In light of the phenomenon of mass incarceration in the United States, black women have become the fastest growing incarcerated population in the U.S. Given the fact that more than 75% of incarcerated woman are the primary caregiver for at least one child under the age of 18 the growing incarceration of black women results in the separation of many black mothers from their children. This assault on black motherhood is part of a historically persistent practice of subjugation, control, and maintenance over black women’s reproduction and bodies starting from slavery. This report will not only map this repressive trajectory into the present, but it will also focus on examining black motherhood through the lens of mass incarceration. Furthermore, this report will not only attempt to situate the enduring practice of black women’s subjugation within larger discourses around racism, sexism, oppression, state control, domination, and power but also within an understanding of manifestations of embodied blackness. / text

Univ., Diss. u.d.T.: Strebel, Bernhard: Der Lagerkomplex des KZ Ravensbrück: Studien über Terror, Zwangsarbeit und Vernichtung--Hannover, 2001. / Literaturverz. S. [575] - 598.

The autobiographical prison writings of four South African women - Ruth First, Caesarina Kana Makhoere, Emma Mashinini and Maggie Resha - form the focus of this study. South African autobiography is burdened with the task of producing history in the light of the silences enforced by apartheid security legislation and the dominance of representations of white histories. Autobiography with its promise of 'truth' provides the structure within which to establish a credible subject position. In chapter one I discuss the use of authenticating devices, such as documentary-like prose, and the inclusion in numerous texts of the stories of others. Asserting oneself as a (publicly acknowledged) subject in writing is particularly difficult for women who historically have been denied access to authority: while Maggie Resha's explicit task is to highlight the role women have played in the struggle, her narrative must also be broadly representative, her authority communal. As I discuss in chapter two, prison writing breaks the legal and psychological silences imposed by a hostile penal system. In a context of political repression the notion of the truth becomes complicated, because while it is important to be believed, it is also important, as with Ruth First, not to betray her comrades and values. The writer must therefore negotiate with the (imagined) audience if her signature is to be accepted and her subjectivity affirmed. The struggle to represent oneself in the inimical environment of prison and the redemptive value in doing so are considered in chapter three. The institution of imprisonment as a means of silencing political dissidence targets the body, according to Michel Foucault's theories of discipline and control explored in chapter four. Using the work of Lois McNay and Elizabeth Grosz I argue in chapter five that it is necessary also to pay attention to the specificities of female bodies which are positioned and controlled in particular ways. I argue, too, using N. Chabani Manganyi, that while anatomical differences provide the rationale for racism and sexism, the body is also an instrument for resisting negative cultural significations. For instance, Caesarina Kana Makhoere represents her body as a weapon in her political battle, inside and outside prison. The prison cell itself is formative of subjectivity as it returns an image of criminality and powerlessness to the prisoner. Following the work of human geographers in chapter six I argue that space and subjectivity are mutually constitutive, as shown by the way spatial metaphors operate in prison texts. The subject can redesign hostile space in order to represent herself. As these texts show, relations of viewing are crucial to self-identification: surveillance disempowers the prisoner and produces her as a victim, but prisoners have recourse to alternative ways of (visually) interacting in order to position the dominators as objects of their gaze, through speaking and then also through writing. Elaine Scarry's insights into torture are extended in chapter seven to encompass psychological torture and sexual harassment: inflicting bodily humiliation, as well as pain, on the body, brings it sharply into focus, making speech impossible. By writing testimony and by generating other scenes of dialogue through which subjectivity can be constructed (through being looked at and looking, through having the message of self affirmed in the other's hearing) it is possible to contain, in some way, the horror of detention and to assert a measure of control in authoring oneself. For Mashinini this healing dialogue must take place within an emotionally and ideologically sympathetic context. v For those historical subjects who have found themselves without a legally valued identity and a platform from which to articulate the challenge of their experience, writing a personal narrative may offer an invaluable chance to assert a truth, to reclaim a self and a credibility and in that way to create a kind of freedom. Bibliography: pages 173-182.

