Preview

Gelsthorpe Women In Prison Analysis

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
391 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Gelsthorpe Women In Prison Analysis
TITLE & REFERENCE: Gelsthorpe. L. Cited by Newburn. T. (2009) Women and criminal justice: saying it again, again and again, 32.1, Key readings in Criminology
This chapter focuses on women in prisons, and how the criminal justice system affects women and their children. It discusses how women are now treated by the system and the recent steps taken in order to ensure that females in prisons are treated with an effort to ensure that their needs are taken into account and followed through.
It is discussed within the article several reasons for the surge in the female population in remand, one theory that is discussed is that when a women is sentenced the resons are set out that she is ‘troubled’ or ‘troublesome’ (Hedderman and Gelsthorpe cited by Gelsthorpe, page 770) And whatever is perceived will then lead to incarceration
…show more content…
Although Gelsthorpe talks about the suicides of female prisoners in prisons, she fails to counter-argue this with the suicides of males in prisons. Looking at the statistics provided by the Howard League for Penal Reform ten-year analysis, there were 804 suicides in UK prisons between 1995-2005. 65 were women, and 17 were children; which means that 722 of the suicides were male prisoners, which is a much higher figure than the female statistics.
Towards the end of her argument Gelsthorpe mentions how the criminal justices system should be ‘gender proofed’ as ‘at least 8000 children a year are affected due to their Mother’s imprisonment, (Gelsthorpe. L. Women and criminal justice: saying it again, again and again, 32.1, Key readings in Criminology. Page 771) However there is no comparison to the figure of children left without a Father because of his

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Best Essays

    Dittmann, M. (2003, July). A voice for women in prison. Retrieved January 29, 2013, from American Psychological Association: http://www.apa.org/monitor/julaug03/voice.aspx…

    • 1918 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Best Essays

    Gelsthorpe, L and Morris A (1990), Feminist Perspectives in Criminology, Milton Keynes: Open University Press.…

    • 3029 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Ashley Page

    • 459 Words
    • 2 Pages

    There are several key points that this article addresses as to why it is vital to have these type of facilities for women. The views of the article are those of the Author, Marina Cadreche. It is important that gender differences are recognized and that we understand the impact of the differences, as well as the gender-related changing aspects that are essential in todays society. It is also important to consider how women’s life experiences may affect how they will function both within the criminal justice system and during the progression of their transition and successful re-entry into the community.…

    • 459 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    This website provides statistics about the rapid increase of incarceration rates in the United States and its causes. The site discusses several reasons for the increase, focusing on women’s incarceration and its growth for only a small section. While the site provides valuable and reliable information, I was only able to utilize a portion of it for my…

    • 546 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Best Essays

    Feinman, C. (1994). Women in the Criminal Justice System . 3rd ed. Westport: Greenwood Press. P16.…

    • 2514 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDP) of 1974 according to Girls Study Group “provided impetus to divert, deinstitutionalize, and decriminalize all status offenders. Although the Act restricted commitment of status offenders to training schools, states did not provide adequate community based alternatives for girl’s Female status offenders were relabeled as “delinquent” and often confined in private-sector mental health and chemical dependency treatment facilities, or were placed in detention as a protective strategy when other placements were not available” I think all that means is that they had no place to send female juvenile so they sent them to places like mental health and chemical dependency treatment facilities instead of jail.…

    • 242 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Women entering the correction system rather they are pre-trail detainee or sentenced inmates are there for the most common offence such as drug-related offence, property offence, violent offence, and public order offence in both prison and jail (Greenfeld and Snell, 1999). These incarcerated women pose no violent threat to the general public. These women come from disadvantaged backgrounds and faces economic and social problems with only a high school diploma if that, have a child(ren) and not married, low income or poverty statues, they live an unhealthy life style and most likely addicted to alcohol and/or drugs ( Bergh, Gather, Fraser, and Moller, 2011). When comparing men and women prisoner women are less likely to…

    • 261 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Official crime statistics show that males are four times more likely to commit crimes than females. Victim surveys show women to be more likely to be victims of sexual and violent assaults than males. It has also been suggested there are gender differences in punishments.…

