of the Hispanic and Cuban communities around the country, but held firm in her position on handling the matter. It was not, however the first time that eno came under attack for handling a controversial matter. She likewise was responsible for the attack on the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas, where David Koresh was the spiritual…… [Read More]

Women in Society

Room of One's Own," the author discussed how men continuously perpetuated the idea that men are superior than women. Woolf asserted this position through the "looking-glass vision," in which she posits that, "[w]omen have served all these centuries as looking-glasses possessing the magic and delicious power of reflecting the figure of man at twice its natural size." Thus, acting as looking-glasses of the society, women are then relegated to a lower status while men, having witnessed their superiority through their "perceived" 'frailty' of women, takes up a higher status superior than women. Audre Lorde in her work, "Age, Race, Class, and Sex," illustrates how different view their stratification in the society. Lorde shows how a difference of perspectives of people with different ages, classes, races, and sexes manifest the degree of his/her outlook about his/her standing or status in the society. Thus, just like what Lorde exemplifies in her essay,…… [Read More]

Women and the Homefront in Western North Carolina and Eastern Tennessee During the Civil War

Women and the Home Front in Western North Carolina and Eastern Tennessee during the Civil War

This paper examines the living conditions and attitudes that shaped the lives of the women in western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee during and after the American Civil War. The thesis statement should deal with the breakdown of long standing ties between the people of the mountains as they chose to fight for the Confederacy or the Union. In the pre-war years, these close ties had become strong out of a mutual attempt to try to built a life in the rugged environment they encountered. ased on primary and secondary documentary evidence, this paper will investigate how could friends and family become bitter enemies and how this process played out in the mountains of western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee to better understand what the women went through while their brothers, husbands and fathers…… [Read More]

Woman Loves Her Father Every Woman Loves

oman Loves her Father, Every oman Loves a Fascist:

The Politics and Poetics of Despair in Plath's "Daddy"

Sylvia Plath is one of the most famous poets to emerge in the late 20th century. Partially due to the success of her autobiographical novel The Bell Jar, which details her partial recovery from suicidal depression, Plath's poetry has been frequently analyzed through the lens of her clinical mental problems. "Dying is An Art," the critic George Steiner titles of his essay on Plath, referring not only to a line from her poem "Lady Lazarus" but the critical elision of the poet's personal suicidal depression with the source of her confessional poetic gift. For instance, Plath's masterpiece, "Daddy," is a dramatic monologue in the voice of a German woman whose father was a Nazi. Yet despite the 'assumed' nature of "Daddy's" voice and the apparent divergence of poet from the speaker, the…… [Read More]

Women Offenders

Department of Corrections for the state of California, there are approximately 160,000 individuals in jail in the state of California. (California Prison Growth 2003) The census shows that 9,797 of these individuals are women and 150,000 are men. (California Prison Growth 2003)There are several issues that make prison life in California particularly difficult for women. These issues concern vocational services, educational services, healthcare, and rehabilitation services. The purpose of this discussion is to review previous studies that have examined the disparity in the treatment of men and women in California's prisons.

Methodology-Secondary Data Analysis

Healthcare

One of the most significant issues facing female inmates in California and throughout the country is the issue of healthcare. The first study that we examined discussed the challenge of providing healthcare to California's female inmate population.

The report was published by the California Policy Research Center, University of California. The author of the article…… [Read More]

Analyzing Prison Life for Inmates

Prison Life for Inmates

Sending offenders to prison has been used as a way of dealing with prisoners for a long time. It was not always seen as a way of punishment; rather, it was used as detention pending the actual punishment of these offenders. The application of imprisonment has been around, perhaps, for as long as humanity has existed. In Old Testament times, prisons were used in Jerusalem. Some prominent personalities have been reported to have been born in prison environments. Others have been imprisoned. It is reported that Lord Krishna was born in prison at a place called Mathura. Shahjahan was imprisoned by his son at Agra. The ritish constructed the historic cell at Port lair for detaining for life those who revolted against their rule. Prisons have not always been viewed as a way of punishing offenders; rather they have been used to detain offenders before the…… [Read More]

How Did Nursing Change Social Roles of Northern Women During the Civil War

Nursing & omen's Roles Pre-and-Post Civil ar

The student focusing on 19th century history in the United States in most cases studies the Civil ar and the causes that led to the war. But there are a number of very important aspects to 19th century American history that relate to women's roles, including nursing and volunteering to help the war wounded and others in need of care. This paper delves into the role nurses played in the Civil ar (both Caucasian and Black nurses), the way in which the Civil ar changed the woman's work roles, the role women (both Black and Caucasian) played before, during, and after the war, and the terrible injustices thrust on women of color in a number of instances throughout the 19th century.

