NCJ Number
229245
Journal
British Journal of Criminology Volume: 49 Issue: 6 Dated: November 2009 Pages: 900-915
Date Published
November 2009
Length
16 pages
Annotation
This paper examines the role of women and mothers in justice campaigns and the extent to which there is a gendered dimension to campaigns against injustice.
Abstract
Campaigns against miscarriages of justice appear to reveal a form of gendered justice with a critical and even predominant role played by females as mothers, sisters, and daughters of those directly affected by miscarriages of justice, whether through wrongful conviction, preventable murder, or the subject of inappropriate conduct by the authorities. This paper draws from empirical data gathered from the interview-based research to construct a case for the special role of women in justice campaigns. It then attempts to explain that special role by reflecting on two very different conceptual frameworks and traditions, one relating to coping with loss and the other to engagement of women in protest movements and campaigning more generally, and the extent to which they may partially make sense of that role. Data were drawn from a wider study of campaigns against miscarriages of justice which involved 37 semistructured interviews of people associated with justice campaigns in Britain, including direct victims of miscarriages of justice, those whose convictions had been overturned by the Court of Appeal; the immediate family members of victims of miscarriages of justice or indirect victims; representatives of campaigning organizations; and campaigning lawyers and journalists. References