There are several differences between males and females when it deals with delinquency. For instance, females develop distinct differences then males. However, according to Siegal and Walsh when it comes to delinquency, “Today, there are more similarities than differences between male and female offenders, and the gender gap seems to be closing (p. 140).
The number of women incarcerated is growing at a rapid pace. This calls for a reevaluation of our correction institutions to deal with women’s involvement in crime. Increasing numbers of arrests for property crime and public order offenses are outpacing that of men. The “War on Drugs” has a big influence on why our prisons have become overcrowded in the last 25 years. Women are impacted more than ever because they are being convicted equally for drug and other offenses. Female criminal behavior has always been identified as minor compared to Male’s criminal behavior. Over the years women have made up only small part of the offender populations. There is still only a small
There are typologies specific to female sex offenders, because they are less likely to sexually reoffend in comparison with male offenders. Nevertheless, male offenders are less likely to commit sexual assaults with the co-offender or even a group (Williams & Bierie, 2015). Females taking an active role in the abuse are frequently engaged in direct sexual contact with the victim. The passive participation of women does not end with the direct sexual contact, but in this case, they observe the abuse without intervening (Mancini, 2014). The major difference between the female and male offenders’ typologies is in the presence of a co-offender, the motivation of the offense, and the age of the
The question for this research survey is the following: are women offenders more likely to be successful if they participate in a gender-response program versus a traditional, non-gender specific program? Women often respond to incarceration and related issues with criminality in a way that is far different from men. With that in mind, the question asked here is one that is in need of answering in order to determine what can be done to help women move forward with their lives and avoid becoming repeat offenders. Without asking the right questions, a survey will not provide true insight (Maxfield & Babbie, 2011). Additionally, the "how" of the issue is often the most important concern when one is conducting a survey that can be used to improve lives in the future (Maxfield & Babbie, 2011). In other words, it is not just about why something needs to be changed, but about how it could be changed in order to provide the highest level of benefit to those who use it (Maxfield & Babbie, 2011).
Sykes (1958) described the pains of imprisonment for men as the deprivations of liberty, goods and services, heterosexual relationships, autonomy, and security. All these deprivations apply equally to female prisoners, and some may be more severe for women. Separation from one's family is an obvious example of this. Women may also suffer from receiving fewer leisure, work and educational opportunities and closer surveillance than men. Many have noted the corrections experience is significantly different for women than for men, because men and women are treated differently by the courts and corrections systems (Chesney-Lind & Pollock, 1995). It has been suggested that this differential treatment has to do with the nature of crimes committed by women and the role of many women as mothers. Unfortunately, our understanding of the role that sex and gender play in shaping prisoner culture and experience has been constrained by a lack of recent research. Although female offenders became the subjects of extensive research in the 1960s, studies examining their adjustment to imprisonment today have received minimal attention. Research continues to focus primarily on the effects of incarceration on male prisoners, suggesting that the female inmate remains a forgotten offender (MacKenzie, Robinson & Campbell, 1989; 1995). Those studies that have focused on the female inmate, however, have shown that the impact of imprisonment is more severe on women than on men, especially if they have family responsibilities (Durham 1994). Despite the growing number of long-term offenders in the United States, studies continue to focus primarily on the male long-term offender, with little emphasis being placed on females. Since few
Approximately 40% of criminal convictions in the year 2000 related to incarceration of women were on the basis of illegal drugs relation and 34% were for other non-violent crimes such as burglary, larceny, and fraud. 18% of women in prison have been convicted because of violent conduct, and 7% for public order offenses such as drunk driving, liquor law violations and vagrancy.
It has already been established that the prison population for female offenders is growing, but the complexity of the population is changing as well. Special populations make up the group of female offenders, specifically including middle-aged inmates, physically ill inmates, and of course mentally ill inmates (Lewis, 200). The pathology of these women vary, many struggle or previously struggled with substance abuse, psychosis,
Throughout history, the criminal justice system has mainly focused on men entering the criminal justice system rather than women. This is not portrayed largely by the media and society because it is not truly considered a highlight topic. Men and women face incarceration on a daily basis, causing them both to have different experiences based on their gender. The crimes and punishment faced by each gender is different and can affect the way society views the person as an individual and/or as a group. The nature and role in society can be a factor of the incarceration and the experience they may face while in the criminal justice system. Although the depiction of men entering the criminal justice system is portrayed regularly, the rate of women entering the criminal justice system has faced a higher increase than men entering the system.
