Gendered Pains of Imprisonment

Gendered Pains of Imprisonment

Various pieces of research that investigate whether the pains of imprisonment are gendered note that women stay peripheral in many investigations of the effects and practices of detainment. This essay purposes of reviewing this pattern by contrasting the issues of long-term imprisonment as experienced by female and male detainees, and afterwards enumerate the unique challenges that are different in the two sexes. It starts by detailing information that outlines that women report an intensely more disturbing experience than their male counterparts. The essay then centres on the issues found to be unusual to women specifically: Including loss of contact with relatives, power, control and autonomy, mental health and psychological wellness, and matters of intimacy, privacy, and trust. The essay presumes that determining how women experience imprisonment or lengthy jail terms is unrealistic without understanding the diversity of abuse that most of the women undergo. The essay further emphasizes the need to research the women’s emotional commitments, their biographies, and the trauma they have endured in the community.

It is crucial to notice that numerous studies generally were done on imprisonment (e.g., Cohen and Taylor 1972; Richards 1978; Flanagan 1981; Sapsford 1983) were selective and, therefore, limited in vividly describing the difference in psychological behaviour between male and female prisoners. Such studies failed to pay attention to gender and primarily focused on male prisoners. Among the first pieces of research that included gender disparity is Gender and Player’s (1990) that mainly focused on women’s loss of liberty, deprivation of privacy, possessions, and autonomy.

To investigate if the pains of incarceration are gendered, Drapalski et al. (2009) conducted research to determine the unique psychological needs of imprisoned women. The research found that women reported more clinically significant symptoms of borderline personality disorder, anxiety, trauma, and somatic concerns (Drapalski et al., 2009). Another research conducted by Scroggins and O’Malley (2010) revealed that women experienced more psychological pain than their male counterparts over the loss of control of their fertility and deteriorated relationship with their children. Another gender difference in incarcerated individuals was presented by Dye and Aday (2013), whose research indicated that men resolved to violence and solitude while women worked to establish bonds after long jail sentences. At the same time, most women were reported to suffer episodes of suicidal thoughts.

Bachman et al. (2016), argue that the criminal justice framework frequently neglects to build up an assorted variety of choices for managing the culturally and gender-specific issues of female prisoners. Bachman et al. (2016), further suggest that the legal system should incorporate gender-specific services that are sensitive to spiritual, emotional, sociopolitical, physical, and psychological needs. Another related research by Rafter, N. (2017), suggested that gender-specific program approaches and responsive supervision must concentrate on issues such as improving offenders and staff relationships and incorporating cross-gender supervision.

Data on women’s incarceration indicates that the rate of women imprisonment has surpassed that of their male counterparts. The trend of increased women imprisonment calls for an explanation. A thorough analysis of the probable reasons attributable to the pattern reveals that several changes in law enforcement are primarily to blame. The changes in registration, the ‘war on drugs,’ judicial decision-making, and strict laws enforcement practices are all responsible for the dramatic increase in the rate of women imprisonment. The United States government, for example, continues to enforce stringent legislative measures that increase criminal penalties through longer sentences and mandatory sentencing. What is more, the consistent unwillingness of many governments and society to address the personal needs of girls and women as well as the enforcement of the “Three Strike Law” has ultimately sent more women to prisons than would be necessary.

Many researchers agree that prisoners experience a wide range of challenges irrespective. Internationally, various pieces of peer-reviewed research indicate that women and men encounter several difficulties pre and post-imprisonment. Women generally take longer than men before adapting to the new environment than men, report cases of depression, and cling to their past lives-effects that are relatable to symptoms of denial in the psychologic paradigm. These effects are also seen post-imprisonment (Duwe, 2015; Bevan and Wehipeihana, 2015; Calverley, 2013; Flower, 2010; Petersilia, 2003; Baldry et al., 2006; Visher & Travis, 2003; Travis, Solomon & Waul, 2001). Research on re-offending has often shown the significance of setting post-discharge encounters inside the more extensive setting of guilty parties’ lives preceding detainment (Duwe, 2015; Doherty et al., 2014). Understanding gendered contrasts in pre-jail encounters are vital if one wishes to recognize whether explicit sex necessities are requiring diverse help arrangement.

Despite research pointing out many challenges common to both genders, evidence exists indicating that women suffer psychologically differently after they are released from prison (Doherty et al., 2014; McIvor & Burman, 2011; Flower, 2010; Arditti & Few, 2006; McIvor, Trotter & Sheehan, 2009; Hannah-Moffat & Turnbull, 2009; Baldry, 2010). Baldry (2010), further confirms that female prisoners have a low recidivism rate than their male counterparts. The rate could be attributed to the difference in the psychological adaptation of the different genders after long prison sentences (Spjeldnes and Goodkind, 2009). Research has additionally exhibited that once inside the jail, women likewise have less vocational and educational chances (Scroggins and O’Malley 2010; Davies and Cook, 1999; Cho and Lalonde, 2005). It has additionally been contended that since wrongdoing is viewed as an increasingly “ordinary” masculine undertaking, female detainees likewise endure more prominent social criticism on their arrival to the society (Carlen and Worrall, 2004).

Aside from their comparatively lower rates of re-offending, research has proven that women have more diverse needs before reintegration as a result of more psychological torture than men (Doherty et al., 2014; Carlen and Tombs, 2006; Davies & Cook, 1999). A critical area wherein women are viewed as progressively impeded identifies with post-discharge employment. Studies have demonstrated that female detainees frequently have lower levels of educational accomplishment and lesser work experience compared to their male counterparts, and have usually persevered through more exceptional financial hardship preceding entering jail (Flower, 2010; Bachman et al., 2016; Carlen & Tombs, 2006; Spjeldnes & Goodkind, 2009). Further studies on life after prison indicate that men are more positive to reestablish themselves after serving a long sentence in prison than their female counterparts.

