NCJ Number
143026
Journal
Journal of Criminal Justice Education Volume: 4 Issue: 1 Dated: (Spring 1993) Pages: 79-100
Date Published
1993
Length
22 pages
Annotation
The focus is on four key issues which relate to criminal justice education: the consequences of the exclusion of women from the general criminal justice curriculum; the development of special courses on women and the criminal justice system; the disadvantages of courses on women and criminal justice, particularly the ways such courses may increase the marginalization of gender issues in criminal justice; and strategies for integrating gender issues into the broader criminal justice curriculum.
Abstract
A failure to include women in the discipline of criminal justice serves to distort understanding of criminal offending, to trivialize female victimization, and to communicate to students that it is unrealistic for women to consider careers as criminal justice professionals. The emergence of courses on women and criminal justice affects the criminal justice curriculum significantly by adding women to the educational discourse about crime and justice, creating a more welcoming environment in the discipline for female students, and providing a forum in which feminist pedagogical techniques can be employed. However, while the creation of a special course on women and the criminal justice system exposes students to women's issues, such a course may delay the integration of gender issues into the broader curriculum. A dual strategy is proposed for including women and gender in the curriculum. 9 notes, 1 table, and 44 references