CHAPTER 12
The Incarceration of Women
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After reading this chapter, students should be able to:
1. Explain why women in prison are called the “forgotten offenders.”
3. Explain how interpersonal relationships in women’s prisons differ from those in men’s
prisons.
5. Discuss the problems women face when they are released to the community.
LESSON PLAN
Correlated to PowerPoints
I. Women: The Forgotten Offenders
Learning Objective 1: Explain why women in prison are called the “forgotten offenders.”
A. Women traditionally have received discriminatory treatment from judges, few
program resources from penal administrators, and little attention from criminal justice
scholars. This may stem from several facts:
2. Their criminality is generally not serious.
3. The criminal justice system reflects the societal attitude that puts women in a
subservient position.
B. Because prisons for women are fewer and smaller than male prisons, Joanne Belknap
argues this has resulted in a three-pronged form of institutional sexism.
2. The relatively small number of women in prison and jail is used to justify the
lack of diverse educational, vocational, and other programs.
3. The relatively small number of women also justifies low levels of
specialization in treatment and the failure to segregate women convicted of more
serious and women with mental illnesses from others (as is done in male prisons
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Instructor’s Manual
Class Discussion/Activity
Discuss how the three main issues between male prisons versus female prisons is both fair and
unfair for incarcerated individuals and their families.
C. The Numbers
2. Women comprise only about 7 percent of federal and state prison population.
3. From 1995 to 2015, the male population in state and federal correctional
5. Women are more likely than men to be serving sentences for drug offenses and
nonviolent property crimes.
6. Convicted women traditionally receive lighter sentences than men for similar
offenses usually as a result of the belief that women are the weaker sex and
require gentle treatment.
Media Tool
Visit http://womenprisoners.org/
• The Coalition for Women Prisoner’s in California
• Discuss this organization in class. Do the students feel that this coalition is serving an
important role? If so, what role? If not, why?
What If Scenario
What if a child’s mother, the only involved parent, is sent to prison? What happens to the child?
II. Historical Perspective
Learning Objective 2: Discuss the history of the incarceration of women.
A. Not until the 1800s did reformers press for separate facilities and programs for
women. Men and women were housed together and were punished the same,
including being hanged, whipped, and transported.
2. She also pressed for changes in the treatment of children.
4. The separate facilities should have a domestic atmosphere.
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Chapter 12: Incarceration of Women
B. The Incarceration of Women in the United States
1. Elizabeth Fry’s efforts reached the United States via the Quaker network.
3. Only men had the ability to reason and women were motivated by their
emotions, thus women who committed crimes posed a threat to the social order.
5. Most incarcerated women were convicted of prostitution, alcoholism, and
vagrancy.
6. Incarcerated women were often sexually exploited and forced to do chores to
maintain the prison.
C. The Reformatory Movement
2. Massachusetts Reformatory-Prison for Women opened in 1877.
4. The first federal prison for women opened in 1927, in Alderson, West Virginia.
Mary Belle Harris was the warden.
5. Female prison reform was guided by three principles:
7. Reformatories resembled cottages around an administration building.
9. As time passed, the original ideals of the reformers failed.
10. By 1935, the women’s reformatory movement had run its course.
D. The Post–World War II Years
1. As women increasingly have been arrested for more-serious crimes and more
2. Educational and vocational programs for women have been geared toward
traditionally “feminine” occupations that perpetuate gender stereotypes.
3. Nicole Rafter: “Equal treatment usually means less adequate treatment.”
See Assignment 1
Instructor’s Manual
III. Women in Prison.
Learning Objective 3: Explain how interpersonal relationships in women’s prisons differ from
those in men’s prisons.
A. There are several differences between male and female institutions.
2. Women’s institutions have looser security and are less structured in terms of
inmate–staff relationships.
4. Incarcerated women are less committed to the inmate code.
6. There is less pressure to design effective treatment programs for women than
for men.
8. The regime of women’s prisons tends to treat women like children and
“domesticate” them.
B. Characteristics of Women in Prison (Figure 12.3)
1. About 62 percent are under 40 years old.
3. The main factors distinguishing incarcerated women from men are as follows:
a. The nature of the offense: 35.8 percent of female inmates are serving
time for violent offenses, 27.8 percent for property offenses, 25.1 percent
for drug-related offenses, and 10.2 percent for public-order offenses.
b. Sentence length: women receive shorter maximum sentences than do
men. Usually, this is partially because of women’s less-serious criminal
background.