Summarily it is vital to understand the distinction between gendered psychological pains of imprisonment. Future research on prisons should be gender-sensitive to guarantee the validity of the results. It is therefore erroneous to generalize research findings whose primary sample is male to the general female population. All countries should henceforth build prisons that meet women’s specific needs, such as sanitation that comes with menstrual health. Additionally, it is pivotal to avoid overcrowding in female prisons by building more incarceration institutions. Ultimately, governments should pass policies that are gender-sensitive when deciding on significant changes in legislature and prisons.

References

Aday, R. H., Krabill, J. J., & Deaton-Owens, D. (2014). Religion in the lives of older women serving life in prison. Journal of Women & Aging, 26(3), 238-256.

Arditti, J. A. and Few, A. L. (2006) Mothers’ Reentry into Family Life Following Incarceration. Criminal Justice Policy Review, 17 (1): 103-123

Bachman, R., Kerrison, E. M., Paternoster, R., Smith, L. and O’Connell, D (2016) The Complex Relationship Between Motherhood and Desistance. Women and Criminal Justice, 26 (3): 212-231.

Baldry, E. (2010) Women in Transition: From Prison to … Current Issues in Criminal Justice. 22 (2): 253-267.

Bevan, M. and Wehipeihana, N. (2015) Women’s Experiences of Re-offending and Rehabilitation. Wellington: Department of Corrections.

Calverley, A. (2013) Cultures of Desistance: Rehabilitation, reintegration, and ethnic minorities. London: Routledge.

Carlen, P. and Tombs, J. (2006) ‘Reconfigurations of penality: the ongoing case of women’s imprisonment and reintegration industries,’ Theoretical Criminology, 10(3): 337-360.

Carlen, P. and Worrall, A. (2004) Analysing Women’s Imprisonment. Collumpton, Devon: Willan Publishing.

Cho, R., and Lalonde, R. (2005) The Impact of Incarceration in State Prison on the Employment Prospects of Women. Frankfurt: Institute for the Study of Labour.

Cohen, S., & Taylor, L. (1972). Psychological survival: The experience of long-term imprisonment. Penguin.

Davies, S., and Cook, S. (1999) ‘Neglect or Punishment? Failing to meet the needs of women post-release,’ In, S. Cook and S. Davies (eds). Harsh Punishment: International Experiences of Women’s Imprisonment. Boston: Northeastern University Press, pp272-290.

Doherty, S., Forrester, P., Brazil, A. and Matheson, F. I. (2014) ‘Finding their way: conditions for successful reintegration among women offenders,’ Journal of Offender Rehabilitation, 53: 562-586.

Rafter, N. (2017). Partial Justice: Women, prisons, and social control. Routledge.

Duwe, G. (2015) ‘The benefits of keeping idle hands busy: An outcome evaluation of a prisoner reentry employment program,’ Crime and Delinquency, 61 (4): 559-586

Dye, M. H., & Aday, R. H. (2013). “I just wanted to die” pre-prison and current suicide ideation among women serving life sentences. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 40(8), 832-849.

Flanagan, T. J. (1981), ‘Dealing with Long-Term Confinement: Adaptive Strategies and Perspectives Among Long-Term Prisoners,’ Criminal Justice and Behaviour, 8: 201–22.

Flower, S. H. (2010) Gender-Responsive Strategies for Women Offenders: Employment and Female Offenders: An Update of the Empirical Research. Washington: U.S. Department of Justice.

Genders, E. and Player, E. (1990), ‘Women Lifers: Assessing the Experience,’ The Prison Journal, 70: 46–57.

Hannah-Moffat, K. and Turnbull, S. (2009) ‘Under these conditions: Gender, Parole and the Governance of Reintegration,’ British Journal of Criminology, (49): 532-551

Jose-Kampfner, C. (1990). Coming to terms with existential death: An analysis of women’s adaptation to life in prison. Social Justice, 17(2 (40), 110-125.

McIvor, G. and Burman, M. (2011) Understanding the Drivers of Female Imprisonment in Scotland. Edinburgh: The Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice Research. Report 02/2011.

McIvor, G., Trotter, C. and Sheehan, R. (2009) ‘Women, resettlement, and desistance,’ Probation Journal: The Journal of Community and Criminal Justice, 56(4): 347-361

Petersilia, J. (2003) When Prisoners Come Home: Parole and Prisoner Reentry. New York: Oxford University Press.

Richards, B. (1978), ‘The Experience of Long-Term Imprisonment,’ British Journal of Criminology, 18: 128–45.

Scroggins, J. R., and Malley, S. (2010) ‘Reentry and the (Unmet) Needs of Women’, Journal of Offender Rehabilitation, 49: 146-163.

Spjeldnes, S. and Goodkind, S. (2009) ‘Gender differences and offender reentry: a review of the literature,’ Journal of Offender Rehabilitation, 48, 314-335.

Travis, J., Solomon, A. and Waul, A. (2001) ‘From prison to home: The dimensions and consequences of prisoner reentry’, Washington: Urban Institute, Justice Policy Centre.

Visher, C. A., and Travis, J. (2003) ‘Transitions from prison to community: Understanding individual pathways,’ Annual Review of Sociology, 29, 89-113.

Walker, S. and Worrall, A. (2000), ‘Life as a Woman: The Gendered Pains of Indeterminate Imprisonment,’ Prison Service Journal, 132.

Drapalski, A. L., Youman, K., Stuewig, J., & Tangney, J. (2009). Gender differences in jail inmates’ symptoms of mental illness, treatment history, and treatment-seeking. Criminal Behaviour and Mental Health, 19(3), 193-206.