Intersectional Inequality and Women’s Imprisonment

Owen, Barbara; Wells, James A.; Pollock, Joycelyn M.

doi:10.1525/california/9780520288713.003.0001

Cited by 10 publications

(24 citation statements)

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“…A key theme throughout has been the relative powerlessness and vulnerability of women in prison (see also Frois, 2017; Moore and Scraton, 2014; Owen et al, 2017), significantly shaped by their life experiences prior to their confinement, and producing forms of need and mistrust. Seen in this light, many of the emotionally fraught interactions that we witnessed reflected complex entanglements of power and dependence.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…And then of course the officer gets pissed off, and [the woman] can't understand why [the officer] don't want to help them. (Georgia) Second, histories of trauma and abuse made many women acutely sensitive to certain forms of staff conduct (see Huey Dye and Aday, 2019;Kelman et al, 2022;Owen et al, 2017). Lottie described shifts from banter to discipline as 'almost like grooming in a nonsexual way', while Elizabeth explained that the 'trauma' of loud and unexpected noises 'could bring back a gunshot for somebody […] and a really bad time in their life'.…”

Section: Women's Needs Circumstances and Backgroundsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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‘It causes a lot of problems’: Relational ambiguities and dynamics between prisoners and staff in a women's prison

Crewe

Schliehe

Przybylska

2022

European Journal of Criminology

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Staff–prisoner relationships have long been recognised as lying ‘at the heart of the whole prison system’ (Home Office, 1984: para. 16; Liebling, 2011). However, relatively few accounts of women's imprisonment have focussed on staff–prisoner relationships specifically, whether describing their terms and dynamics or relating their characteristics to broader ideas of power, trust or legitimacy. In this article, based on semi-ethnographic fieldwork in a women's prison in England, we seek to do something of both, analysing the emotional and relational complexity of staff–prisoner relationships in the context of women's life histories, and the ways that they intersect with flows of penal power and powerlessness. The article illuminates the complexity and emotional intensity of these relationships, first, by outlining their core features, as described by female prisoners – blurred boundaries, infantilisation, pettiness, inconsistency and favouritism – and then by seeking to explain the complex entanglements of power and dependence that result. These explanations include the relative powerlessness and vulnerability of women in prison, their biographical experiences of abuse and trauma, and a tendency for uniformed staff to be somewhat careless in their use of power, while seeking to build close and supportive relationships with prisoners and engaging in forms of benign paternalism. The article concludes that women's prisons represent a challenge to models of penal order, authority and legitimacy precisely because of the relational nature of the flow of power that tends to characterise them.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Women's Needs Circumstances and Backgroundsmentioning

confidence: 99%

‘It causes a lot of problems’: Relational ambiguities and dynamics between prisoners and staff in a women's prison

Crewe

Schliehe

Przybylska

2022

European Journal of Criminology

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“…Os riscos e prejuízos para a segurança e o conforto das mulheres nas prisões também requerem um olhar crítico, feminista e interseccional. Segundo Owen et al (2017), os sofrimentos das presidiárias refletem "as desvantagens múltiplas e cumulativas que condicionam seus caminhos rumo à prisão e continuam a moldar suas escolhas e oportunidades na instituição total que é a prisão" (p. 1). Neste sentido, o enquadramento interseccional dessas experiências leva a deslocar o foco de explicações criminológicas centradas em características e patologias individuais para dirigir a atenção para as consequências das iniquidades estruturais na vida das prisioneiras.…”

Section: Figuraunclassified

Criminologia Crítica, Feminismo e Interseccionalidade na Abordagem do Aumento do Encarceramento Feminino

Germano

Monteiro

Liberato

2018

Psicol. cienc. prof.

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Resumo Desde 2000 a população carcerária feminina no Brasil vem crescendo em ritmo preocupante, lotando as prisões em todos os estados da Federação. Este trabalho discute a criminalização de mulheres a partir de uma ótica interseccional, realçando a intersecção de gênero, raça-etnia, pobreza e outras fontes de subordinação como central para entender e enfrentar o problema. Foram analisadas taxas de encarceramento e o perfil sociodemográfico da população carcerária feminina no país e na América Latina, divulgadas em documentos públicos oficiais. Os dados foram interpretados a partir de princípios da criminologia crítica feminista e do pensamento interseccional e à luz de uma literatura crítica nacional e internacional sobre a criminalização e o encarceramento em massa, especialmente de mulheres jovens, negras e pobres. Feminização da pobreza, discriminação racial e de gênero, política de guerra às drogas, inchação do Estado Penal entre outros fatores interligam-se e resultam no encarceramento seletivo de jovens entre 18 a 33 anos, declaradas negras ou pardas, com ensino fundamental incompleto, respondendo por tráfico de drogas (flagradas com pequena quantidade de drogas), mães solteiras. Nosso argumento é que a perspectiva da interseccionalidade permite superar a análise descritiva e estanque dos fatores envolvidos em crimes cometidos por mulheres e seu consequente encarceramento, esclarecendo como o sistema penal pode incorporar e perpetuar formas naturalizadas de controle dos corpos femininos e a injustiça social. Concluímos que o olhar interseccional ilumina as complexas situações biográficas e vivências cotidianas de opressão que afetam cerca de 45 mil mulheres em prisões brasileiras hoje.

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“…Since the 1970s, researchers in these disciplines have studied discrimination against women in the prison system and the gendered nature of punishment (see, among others, Carlen, 1983;Heidensohn, 1985;Gelsthorpe, 1989). They have unveiled the persistent forms of discrimination and gendered prejudices embedded in penal policies and prison programmes (see, among others, Hannah-Moffat, 2001;McCorkel, 2004;Haney, 2010;Owen et al, 2017;, 2018). Some policyoriented studies have proposed solutions to improve conditions for women in penal facilities through alternative rehabilitation pathways (Bloom et al, 2003;Player, 2014;Gelsthorpe and Russell, 2018) that consider the social issues of poverty and abuse, women's strengths, adequate treatment, recovery and support services (Covington and Bloom, 2007).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gender equality in prison reform in Spain: how a gender-biased, closed policy system prevents real change

Peña

Bustelo

2023

European Journal of Politics and Gender

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This article aims to understand what happens when gender equality policies cross prison walls – a challenging domain that has traditionally been invisibilised and ignored in the scholarship on gender and politics. By analysing the formulation and post-adoption phases in Spain, four main conclusions are drawn: first, the formulation phase has been highly impacted by the absence of the feminist movement and gender experts, resulting in the adoption of traditional views about the nature and needs of women; second, the lack of knowledge about, or disagreement with, the goals of the public policies activates forms of resistance that block attempts to advance; third, the ideas included in policy documents can be ‘fixed’ in the implementation phase and can eventually shape future courses of action; and, finally, the persistent absence of the feminist movement in the post-adoption phase results in the lack of opportunities to change the course of action towards a more transformative path.

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Intersectional Inequality and Women’s Imprisonment

Cited by 10 publications

References 0 publications

‘It causes a lot of problems’: Relational ambiguities and dynamics between prisoners and staff in a women's prison

‘It causes a lot of problems’: Relational ambiguities and dynamics between prisoners and staff in a women's prison

Criminologia Crítica, Feminismo e Interseccionalidade na Abordagem do Aumento do Encarceramento Feminino

Gender equality in prison reform in Spain: how a gender-biased, closed policy system prevents real change

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