The oman's role in America prior to the Civil ar

"A woman's work is never done," is an old maxim but it…… [Read More]

Sensibility Women's Identities Are Determined and Limited

Sensibility omen's Identities Are Determined and Limited by the Expectations of Their Societies

Literature written by and about women lends itself very well to feminist interpretative approaches of various kinds. Such approaches often examine the literature of earlier centuries for signs of discontent with or subversive suggestions against aspects of a society in which men have exclusive control of power. Such an approach is especially fruitful to use when examining Jane Austen's novels since she was writing in a cultural climate that did not accept direct opposition to the status quo. Only through an indirect critique could she publish views critical of the prevailing laws and conditions under which women of her time were forced to live.

By 1811, when Sense and Sensibility was published, an intense backlash against the women's rights fiction of the 1790s had made the publication of blatantly feminist works impossible in England. Yet the women's…… [Read More]

Civil War Era Important Women

Her involvement finally earned her the Medal of Honor, and enduring gratitude for her contribution as a physician to the war effort.

Probably one of the most famous women who worked during the Civil War was Clara Harlowe Barton. Barton was a nurse during the war, who at first simply stockpiled medical supplies and food that she knew the soldiers would need, and later took her supplies into the field where they were most needed. One historian wrote of her right after the war ended, "Her devotion to her work has been remarkable, and her organizing abilities are unsurpassed among her own sex and equaled by very few among the other" (Brockett and Bellows 132). Later, her work in the field and her stockpiling of supplies in warehouses became known as the "Sanitary Commission," which eventually evolved into the worldwide humanitarian organization known as the ed Cross. Clara Barton worked…… [Read More]

Jealousy Among Men and Women

This implies that the jealousy trait is in fact not evolutionary, since it is not always the same reaction (DeSteno, et al., 2002).

In addition, DeSteno also found that, while women showed a slight tendency to rate emotional infidelity as worse than sexual infidelity, they did not differ from men on sexual infidelity ratings alone. When asked to rate the level of distress due to sexually infidelity, without comparing it to emotional infidelity, men and women rated the distress the same (DeSteno, et al., 2002). This implies that while women may be more distressed then men at emotional infidelity, there is no difference between the sexes in levels of distress for sexual infidelity alone.

In fact, even studies which purport to support the theory that men are more jealous than women show similar results to those of DeSteno. Buss and his colleagues' study in 1992 reported a difference in male…… [Read More]

Yellow Woman Story Linda Hogan's Aunt Moon's

Yellow oman Story: Linda Hogan's

"Aunt Moon's Young Man"

Native American literature recounts legends which have meaning for the people for thousands of years. Like stories told around the campfires of any early culture, the telling of tales kept the culture relevant through their maintenance of the group's shared history. Among those tales are the "Yellow oman" stories of "the Keres of Laguna and the Acoma Pueblos in New Mexico" (Allen 226). These stories were about unconventional women who often did not accept traditional roles. Sometimes "she lives with her grandmother at the edge of the village, for example, or she is in some way atypical, maybe a woman who refuses to marry, one who is known for some particular special talent, or one who is very quick-witted and resourceful" (Allen 226). The tales continue in the writings of modern authors such as Linda Hogan whose short story "Aunt Moon's…… [Read More]

First Women's Movement

Women's Movement

During the early 19th century, advocacy for equal suffrage was conducted by few people. Frances Wright first publicly advocated womens suffrage in an extensive series of lectures. In 1836, Ernestine ose carried out a similar lecture series, which eventually resulted in a personal hearing before the New York Legislature. However, the petition contained only five signatures and was subsequently denied. The first true women's movement marks July 13, 1848 as its beginning. Elizabeth Cady Stanton and four female friends had a discussion regarding the limitations imposed upon them by society because of their gender. Several days later, this group picked a date to hold a convention to discuss the "social, civil, and religious condition and rights of woman." The gathering took place at the Wesleyan Chapel in Seneca Falls, New York on July 19 and 20, 1848 (Stodart, 1993).

