Since the war on drugs in the 1980s, the United States has seen an exponential rise in the number of imprisoned individuals. This increase has been particularly dramatic for women. Nationwide, the population of women in prison has grown by 834% over the past 40 years, more than double the growth rate of men. Compared with incarcerated men, women in prison have higher rates of substance abuse, histories of physical and sexual abuse, mental illness, infectious disease and chronic illness. Most women in prison are defined by a challenging intersection of lower socioeconomic status and largely racial, ethnic, and minority gender status. This combination of identity factors both contributes to their health disparities and influences their experiences with health care. Given that the majority of women in prison are of reproductive age, gynecological care is a central aspect of women’s overall health care. However, women in prison are a small minority of the overall incarcerated population, and because of this, their gender-specific health needs are frequently unacknowledged. Using a feminist epistemology, this qualitative multiple case study provides an examination of the experiences of women before prison and in prison with gynecological care and prison staff’s experiences providing this care. The Gelberg Andersen Behavioral Model for Vulnerable Populations is adapted here for the study of women in prison. The model explains factors enabling and impeding women’s utilization of health care services, including previous health care experiences, prison infrastructure, and personal autonomy. Women in contact with the criminal justice system face difficulties accessing health care both outside and inside prison. Barriers on the outside included lack of health insurance, being addicted to drugs, and prioritizing children’s needs first. On the inside women cited a lack of confidentiality, the absence of trust in providers, and the inability to participate in treatment decision-making. In the case of women in prison, multiple external oppressions result in internalized negative beliefs. Such feelings of powerlessness, lack of control, curtailed agency, and threatened self-worth ultimately influence how women experience gynecological care in prison. Policy, practice and research implications are provided to meet the gender specific health needs of women in prison.

This practicum explores potential for a new prison typology for federally sentenced women within Canada. The Koza Centre is an alternative to designs and practices currently in place that have the potential to create barriers to successful rehabilitation and reintegration. The primary intention of this work is to understand the issues and needs that are shared by many women who have come into conflict with the law and respond with an appropriate design. The methodology for this includes a brief history of women’s imprisonment in Canada and current political contexts, an analytical framework focused on overall well-being, and precedent studies. From this, programming and strategies have been developed that inform an evidence-based design. The result is a design focused on rehabilitation through the building of healthy relationships, ties to the community, programming that fosters successful reintegration, and supportive interior design that facilitates the well-being of those within the space. / February 2016

<p>Syftet med studien var att undersöka kvinnors attityder till fängelsevistelsen. Forskning kring kvinnors kriminalitet och fängelsevistelse är mycket bristfällig både internationellt och nationellt. Tidigare forskning utgår främst ifrån män och deras kriminalitet, vilket blivit normgivande för synen på brottslingar och kriminalvårdens uppbyggnad. Studien inriktades på kvinnliga interners attityd till fängelsemiljö, kommunikation och upplevelse av stämpling under fängelsevistelsen. 256 interner var vid tillfället placerade på olika anstalter i Sverige. Alla erbjöds delta enligt etiska rådets principer. Enkäter med frågor och påståenden på en 5-gradig ordinalskala skickades till samtliga anstalter, varav 76 ifyllda enkäter returnerades. Svaren skiljde sig åt beroende på anstalt och om man befann sig på en öppen eller sluten avdelning. Slutresultaten visade att flertalet hade en relativt positiv attityd till fängelsevistelsen.</p> / <p>The aim of this study was to examine women’s attitudes to their stay in prison. Research about women and crime is insufficient, both nationally and internationally. Previous research concentrates on men and their crimes, and this has created the standard within the correctional system. The current study concentrates on women’s attitudes to the prison environment, communication and the experiences of conspiracies. 256 Swedish female inmates were in prison at the time the study was in progress. Each of them was invited to participate in accordance with the guidelines of the Ethical Council. Questionnaires with statements and questions using a five-point ordinal-scale were sent out to all prisons resulting in the return of 76 questionnaires. The results differed depending on the institution where the prison sentences were served and whether or not it was a high- or low security prison. The final result revealed that women in Swedish penal institutions have a relatively positive attitude to their imprisonment.</p>

Syftet med studien var att undersöka kvinnors attityder till fängelsevistelsen. Forskning kring kvinnors kriminalitet och fängelsevistelse är mycket bristfällig både internationellt och nationellt. Tidigare forskning utgår främst ifrån män och deras kriminalitet, vilket blivit normgivande för synen på brottslingar och kriminalvårdens uppbyggnad. Studien inriktades på kvinnliga interners attityd till fängelsemiljö, kommunikation och upplevelse av stämpling under fängelsevistelsen. 256 interner var vid tillfället placerade på olika anstalter i Sverige. Alla erbjöds delta enligt etiska rådets principer. Enkäter med frågor och påståenden på en 5-gradig ordinalskala skickades till samtliga anstalter, varav 76 ifyllda enkäter returnerades. Svaren skiljde sig åt beroende på anstalt och om man befann sig på en öppen eller sluten avdelning. Slutresultaten visade att flertalet hade en relativt positiv attityd till fängelsevistelsen. / The aim of this study was to examine women’s attitudes to their stay in prison. Research about women and crime is insufficient, both nationally and internationally. Previous research concentrates on men and their crimes, and this has created the standard within the correctional system. The current study concentrates on women’s attitudes to the prison environment, communication and the experiences of conspiracies. 256 Swedish female inmates were in prison at the time the study was in progress. Each of them was invited to participate in accordance with the guidelines of the Ethical Council. Questionnaires with statements and questions using a five-point ordinal-scale were sent out to all prisons resulting in the return of 76 questionnaires. The results differed depending on the institution where the prison sentences were served and whether or not it was a high- or low security prison. The final result revealed that women in Swedish penal institutions have a relatively positive attitude to their imprisonment.

When children face separation from their parents as a consequence of state action in the family courts, their best interests are the paramount consideration of the court and they have legal representation. Children who face separation from their mother as a consequence of sentencing proceedings in the criminal courts are neither represented nor acknowledged. The thesis analyses this differentiated treatment and explores its consequences for children, society and the state. Explanations for the differentiated treatment are tested with reference to existing literature and original empirical research. The impact on children of imprisoned mothers is investigated to determine whether or not they suffer harm. The parameters of the state duty of care towards children are explored, to see if children of defendant mothers fall outside of it, and the way sentencing judges construct and interpret their duty towards mothers and their children within the sentencing process is examined. This thesis establishes that without legal or moral justification, children of maternal defendants are treated without the concern given to children who face separation from their parents in the family courts. Children of defendant mothers suffer as a consequence of the 'secondary prisonisation', 'secondary stigmatisation' and 'confounding grief' which they experience, and the state has failed to uphold their rights under Articles 3, 12 and 20, and is in breach of its duty under Article 2 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child 1989. The guidance and mechanisms for considering their welfare exist but are not engaged with by the sentencing courts, local authorities, legislators or policy makers. This has negative consequences for children, their caregivers and wider society. The thesis concludes with consideration of the implications of these findings for the state and suggests changes to ensure equitable treatment of children of defendant mothers in England and Wales.

The aim of this Thesis is to expound and describe the topic of female criminality. The Thesis is divided in three main parts: the first is focused on description of female criminality through explaining important criminological theories and also through description of the size, dynamic and structure of female criminality in the Czech Republic. The second part of my thesis is concerned with sentenced women in prisons with the focus on specific issues of imprisonment of women. The last part is dedicated to the issue of prevention of females' criminality and also of use of alternative sanctions as solution of woman criminality.

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)