Research consistently shows actuarial classification instruments have equal or higher predictive validity than clinical judgment and can lead to more ethical and fair treatment of incarcerated men and women (Austin, 1983, 1986; Bonta, 2002; Clements, 1981; Holsigner, Lowenkamp, & Latessa, 2006; Meehl, 1954; Salisbury, Van Voorhis, & Spiropoulos, 2009). Best correctional practice recommends all objective classification systems are tested for reliability and validity to ensure they are effective for the population they intend to serve (Austin, 1986; Holsinger et al., 2006; Salisbury et al., 2009). This study examined the reliability and validity of the classification and assessment instruments currently used by Golden Grove Adult Correctional Facility (Golden Grove), located on St. Croix in the United States Virgin Islands (USVI). Golden Grove is a mixed-gender, mixed-security status prison managed by the USVI territorial government, and is subject to United States Federal laws and mandates. Data from archival files were used to assess the internal reliability, construct validity, and predictive validity of the classification and assessment instruments used with incarcerated men and women at Golden Grove (N = 200). Primary objectives of this study were separated into four main categories: 1) examine the construct validity of Golden Grove's custody assessment tools; 2) investigate the predictive validity of Golden Grove's custody assessment tools across gender; 3) determine reliability and assess to what extent the primary classification officer's decisions have higher predictive validity than the actuarial tool; and 4) investigate the relationship between items on the needs assessment form and level of custody (minimum, medium, or maximum). Results were mixed but generally indicated weak reliability, construct validity, and predictive validity. Contrary to most research on gender and classification, a significant correlation between the initial custody score for incarcerated females and disciplinary reports (r = .26, n = 56, p < .05) indicated the initial custody tool predicted misconduct for maximum custody females better than for males. The mean number of disciplinary reports for maximum women (M = 1.12) was significantly higher compared to maximum men (M = .46). The classification officer overrode the instrument at a high rate for both the initial assessment instrument (44%) and the reassessment instrument (36.4%) rendering the objective assessment overly subjective. Overall, findings show the classification system at Golden Grove is not functioning as intended and improvements are recommended.

This study was designed to be the first step in an empirical investigation of the female offender, using biographical information. It Is the goal of the research to eventually be able to predict probable criminal activity among women. The most readily delineated group for study was female prisoners. The purpose of the study was to determine if factor clusters could be produced which were representative of women in prison. Specific objectives were to organize descriptive biographical information of incarcerated women and to correlate bio-data results with important current and post-incarceration events. This study makes it clear that merely labeling behavior as criminal—connoting a deviant class of behavior—is highly inexact in identifying it. The female offender cannot as yet be defined in the same way as a person suffering from depression, hypochondriasis, or schizophrenia—that is, by distinctive response groupings. While this study made many inroads, generating descriptive factors and significant behavioral/life-history correlates, incarcerated female offenders as a class cannot as yet be identified by responses that make up a valid category of behavior.

The purpose of this thesis is to examine the experiences of South African women prior to, during and after incarceration. The theoretical bases for this study include the general strain theory (GST), feminist pathways approach and Goffman’s “total institutions”. The study made use of a qualitative research design. In-depth interviews were conducted with a total of twenty female ex-prisoners, who were selected using snowball sampling, to obtain information about their experiences during the periods indicated. The findings of the study indicated that, in respect of the three periods mentioned, the participants cited their experiences during incarceration as the most prominent as they tended to dwell more on this phase of their lives than any other phase. This is, in fact, not surprising as their narratives portrayed their lives behind bars as having been traumatic with far-reaching consequences for their lives after their incarceration. The study found that some of the participants had histories of emotional and physical abuse before their offending behaviours. It emerged that consensual same-sex sexual relationships between females in South African prisons exist and that these relationships are, sometimes, accepted by the family members of the female inmates. The participants reported that coercive sexual relationships also take place in female prisons in South Africa. It was also reported that the conditions under which females are incarcerated are, for the most part, deplorable. It emerged that the female prisoners use a unique monetary system which is based mainly on the trade by barter system. In addition, the findings revealed that female inmates often experience daunting challenges upon their release from prison, including high rates of unemployment, stigma and discrimination, family breakdown and the psychological effects of imprisonment, all of which often compound the resolve of some of the participants to live crime-free lives. / Sociology / D.Litt. et Phil. (Sociology)

