NCJ Number
187481
Journal
Corrections Today Volume: 63 Issue: 1 Dated: February 2001 Pages: 85-87
Editor(s)
Susan L. Clayton
Date Published
February 2001
Length
3 pages
Annotation
This article looks at the creation of gender-responsive programs that provide a comprehensive continuum of care for incarcerated females.
Abstract
This article identifies how the female prison population differs from the male inmate population. First, females are less likely to have committed violent offenses and more likely to have been convicted of crimes involving drugs, alcohol, or property. Second, female inmates show more responsiveness to prison programs. Third, most female inmates are poor, undereducated, unskilled single mothers, and a disproportionate number of them are minorities. Fourth, a significant number of female inmates test positive for HIV. Fifth, two-thirds of incarcerated females have children younger than 18. And lastly, many women in prison have histories of physical and sexual abuse. Gender-responsive issues are creating an environment through site selection, staff selection, program development and content that reflects an understanding of the realities of women’s lives and is responsive to the participants’ issues. The task of corrections is to provide better services for the invisible women caught in the criminal justice system. It is crucial that the link between the crimes and each woman’s drug addiction, mental illness, and/or economic distress be acknowledged. It is also of equal importance to challenge the belief that incarceration is the answer. It may be possible for substance-abusing females to be treated more effectively and economically in community-based gender-responsive programs. References