Elizabeth Cady Stanton constructed a document entitled "Declaration of…… [Read More]

Major Legal Issues Concerning Female Inmates

Women in Prison

Major Legal Issues Concerning Female Inmates

Problems in corrections:

Dealing with the unique needs of women in the prison system

The number of female prison inmates in America and internationally is growing. Although men still outnumber women in the prison population, the rates of female incarceration, once considered relatively nominal, have skyrocketed. "In the U.S., where the prison and jail population reached two million in the year 2000, women's incarceration is also spiralling upwards at a greater pace than that of men. While the number of men in U.S. prisons and jails doubled between 1985 and 1995, women's imprisonment during the same period tripled" (Sudbury 2002). These escalating rates are surprising, given that women are far more likely to be the victims rather than the perpetrators of violent crimes. "While their relative proportions are small, the growing numbers of women being sent to prison is disproportionate to…… [Read More]

Born but Rather Becomes a Woman Simone

born, but rather becomes, a woman.

Simone de Beauvoir

In her famous quotation from The Second Sex, Simone de Beauvoir challenges the notion that biology is destiny, and one's sex determines one's character. Although males and females may possess different physical characteristics, the interpretation of those characteristics is cultural in nature. For example, women menstruate -- this is a biological fact. However, the social interpretation of this fact, that women are somehow inferior to men because they menstruate, is a product of culture. Different cultural notions are imposed upon the sexes from a very early age, in both explicit and subtle ways. A boy may be told not to cry when he falls down playing soccer; a girl may be praised for loving pink. However, over time, these messages come to shape the human personality and because human beings are social animals, such gender-related pressures are difficult to resist. This…… [Read More]

Transnational Feminism Women's Culture- This

For centuries women have entered into political struggle in order to secure the livelihoods of their families and communities." What is new is the advent of women in leadership positions and political office who have incorporated women issues into their programs which offers new hope and presents new possibilities. Just as British women felt their country was full of freedom even though they did not have the right to vote there are cultures in the world that freedom within that specific society would be prison within another in the view of women.

In order for feminism to become transnational the elite women in the richer countries must be able to consider and conceive the plight of the rural women in a third world country and as well all within the feminist movement must be able within their own consciousness to cross a deep chasm in order to comprehend women of…… [Read More]

History of Women in Law

"y the end of the 1980s many departments had set up detailed procedures to ensure equality and had employed full-time and specialist staff to promote and pursue such policies." (Heidensohn, 1995, p. 60)

The number of females in law enforcement was to increase rapidly and in 1986 about 9 per cent of U.S. officers were female. (Adler 1990) One of the key issues that had to be overcome was the concern about women policemen on patrol. In 1968 "Indianapolis sent two women out on patrol... ut the decision of Washington, DC to deploy eighty-six women on patrol in 1972, and to evaluate their performance, is perhaps the best-known example." LOCH P, and ANDERSON D., et al. 1973)

With these advances of women's rights and the continual evidence of female ability and accomplishment in the field of law enforcement, women were able to apply for all specialist posts in the Unites…… [Read More]

Gilman and Henrik Ibsen Women

Finding no recourse or way to express her true feelings and thoughts, the Narrator began reflecting on her oppression through the yellow wallpaper patterns on the walls of her room: "The front pattern does move -- and no wonder! The woman behind shakes it! Sometimes I think there are a great many women behind, and sometimes only one, and she crawls around fast...and in the very shady spots she just takes hold of the bars and shakes them hard" (Roberts and Jacobs, 1998:550). This passage can be interpreted in two ways: seeing the woman within the wallpaper patterns may signify her dissociation from herself psychologically by succumbing to insanity. However, this process may also be construed as her way of breaking out of the prison that is her marriage, the oppression she felt being dominated by John and the limits that marriage had put on her as a woman. Though…… [Read More]

Progression of American Women Throughout

"Their activities emphasized the sensual, pleasure-seeking dimensions of the new century's culture and brought sexuality out from behind the euphemisms of the nineteenth century (1997). This was seen in the dances of the era (e.g., the slow rag, the bunny hug, etc.) as well as the dress styles of American women. Women's appearance changed. They no longer were buried under petticoats and big skirts, restricted by their corsets. The silhouette was now slender and smaller, allowing a greater freedom of movement as well as more exposure of arms and legs. Women who worked were now considered "bachelor girls" as opposed to "homeless women" or "spinsters" (1997). By 1920, the image of the flapper girl was everywhere; this can be viewed as an example of just how far women had come.

