Dothard Vs. Rawlinson Case Study

Women continue to be oppressed for simply being women, while men are not oppressed for being men in contemporary culture. Regardless of anything covered under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, women are oppressed in most areas of life, especially in the workplace. In society, the term “oppressed” is persistently misused…misused to the point that women are subject to oppression without anyone being even slightly mindful of it. Furthermore, a perfect example in the Cages article is “We are accused of insensitivity; even of bigotry. For women, such accusation is particularly intimidating, since sensitivity is one of the few virtues that has been assigned to us.” Whether a woman is white or black is irrelevant, all women are oppressed

Since the mid 80’s, the number of women incarcerated has tripled.The majority of women incarcerated are unskilled, impoverished and disproportionately women of color. As a result, African American children are nine times more likely to have a parent in prison than a White child.

Male prisoners also continue to make up the majority of the prison population. However, women prisoner rates have been on the rise and have exceeded that of male growth rates since 1995. In fact, due to the increase of the women prison population, various issues have arisen which require women to be treated differently from men. Such issues correctional facility’s face because of this increase include program delivery, housing conditions, medical care, staffing, and security (American Corrections, 2016). These problems are in part due to the different social and economic differences women are faced with in prison and while preparing for their release back to society.

For the past centuries, women have been fighting for their rights, from their right to vote to equal rights in the workplace. Women resistance is the act of opposing those in power, so women can have a voice in the world. Women in prison are often overlooked. In the 1970s, the women prisoners’ rights movement began, and it is still going on today. The number of incarcerated females is rapidly growing compared to men. According to Victoria Law, a prison rights activist, she stated that the percentage of female prisoners increased 108%. This struggle is significant because women in prison are being silenced; they are the most vulnerable people in our country (Siegal, 1998). Women prisoners have the highest rate of suicide because they are

Diane Rawlinson applied to be a correctional counselor in Alabama in 1977, but her application was rejected due to her not meeting the statutory minimum weight requirement of one hundred-twenty pounds (Yiyang, 2012). Rawlinson submitted evidence exposing that Alabama’s height and weight standards would dismiss forty percent of the female population nationwide but less than one percent of the male population (Yiyang, 2012). The Supreme Court ruled in favor of Rawlinson citing there is sufficient evidence to support the statutory requirements had a disparate impact on female applicants (Yiyang, 2012). The defense argued that the imposed height and weight standards were strength related, but the courts refuted that argument due to inadequate

The judicial system has negatively impacted the African American population with mass incarceration, especially for African American women. African American women are being incarcerated at all time high, and there should be a national outcry for these women. When women are incarcerated, she is labeled and stigmatized by their incarceration. Society views incarcerated women as deviant who has gone against social norms. However, research and data has shown that more men are imprisoned, but women serve longer sentences for the same charge. Incarceration is time for self-learning, self-evaluating and self-caring to become a changed person than before entering prison. This is the purpose of incarceration force an individual to

As women entered the law enforcement profession , on equal footing with men ,one of the primary concerns women have to struggle when obtaining the title in field , was that a woman would be able to control a large violent offender. In the 1970's The 350 Pound Man in the Alley was used when it came to hiring women. However,the job standard test as of today has changed when hiring women include

I do not agree with the Court that the choice of a woman to work in a field superseded the paternalistic view that she may not be able to protect herself and must be discriminated against for her safety. There is a danger working in prisons no matter the gender of the employee. Some women, like some men, undoubtedly are not qualified and do not wish to serve as prison guards, but that does not justify the exclusion of all women from this employment opportunity. The Court's interpretation of the BFOQ exception would mandate hiring qualified women for guard jobs in maximum-security institutions. The highly successful experiences of other States allowing such job opportunities, such as the States of California and Washington as amici curiae (a party to the litigation to give advice), confirm that absolute disqualification of women is not, in the words of Title VII, reasonably necessary to the normal operation of a maximum-security prison. (Findlaw, n.d.). So, I do not agree that the close contact of females to inmates created a bona fide occupational qualifications situation where women

According to Frank Schmalleger “On January 1, 2013, the nation’s state and federal prisons held 1,571,013 inmates, of which 1,512,391 were serving sentences of a year or more. Slightly more than 7% (or 108,866) of those imprisoned were women” (Schmalleger, p. 429). After further examination of prison statistics based on race a huge disparity was evident between blacks and whites in prison. “ Whereas only and estimated 1,001 white men are imprisoned in the United States for every 100,000 white men in their late 20s, figures show and incarcerations rate of 6,927 black men for every 100,000 black men of the same age—seven times greater than the figure for whites” (Schmallager, p. 430).