The purpose of this thesis is to examine the experiences of South African women prior to, during and after incarceration. The theoretical bases for this study include the general strain theory (GST), feminist pathways approach and Goffman’s “total institutions”. The study made use of a qualitative research design. In-depth interviews were conducted with a total of twenty female ex-prisoners, who were selected using snowball sampling, to obtain information about their experiences during the periods indicated. The findings of the study indicated that, in respect of the three periods mentioned, the participants cited their experiences during incarceration as the most prominent as they tended to dwell more on this phase of their lives than any other phase. This is, in fact, not surprising as their narratives portrayed their lives behind bars as having been traumatic with far-reaching consequences for their lives after their incarceration. The study found that some of the participants had histories of emotional and physical abuse before their offending behaviours. It emerged that consensual same-sex sexual relationships between females in South African prisons exist and that these relationships are, sometimes, accepted by the family members of the female inmates. The participants reported that coercive sexual relationships also take place in female prisons in South Africa. It was also reported that the conditions under which females are incarcerated are, for the most part, deplorable. It emerged that the female prisoners use a unique monetary system which is based mainly on the trade by barter system. In addition, the findings revealed that female inmates often experience daunting challenges upon their release from prison, including high rates of unemployment, stigma and discrimination, family breakdown and the psychological effects of imprisonment, all of which often compound the resolve of some of the participants to live crime-free lives. / Sociology / D. Litt. et Phil. (Sociology)

Este trabalho teve como objetivo principal compreender quais elementos pautaram os projetos e as práticas das prisões femininas brasileiras, no final da década de 30 e início dos anos 40. Buscou-se verificar em que medida prescrições de pensamentos criminológicos em voga, como o Direito Penal Clássico que indicava a pena para expiação da culpa e via o crime como uma escolha do indivíduo e da Antropologia Criminal para quem o homem nascia delinquente e a pena deveria ser medida médica para curar criminosos estiveram presentes na caracterização da delinqüência feminina e no cotidiano dessas instituições. Foi por meio da leitura de documentos da época, entre eles periódicos como A Estrela e os Arquivos Penitenciários do Brasil, que foi possível recompor os argumentos e as metas que justificaram a criação dos estabelecimentos prisionais femininos no país, bem como identificar a quem eles estavam voltados. Conclui-se, ao final, que o sistema penitenciário feminino foi edificado de maneira bastante peculiar, mesclando preceitos das duas referidas escolas criminológicas e elementos morais religiosos, com o objetivo de devolver à sociedade boas mães e esposas, ou seja, mulheres livres dos vícios e das mazelas que as desviavam do caminho esperado. Neste sentido entendia-se que a criminalidade feminina, vista como um desvio do papel social que a mulher deveria cumprir, precisava ser contida e corrigida. Daí porque o formato escolhido para as primeiras prisões de mulheres no Brasil privilegiou o resgate de elementos valorados como sendo próprios do feminino e confiou a uma Congregação religiosa a missão de executá-lo. / This dissertation had as its main objective to understand which elements guided projects and practices of womens prisons in Brazil in the late 30s and early 40s. It sought to verify the extent to which criminological prescriptions, as the ones from Classical Criminal Law that said that penalties served to purge guilt and that crime was an individuals choice and from Criminal Anthropology for whom the Man was born as a delinquent and penalty should be a medical measure to cure law offenders were present in the understanding of female crime and the daily life of these institutions. By reading documents from that period, among them journals such as A Estrela and Arquivos Penitenciários do Brasil, it was possible to rebuild arguments and goals that were used to justify the foundation of womens prisons in the country, as well as identify for whom they were built for. It concludes that womens prison system were built in a very peculiar way, mixing components from the two above-mentioned criminological schools with religious and morals elements, aiming to give back to society good mothers and wives, that is, women free from the vices and illness that moved them away from their expected paths. In that sense, female criminality, seen as a deviation from the social role that women were supposed to perform, should be contained and corrected. That explains why a religious Congregation was responsible for running the first womens prisons in Brazil, which privileged the recovery of elements valued as attached to the feminine.