Unit III: 1921 -- 1945:

Zelda Fitzgerald, wife of novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald, said in 1924: "I like the jazz…… [Read More]

Civil Rights African-Americans and Women's

Much like African-American leaders and reformers that brought about the end of racial discrimination and segregation via the Civil Rights Movement, in 1866, Stanton created the American Equal Rights Association, aimed at organizing women in the long fight for equal rights. In 1868, the U.S. Congress ratified the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution which "defined citizenship and voters as male" and excluded women; in 1870, Congress ratified the Fifteenth Amendment which also excluded women in favor of African-American males ("The History of Women's Suffrage," Internet).

At this point, the women's movement split into two factions, the National Woman

Suffrage Association, headed by Stanton and Susan . Anthony, and the American Woman Suffrage Association, a more conservative organization headed by Julia Ward Howe and Lucy Stone. y 1890, these two opposing factions joined forces to create the National American Woman Suffrage Association under the leadership of Elizabeth Cady Stanton (Gurko, 145).…… [Read More]

Strength of Women Depicted in

It is also important to note that Emma's actions affect more than Jefferson and Grant. Emma serves as a support for Tante Lou and she is the one that provides Grant with the compelling image of a hog when she declares that they want them to "kill a hog... I want a man to go to the chair" (Gaines 13). Emma is also significant because of her past. She has provided the Guidry's with years of service, which seems to be a motivating factor in Guidry's decision. Emma's influence cannot be overlooked because she is person that wants Grant to begin removing the racial oppression that has existed in the community.

In addition, Vivian's powerful influence over Grant also emerges in the novel as Grant tries to come to terms with what is happening. She tells Grant he should she Jefferson. She is also the one to force Grant to…… [Read More]

Overcrowded and Under-Funded Prisons According

In the American Disease: Origins of Narcotic Control, David Musto notes that throughout the twentieth century, America's drug wars have regularly scape-goated minority groups, like the Chinese with opium, marijuana among the Mexicans, and cocaine among the African-Americans (McCormick 2000).

The National Advisory Commission on Criminal Justice Standards and Goals reported in 1973 that "the prison, the reformatory and the jail have achieved only a shocking record a failure. There is overwhelming evidence that these institutions create crime rather than prevent it," yet during the next two decades both state and federal legislatures implemented increasingly stiffer penalties and mandatory minimums claiming that prisons were an effective tool for crime control, and longer prison terms would reduce crime by deterring or incapacitating criminals (McCormick 2000). However, at the end of this period, after the average prison sentence had tripled and the prison population at more than quadrupled, a National Academy of…… [Read More]

How International Organizations Impact Incarceration and Prison Management in Brazil

International Organizations Impact Incarceration and Prison Management in Brazil

People incarcerated in prisons from developing countries like Brazil face long years of confinement in dirty and cramped quarters. Some of the harsh conditions the prisons present include inadequate hygiene, insufficient food allocations, and no clothing or other basic amenities. Even as the conditions do not form a pattern across the continent, the prevalence hits higher concerns requiring intervention from international organizations. The interactions allow resident prison managers to address inadequacies through prison reform and increased attention towards human rights. Various barriers include state secrecy, absence of public interest, and weak civil society inhibiting collection of sustainable information on the deplorable prisons. The veil of ignorance on the kinds of prison conditions that fuel abuse and neglect of people incarcerated makes it imperative for investigation of prison trends. International organizations generate information regarding issues that affect the penal system of the…… [Read More]

Controlling the Prison Population According

S. pp). This is partly due to high recidivism because within three years of their release, two of every three prisoners are back behind bars (U.S. pp). Criminologists attribute the prison population growth to "get tough on crime" policies that have subjected hundreds of thousands of nonviolent drug and property offenders to long mandatory sentences (U.S. pp). Malcolm Young of the Sentencing Project, says, "e have to be concerned about an overloaded system which sentences many offenders quickly and is not dong a good job of sorting out people who should be incarcerated from people for whom other responses would produce better, less expensive results" (U.S. pp).

The rise in the prison population varies by state, yet since 1998, twelve states experienced stable or declining incarceration rates but crime rates in those states declined at the same rates as in the other thirty-eight (U.S. pp).