    • 1223 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    “The female prison population in the United States continues to grow at an alarming rate. Specifically, from 2000 through 2009, the number of women incarcerated in state or federal prisons rose by 21.6 percent, compared to just a 15.6 percent increase for men” (Ajinkya. 2013. Pg. 1). While most prisons have almost triple the amount of males then they do females, the rising numbers of women being incarcerated causes major problems not just for the women themselves but also for their families and the people that count on them the most. With every female that gets incarcerated comes new issues that correctional facilities have to provide answers for. This paper will discuss not only why women need some of…

    • 1974 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Although female inmates’ time spent behind bars is intended to serve as their punishment, having their health neglected often serves as a further punishment, a punishment that is inhumane. “The blood-sugar levels of diabetics aren’t routinely tested, resulting in life-threatening seizures; inmates with newly detected cancers are ignored until they’re deathly ill with stage four metastasized malignancies” (Berg 144,145). It seems as though the prison system justifies the inhumane treatment of criminals, and female criminals in particular, merely because of the crimes they have committed. While some may argue that mistreatment of those who have committed violent crimes is fair, “the majority of imprisoned women are there for nonviolent crimes: drugs, prostitution, check forgery” (Berg 144). These women are serving time for their wrongdoings, and neglecting them proper healthcare is a violation of their ethical…

    • 1179 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Introduction to class: Imagine a criminal. Without even thinking about it, I am sure the majority of you pictured a male. You all have good reason to do so, considering the overwhelming majority of criminals are male. However, there are female criminals and my presentation is going to highlight the differences between male and female offenders, regarding types of crimes committed, their motives, with a comparison of male vs. female serial killers and sex offenders, differences in sentencing, and the differences of mental disorders among male and female inmates. I will also highlight the gender differences of employment in America’s criminal justice system.…

    • 1048 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Incarcerated Women In Prison

    • 2954 Words
    • 12 Pages

    Women in prison experience more challenges in the correctional systems today than ever. Many of the problems seen today with imprisoned women are issues that have rolled over for centuries since the Era of Reform. Women have also been subjected to many stereotypical views since the 1800’s, especially one view that perceives them as the weaker sex. Since birth women are treated delicately by society and are guided into stereotypical female roles. In U.S. correctional facilities women are still considered lesser to their male counterparts thus requiring less attention. Women have come a long way in society from having the right to vote, to fighting in combat; the view that women are less capable than men cannot be more false today. Also the underestimation of what a woman can do under certain circumstances is a common stereotype mistake. There is a smaller less violent population of imprisoned females than males but women have been committing the same…

    • 2954 Words
    • 12 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Do we as a society have the right to deny a mother the opportunity to care for her child, even if that mother is a convicted felon? As society continues to grow and change these are important questions to ask. According to statistics today, “Female incarceration is growing at a rate far outpacing the growth in male incarceration” (Schubert, Duininck, and Shlafer 2016). With the emergence of a more prominent female prisoner population there are different factors to consider. Including the fact that it is still expected, based on gender roles and dynamics for mothers to be the primary caregivers of their children (Schubert et al. 2016). Keeping this in mind, there is a need for female prisoners with children to have options to interact with…

    • 2585 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Women Coping In Prison

    • 1047 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Over the past thirty years, throughout every state there has been a drastic increase in the number of women in prison. There are only nine states which have a prison nursery in operation or currently under development. According to the “Bureau of Justice Statistics in 2004 four percent of women in state prisons and three percent of women in federal prisons were pregnant at the time of their admittance to prison” (Corrections.com, 2009). If pregnant women or new mothers in prison are allowed to keep their babies for a fixed period of time it gives the mother bonding time with the infant as well as togetherness…

    • 1047 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Adult Offender

    • 630 Words
    • 3 Pages

    There has been a dramatic increase in the number of females under supervision on 1999, 21% were on probation and 11% in local jails, 6% in prision and 12% on parole. By 2010 the female population was 6.8%. The annual growth of the female population was 2.4% compared to 1.7% of male population. From 2000 to 2010 the rate of males increased 15% whereas the number of females increased 23%.…

    • 630 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays