NCJ Number
84420
Date Published
1978
Length
12 pages
Annotation
Our society has long adhered to a double standard of justice, one for male offenders and another for females.
Abstract
This system survived with little controversy mainly due to the small female prison population. But recent events have drawn attention to not only the issue of female criminality, but to the treatment of women while incarcerated. Female criminality has traditionally been associated with sexual offenses, shoplifting, false pretense, fraud, and victim precipitated violence. While many believed that the feminist movement would increase and expand criminality, it seems that increases in female arrest can better be attributed to a criminal justice backlash, reflecting a harder stance toward women by the male dominated criminal justice system. Within penal institutions, examples abound of female inmate abuse at the hands of male enforcers of the system. The major factor making females more susceptible to abuse is sexual discrimination. In addition, among female offenders who are punished, racial bias is in evidence. The black female is doubly discriminated against as a result of her gender and her color. For discrimination against all female offenders to cease, better female facilities and a new awareness among criminal justice practitioners are necessary. (Resources in Education (ERIC) abstract)