It was very common that women are being raped by jail guards in the United States. (Armstrong, 2013). Some you may hear about, most you will never hear about, because of the lack of media coverage (Armstrong, 2013). This paper will reflect on how jail guards have the access to sexually assault female inmates every day. This paper will also reflect on where the sexual assault may occur, when the sexual assault may occur, and the vulnerability of the environment in the jails where sexual assaults can be committed to the female inmates. These assaults happen in the jail system every day, and this paper will further more help one to understand the crime itself, and how to deter this from happening as often or even at all in the female jails. The power that the guards have on female inmates when imprisoned in jails are at an all-time high. (Summer, 2007). These female inmates have to rely on these guards for several things, such as food, clothing, and different privileges, if any is available depending on their stay and what jail they stay in (Summer, 2007). Not only do female inmates have to rely on the correctional guards in the jails for different necessities and privileges, but the guards have unlimited access to these female inmates (Summer, 2007). These correctional guards have access to where the female inmates sleep, and take showers/use the restrooms, and with such access to these female inmates, and the power that these correctional guards have over these

Many women who have been released from federal prison have reported that they have be either sexually or physically assaulted by a guard. Research has shown that the women prisons have 30% women guards and 70% male officers, this percentages give powerlessness and humility among female inmates which led to records of rape of the inmates or inappropriate and unnecessary groping during body searches.There was even a record of the case of Robin Lucas shows how the sexual identity of a woman may led to further abuse or torment by a guard. Robin Lucas was placed in a men’s prison where guards allowed male inmates to rape her. The guards teased her about her homosexuality, telling her that they could “maybe we can change your mind”. The worst part of having these rapist guards is having them instil fear and threats to inmates to not report them because the guard could easily just say how it was their fault. Even when reports of guards performing these acts, they are only transferred to another prison location instead of being terminated because of the prison not wanting any negative criticism on the situation that occurred between an inmate and a federal guard. Women inmates suffering from treatable diseases such as asthma, diabetes, cancer, previous miscarriages, and seizures have little or no access to medical attention, in most cases resulting in death or permanent injury. The failure to deliver needed drugs for inmates with HIV/AIDS has also been issues that haven't changed since reported. Many women in these prisons have had past history of drug abuse, domestic abuse, negligence, and sexual assault all leading to long term mental turmoil and illness like depression, post-traumatic disorder, and mood imbalance. With many of these mental illnesses in prisons it has led to many cases of out of control

In that jail it was nothing to see a woman brought in all beat up. In some cases, the only charge was “resisting arrest”. A Puerto Rican sister was brought in one night. She had been so badly beaten by the police that the matron on duty didn’t want to admit her. “I don’t want her dying on my shift,” she kept

Alternative- If there were more women as guards at this prison would inmates get less mistreated?

We faced several barriers in the ‘‘correctional institution,’’ including no access to technology, hostile guards, and lockdowns. The combination of these factors and the variety of life experiences that the men and women have provided a ripe environment for them (and for us) to analyze with their developing sociological imaginations (Mills 1959). At the beginning of the semester in the men’s prison, there were 17 male students enrolled, but during the course of the semester several were transferred to different camps or were released, which left 9 remaining throughout the duration of the semester. Three students were black, 3 were Latino, and 3 were white. Additionally, 1 white student finished on the outside by taking his final exam after being released. The second author, Gretchen, taught an introduction to sociology course at a medium-security women’s prison. At the beginning of the semester there were 14 students enrolled—8 black, 1 Latino, and 5 white. However, only 7 students completed the course— 3 black, 1 Latino, and 3 white. As critical feminist pedagogues (Freire 2000; hooks 1994) and researchers, our goal is to understand oppression and the reproduction of inequality and also the experiences of the people that live it (Kleinman 2007; Schwalbe et al. 2000). Our understanding of oppression stems not only from our theoretical knowledge but also from our shared experiences as marginalized women. This experiential and theoretical