Evaluating Female Punishment Approaches

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Evaluating Female Punishment Approaches

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Evaluating Female Punishment Approaches

In the past women were rarely responsible for crimes in society but all that changed in the

1960s when the women movement was in full swing. During the Civil Rights Movement

minorities and women were fighting for rights in society but during this time the crime rate also

began to increase when women sick of the structured life of the 1950s began to commit more

crimes. By the 1990s women were responsible for well over half a million crimes in the country.

Despite the steady increase in women crimes in the country sentencing guidelines current

sentencing polices are created based on the behavior of men in society not women.

Despite the fact punishments are based on the behaviors of men women are provided separate

facilities if not separate prison sentences. The most common approaches to punishment for

women gender equal, gender neutral, open family, and special needs. Gender neutral approaches

are the most common approach in the criminal justice system with one law and sentencing

guideline established for both sexes. In one area where there is less gender neutrality is in the

actual sentencing by the court and the programs women receive in the women prison

environment.

The Women in Prison Project (WIPP) is a program received by female prison offenders

designed to address the right of women prisoners and ensure they have access to a prison

conditions that are humane. WIPP goes as far as to conduct inspections of female prisons and

advocates for better conditions and access to programs that will assist the women in successfully

reintegrating back into society. The Women in Prison Project is designed to identify the reforms

that need to be made in the womens prisons and creates effective polices WIPP also engages in


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community organizing, conducts public education and works with the media to raise awareness

about critical issues facing incarcerated and formerly incarcerated women (Covington, 2003).

The goal of the criminal justice is to ensure all citizens are treated fairly and equally and are

never denied the due process rights afforded in the constitution. In order to ensure the criminal

justice system is equal the justice system has taken a gender neutral approach in the punishment

of all criminal offenders and has established one set of laws to address the crime not the person

who commits the crime. No matter the race, gender, ethnicity, disability of the citizen, or even

age all criminal offenders tried in the adult criminal justice system are subject to the same laws.

For example if a women or a man commits a first degree murder the sentence for both would be

death, depending on the state, or life in prison.

The Women in Prison Project (WIPP) is not gender neutral but has been an effective program

in addressing the plight of females incarcerated in prison. WIPP has been effective in

establishing policies allowing women greater rights and greater access to programs and services

designed to make them more productive members of society. There are similar programs

available to male prisoners ensuring a gender neutral approach to punishment even if in the

punishment the criminal offender becomes rehabilitated. While the program began as a response

to women recently released it now encompasses many different aspects within the prison

environment.

The gender neutral approach has not always been effective because despite the goal to ensure

equal justice through gender neutrality judges are far more likely to give a female offender

committing the same crime as a male offender a lighter prison sentence. A judge is far more


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likely to sentence a female inmate on the low range of the sentencing guideline while sentencing

a male offender on the high end of the sentencing guidelines.

The program is guided by the goal of successfully reintegrating female inmates back into

society to ensure they never reoffend and most importantly can be reunited with their family.

When female inmates go to prison in many cases they leave behind their children. The program

has fought for the female inmates right to spend time with their husband, children, and family to

ensure they have the necessary support upon leaving prison and ensure women prisons have

access to advocates upon their release. This is known as the open family approach to

incarceration.

Unlike in the male prisons women do not commit as many crimes and many of their crimes

are nonviolent. The womens program finds by ensuring the female prisoner is not isolated from

their family they will have a far greater likelihood of changing their criminal behavior and being

better members of society. In New York the WIPP program has resulted in a major drop in the

female prison population resulting in the closure of nine prisons. The two key reasons for the

drastic drop in the recidivism rate in New York is due to allowing female inmates to maintain

family ties and successful reentry programs, like WIPP (Elijah, 2013). The opposite is true for

the males prisons in the state which are overcrowded.

The Women in Prison Project (WIPP) does not only help women when they get out of prison

but has taken a comprehensive approach to addressing female inmates. When women are not

isolated from their families they have a far greater chance of becoming more productive

members of society over when they are isolated in the prison environment. The WIPP program

provides women with the tools to overcome their criminal behavior and become more productive


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members of society including addressing the special or unique needs of the female inmate. The

special needs approach to punishment looks at the causes of female crime and takes steps to

address the problem in the female prison environment.

The Women in Prison Project (WIPP) is a gender specific program meeting the unique needs

of the female inmates. Female prisons are different from males inmates and have different

needs. Most inmates are nonviolent with substance abuse or mental health problems as well as

poverty, domestic abuse, and single motherhood (Bloom, 2008). By recognizing the unique

needs of the female inmate the prison system can be effective in reducing crimes being

committed by women and reducing the female recidivism rate.

In California the program has been less successful as in New York but the prison rate has not

increased since 1998. This is due to the fact that only 20% of female inmates released from

California prisons are a part of the program or any recidivism program. The Women in Prison

Project (WIPP) has been successful for female inmates provided with access to the program but

have been effective in ensuring female inmates are treated humanely. California prisons have

recently been deemed inhumane by the Supreme Court but this ruling involved the male prisons

in the state. There has been no similar lawsuit by female inmates.

Gender directly impacts the criminal justice system and the approach to punishment for

females. While all laws are created gender neutral and designed to be equal female inmates

receive far better treatment from the courts and correctional system over the male inmate. Many

criminal justice systems recognize the unique and different needs of the female inmate and offer

greater opportunities to make positive improvements in their lives. While the New York WIPP


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program has been helpful in reducing the recidivism rate in New York budget cuts have reduced

the womens access to the program in California.


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References

Bloom, B. & Covington, S. (2008).Gender-Specific Programming for Female Offenders: What is

it and Why is it Important? Retrieved August 12, 2013 from

http://www.stephaniecovington.com/pdfs/13.pdf

Covington, S. & Bloom, B. (2003). Gendered Justice: Women in the Criminal Justice System.

Retrieved August 12, 2013 fromhttp://www.stephaniecovington.com/pdfs/4.pdf

Elijah, S. (2013). Bayview and Beacon closures may mean lost opportunities for women in

prison. Retrieved August 12, 2013 from

http://www.correctionalassociation.org/press/nys-prison-closures-may-mean-lost
http://www.stephaniecovington.com/pdfs/13.pdfhttp://www.stephaniecovington.com/pdfs/13.pdfhttp://www.stephaniecovington.com/pdfs/4.pdfhttp://www.stephaniecovington.com/pdfs/4.pdfhttp://www.stephaniecovington.com/pdfs/4.pdfhttp://www.correctionalassociation.org/press/nys-prison-closures-may-mean-losthttp://www.correctionalassociation.org/press/nys-prison-closures-may-mean-losthttp://www.correctionalassociation.org/press/nys-prison-closures-may-mean-losthttp://www.stephaniecovington.com/pdfs/4.pdfhttp://www.stephaniecovington.com/pdfs/13.pdf

Evaluating Female Punishment Approaches

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