Male and female offenders alike are incarcerated every day for various reasons. Some commit violent crimes while others are arrested for drug use or public-order offenses. The difference between the two are the rates at which they are incarcerated, the length or harshness of their sentences, for the same or similar crimes committed, patterns of drug use, and previous correctional history. While men still lead in violent crime rates, 54.3 percent male verse 36.6 percent female, women are more likely than men to serve sentences due to drug-related offenses and other nonviolent property crimes (American Corrections, 2016).
Gender plays a big role in whether or not the juvenile offenders get the treatment they need. Often female offenders are misunderstood or not taken seriously because they are stereotyped as criers, liars, and manipulators. If and when these girls do get treatment for mental health care, often it is not the correct one. In the Gaarder, Rodriguez, and Zats (2004) article
Most of the time, men try to justify female offenders just because they are women. One thing that should never be assumed is that everyone behaves like they do because of outside influences. Sometimes people are perfectly healthy (mentally, emotionally, and physically), but they simply make bad choices. In the end, chivalry is used to ‘protect’ those women; in other words, chivalry tends to be used to justify their actions by presenting them as victims. In most occasions, women use this stereotyping to their advantage because they know that if they do their sentencing will more likely be reduced.
The findings on the website show how female offenders have been perceived as less violent offender compared to males (NCJRS). Although, in the past females were perceived to commit minor offenses, but there has been a rise in females committing violent offense (NCJRS). There has also been a rise in the percentage of female offender overall, which younger girls represent a larger proportion of juvenile arrest (NCJRS). The reason for this could be many younger girls are experiencing trauma, abuse, violence, and poverty issues at home. For example, if a younger female leaves in a home and all she sees is her mother and father fight, which could lead her to think that it’s okay. She also gets beaten by her father and her mother never say anything so she might think it’s a way of life. This cause for whenever this younger female gets into a confrontation at school, she automatically leads to violence. The reason why is that’s all she seen growing up. The victimization that the female offender go through cause them to have different needs compared to male offenders. The findings on NCJRS states how due to the different victimization females go through they are more likely to be addicted to drugs and have mental
After visiting www.womenandprison.org a website created by incarcerated women, I learn the ins and outs of what are some of the leading factors for women and prisons now. Most of the women interviewed have a brutal past with drug addiction, prostitution or abuse. These are the main reasons women today still are being incarcerated. However gender experience in prison expressed by women is very painful. Unlike men women suffer from the state of mind where they are home sick. Those who tend to have made families back home it begins to be tougher for women to be separate from her child. Also it is said to be all mind games a lot of women loose a sense of social control where they are no longer accepting to the reasoning which has brought them to
The growing rate of women in prison has spawned widespread awareness in our society; leading people to question why the percentage multiplied exponentially over the past three decades. In the past, female offenders have not only been compared to their male counterparts, but to society’s view on the role of women; the roles that labeled them as housewives and mothers. But how did these housewives and mothers go from the home to the prisons? The subject of women’s issues has sporadically been discussed in our society, and it has just recently being uncovered that women operate differently than men in situations; and those differences are now starting to effect the growth rate in the population of women in
It is important to analyze the differences between men and women in terms of treatment approaches and types of offenses. As seen in most psychotherapy theories, men primarily develop the techniques with little insight from a female perspective, this factor carries over to the use of cognitive behavioral therapy and is seen in the prison setting. The orientation of therapeutic programs within a prison are directed more toward men with little adaptations to differences and needs seen in women offenders (Sacks, McKendrick & Hamilton, 2012). This presents as an issue primarily because men and women are often associated with different crimes and different mental disorders. It would makes sense then to tailor therapeutic techniques to the clients gender and offenses.