NCJ Number
152550
Date Published
1993
Length
350 pages
Annotation
Written from international, historical, and feminist perspectives, this volume examines common views of female criminality and discusses the many ways in which women violate social order, especially in Canada and the United States.
Abstract
The discussion focuses on patterns of female crimes and punishments from the witch hunts to the occasional use of premenstrual syndrome as a mitigating circumstance in contemporary criminal justice. Individual sections consider historical perspectives on sex and gender crimes such as prostitution, adultery, and infanticide, as well as current issues related to prostitution, theft and fraud, drug law offenses, and violence. Other chapters examine institutionalized violence against incarcerated women, love among female inmates, acts of resistance by Native American Indian women, and the ways in which women in prison have been depicted in Hollywood films. The discussion also focuses on the Santa Cruz Women's Prison Project, which the author cofounded. Chapter reference lists and subject and author indexes