This thesis aims to analyze the religious evangelical women´s prison in Sergipe, understand the social conditions peculiar to this context that contribute to a high rate of conversion, and in particular, to analyze the changes in practices - speeches and actions - as a result of conversion in the lives of social actors who engage in the practice criminal offense, which is not always reintroduced the role of ´protagonists´ of their lives, but usually acted as ´adjuncts´ of their own destiny, and today are considered "marginal" a term that may be appropriate in the sense that they were always on the fringes of society, everything that ensures the dignity of the human person. Once arrested, these people seek mechanisms that represent a possible alternative to many uncertainties, suffering, distress. One such alternative may be the religion. / A presente dissertação tem como objetivo geral analisar a religiosidade evangélica no presídio feminino de Sergipe, buscando compreender as condições sociais peculiares a esse contexto que contribuem para um alto índice de conversão. Para isso, nos focaremos na observação das mudanças de práticas (discursos e ações) decorrentes da conversão, isto é, objetivamos identificar o que muda na vida desses atores sociais, a saber, as detentas, as quais se envolveram/envolvem na prática delitiva, e nem sempre reapresentaram o papel de protagonistas de suas vidas, mas sim o de coadjuvantes de seu próprio destino. Assim, elas são consideradas marginais , um termo que talvez seja apropriado no sentido de que as mesmas sempre estiveram à margem da sociedade, enfim, de tudo aquilo que assegure a dignidade da pessoa humana. Uma vez detidas, essas mulheres buscam mecanismos que representem uma possível alternativa para tantas incertezas, sofrimento, angústia. Uma dessas alternativas pode ser a religião.

Este trabalho teve como objetivo principal compreender quais elementos pautaram os projetos e as práticas das prisões femininas brasileiras, no final da década de 30 e início dos anos 40. Buscou-se verificar em que medida prescrições de pensamentos criminológicos em voga, como o Direito Penal Clássico que indicava a pena para expiação da culpa e via o crime como uma escolha do indivíduo e da Antropologia Criminal para quem o homem nascia delinquente e a pena deveria ser medida médica para curar criminosos estiveram presentes na caracterização da delinqüência feminina e no cotidiano dessas instituições. Foi por meio da leitura de documentos da época, entre eles periódicos como A Estrela e os Arquivos Penitenciários do Brasil, que foi possível recompor os argumentos e as metas que justificaram a criação dos estabelecimentos prisionais femininos no país, bem como identificar a quem eles estavam voltados. Conclui-se, ao final, que o sistema penitenciário feminino foi edificado de maneira bastante peculiar, mesclando preceitos das duas referidas escolas criminológicas e elementos morais religiosos, com o objetivo de devolver à sociedade boas mães e esposas, ou seja, mulheres livres dos vícios e das mazelas que as desviavam do caminho esperado. Neste sentido entendia-se que a criminalidade feminina, vista como um desvio do papel social que a mulher deveria cumprir, precisava ser contida e corrigida. Daí porque o formato escolhido para as primeiras prisões de mulheres no Brasil privilegiou o resgate de elementos valorados como sendo próprios do feminino e confiou a uma Congregação religiosa a missão de executá-lo. / This dissertation had as its main objective to understand which elements guided projects and practices of womens prisons in Brazil in the late 30s and early 40s. It sought to verify the extent to which criminological prescriptions, as the ones from Classical Criminal Law that said that penalties served to purge guilt and that crime was an individuals choice and from Criminal Anthropology for whom the Man was born as a delinquent and penalty should be a medical measure to cure law offenders were present in the understanding of female crime and the daily life of these institutions. By reading documents from that period, among them journals such as A Estrela and Arquivos Penitenciários do Brasil, it was possible to rebuild arguments and goals that were used to justify the foundation of womens prisons in the country, as well as identify for whom they were built for. It concludes that womens prison system were built in a very peculiar way, mixing components from the two above-mentioned criminological schools with religious and morals elements, aiming to give back to society good mothers and wives, that is, women free from the vices and illness that moved them away from their expected paths. In that sense, female criminality, seen as a deviation from the social role that women were supposed to perform, should be contained and corrected. That explains why a religious Congregation was responsible for running the first womens prisons in Brazil, which privileged the recovery of elements valued as attached to the feminine.