The Motherhood Penalty—Understanding the Gendered Role of Motherhood in the Life Histories of Incarcerated South African Women

Abstract

The number of incarcerated women in South Africa has steadily increased over the last decade. However, as a minority in the carceral population of the country, their narratives are underrepresented. An emergent body of feminist, gender responsive research has found that motherhood is central to the narratives of incarcerated women. This study endeavored to document the life histories of 17 women who are incarcerated in the largest correctional center in South Africa. The narratives of these women explicate how the gendered role of motherhood impacted on their incarceration pathways, contributing to the developing literature of justice-involved women in South Africa.

Demonstrating the Reliability and Validity of the Self-Appraisal Questionnaire for Assessing Violent and Nonviolent Recidivism with Female Offenders in South Africa

“…Although a global increase in the incarcerated women population has been reported (Parry, 2019), Dastile (2010) asserts that female offenders in South Africa represent the fastest growing group of offenders. The number of women incarcerated in South Africa increased by 68% over the past decade (Prinsloo & Hesselink, 2015).…”

“…According to Parry (2019), this is a concern, as the small women population is a minor community within a male-dominated correctional environment. As a consequence, this may lead to female offenders’ marginalization where their needs or experiences in the correctional system are neither recognized nor legitimized (Parry, 2019). As a result, women's pathways to offending and incarceration are often interpreted to be the same as those of male offenders, thereby delegitimizing any role that gender may play in offending behavior (see Loza et al, 2005).…”

“…According to Parry (2019), this is a concern, as the small women population is a minor community within a male-dominated correctional environment. As a consequence, this may lead to female offenders' marginalization where their needs or experiences in the correctional system are neither recognized nor legitimized (Parry, 2019).…”

“…Actuarial measures to predict violent and nonviolent recidivism gained international importance and is currently accepted as an accurate approach to predicting recidivism risk on release from correctional institutions (Berk & Bleich, 2014;. In addition to the abovementioned concerns of Artz et al (2012), Dastile (2010), and Parry (2019), it was confirmed by that these actuarial measures were primarily introduced for the use with male offenders who internationally dominate the crime phenomenon. Therefore, the usefulness of actuarial measures as far as their application to female offenders are concerned, did not receive attention.…”