Young says, "e're working under…… [Read More]

Domestic Prison Gender Roles and Marriage the

Domestic Prison

Gender oles and Marriage

The Domestic Prison: James Thurber's "Secret Life of Walter Mitty" and Kate Chopin's "The Story of an Hour"

James Thurber's "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" (1939) and "The Story of an Hour" (1894) by Kate Chopin depict marriage as a prison for both men and women from which the main characters fantasize about escaping. Louise Mallard is similar to the unnamed narrator in Charlotte Perkins Gilman's "The Yellow Wallpaper" is that they are literally imprisoned in a domestic world from which there is no escape but death or insanity. As in all of this early feminist fiction, the women characters are defined as 'sick', either physically or mentally, for even imaging a situation on which they might be free, for they are allowed no lives of their own. Louise Mallard was overjoyed when she heard that her husband was killed in an accident,…… [Read More]

Overcrowding in Prisons Impacts on African-Americans the

Overcrowding in Prisons: Impacts on African-Americans

The overcrowded prisons in the United States are heavily populated by African-Americans, many of them incarcerated due to petty, non-violent crimes such as drug dealing. This paper points out that not only are today's prisons overcrowded, the fact of their being overcrowded negatively impacts the African-American community above and beyond the individuals who are locked up. This paper also points to the racist-themed legislation that has been an important reason why so many African-Americans are incarcerated -- and the paper points to the unjust sentencing laws that have unfairly targeted black men from the inner city.

Critical Analysis

hen overcrowding becomes an extremely serious human and ethical problem such that state or federal prison officials must find a temporary solution, one trend that has been implemented is to move inmates to other prisons in distant states. However, according to author Othello Harris, who is…… [Read More]

Adaptations to Prison Life the

Prisoners feign conformity with rehabilitation programs merely in an effort to get ahead. Prison stays involving the shedding of one's former self, and its replacement with a new prison self that conforms to all the expectations and behavioral patterns of inmate culture. This inmate culture is inherently hostile to the aims of corrections staff. Corrections staff must avoid doing anything that would tend to enhance the validity of inmate culture. They must resort to equal measures in reaction to prisoner provocations. Prisoners must not be stripped of their humanity. They must be maintained as independent men and women capable of surviving on their own, in a reasonably normal society. Notions of status, respect, and hope for the future, must be maintained as they would outside the prison walls. Corrections personnel must enable prisoners to continue to follow, and believe in, the rules of normal society, even if, in the beginning,…… [Read More]

Experimental Psychology Zimbardo Prison Study

In fact, during the study, the guards became more sadistic when they thought no one was watching them. Zimbardo notes, "Their boredom had driven them to ever more pornographic and degrading abuse of the prisoners" (Zimbardo). This may be the same reason guards at Abu Ghraib tortured and humiliated their charges, and the study seems to indicate this could happen in just about any prison anywhere, if the guards have enough power. The world should pay more attention to this study and its implications. As another writer notes, "The young men who played prisoners and guards revealed how much circumstances can distort individual personalities -- and how anyone, when given complete control over others, can act like a monster" (Alexander). This is what happened at Abu Ghraib, and chances are it is happening all around the world as well. In an interview about Abu Ghraib, Zimbardo notes the prison environment…… [Read More]

Native Canadians in the Prison

The oyal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples (CAP) was established in 1991 to investigate the issues faced by the Canadian First Nations in terms of both their social lives and justice issues. This entity also found that the Canadian First Nations have been disproportionally represented, and concluded that the justice system has "failed" these people (Office of the Correctional Investigator, 2010). CAP also found a particular overrepresentation of Aboriginal women in the criminal justice system, while the general federally incarcerated population in the country declined by 12.5% from 1996 to 2004. For the same period, First Nations representatives in the system increased by 21.7%.

Factors that influence this population include not only discrimination and racial or cultural prejudice, but also economic and social deprivation that tend to lead to substance abuse and violence across generations, as mentioned above.

Demographic information shows Aboriginal offenders to be among the younger age groups, who…… [Read More]

Transformational Women Leaders

Transformational Women's Leadership

The website for Changing Minds.org describes transformational leadership in the standard way, as charismatic leaders with vision and imagination who inspire followers to achieve radical change in an organization or society. Transformational leaders are passionate and exciting and they care about their followers. They make people believe that their ideals can be achieved through their own commitment, enthusiasm and drive. In the process, their followers are also transformed and empowered to do things that they would never have believed possible. This website also points out some of the dangers of transformational leadership in that when such leaders are wrong they can lead "the charge right over the cliff and into a bottomless chasm." They may also "wear out" their followers with constant demands for high energy and commitment, especially if those at the lower levels really do not desire change (Transformational Leadership 2002-11)

Legacee.com has a very…… [Read More]