C. The Subculture of Women’s Prisons
1. There have been less extensive studies of female subculture.
2. Same-sex relationships are found but are more voluntary than coerced.
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3. Women in prison tend to form pseudofamilies in which they adopt various roles
5. Researchers do not seem to have a consensus on the extent and nature of same-
sex relationships in women’s prisons.
7. Barbara Owen found that women had various styles of doing time. These styles
stem from a commitment to a deviant identity and the stage of a person’s criminal
and prison career.
Class Discussion/Activity
Research the topic of pseudofamilies. Allow students to compare men’s prisons versus women’s
prisons in regard to the manner in which convicted people treat one another.
D. Male Versus Female Subcultures: Research finds great similarities but also major
differences.
1. Over half of men in prison, but only one-third of women, are serving time for
violent offenses.
3. Women are more responsive than men to prison programs.
5. Men tend to segregate themselves by race; this is less true with women.
7. In male prisons, individuals act for themselves and are evaluated by how they
8. Women placed less emphasis on achieving status or recognition within the
prisoner community; close ties seem to exist among small groups.
Instructor’s Manual
IV. Issues in the Incarceration of Women
Learning Objective 4: Analyze the special issues that incarcerated women face.
A. Sexual Misconduct
2. Sexual misconduct includes many behaviors such as assault, abuse, harassment,
and contact of a sexual nature.
4. Monetary civil judgments awarded to women for mistreatment while in prison
have grown.
6. Despite these laws, there is a great need for effective sexual harassment
policies, training of officers, and tougher screening of recruits.
What If Scenario
What if you, as warden, wanted to reduce sexual misconduct by correctional officers on female
prison residents? What would you do?
B. Educational and Vocational Programs
1. Female prisons lack the variety of vocational and educational programs usually
available in male institutions.
3. Few work assignments for incarcerated women build marketable job skills.
4. Since most women prisoners have no one to depend on but themselves once
they are released, programs to train convicted individuals for post-release
vocations are essential for success in the community.
What If Scenario
What if you, as warden, wanted to increase the prison-based programs for women through
education and vocation, which would assist them in transitioning back into society? What
program types would you add?
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Chapter 12: Incarceration of Women
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Class Discussion/Activity
Break students into two groups. Have one group research the male prisons in your state and the
other the female prisons. Have them gather the statistics on who is in prison and why, as well as
what type of amenities and programs exist in each facility. Have them compare their findings in
class.
See Assignments 3, 4, and 5
C. Medical Services
1. Women’s prisons lack proper medical services despite the fact that they have
3. Some incarcerated women are pregnant upon admission. Pregnant women
require special medical and nutritional resources.
4. Leslie Acoca argues that the failure to provide women with basic preventive
Class Discussion/Activity
Discuss how medical care is different for females from that of males. Should we as society
members be responsible for the care and treatment of females who come into the prison system
pregnant?
D. Mothers and Their Children
2. Over 60 percent of incarcerated women are mothers to minor children.
4. Enforced separation of children from their mothers can be devastating for both.
6. Imprisoned mothers have difficulty maintaining contact with their children
because female institutions are located far away and transportation is difficult.
Instructor’s Manual
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Media Tool
Visit http://abcnews.go.com/US/babies-born-raised-bars-mothers-returning-
prison/story?id=22413184
o ABC News discusses inmate mothers caring for children.
o Discuss this video in class. What, if any, detriment to a child is there in being raised by a
mother who is serving time in prison? What are the alternatives to this? Is there a good
way to remedy this growing problem?
V. Release to the Community
Learning Objective 5: Discuss the problems women face when they are released to the
community.
A. The limited data available indicate that women are just as successful as men on
parole.
B. Women need more postrelease training and support services than men, not only
employment help but also medical care, counseling for drug and alcohol abuse, and
help reestablishing family relationships.
Media Tool
Visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdtkE7sIaYE
o National Geographic Female Inmates
o Discuss this video in class. What distinctions are there between imprisoned males and
females? Why do you think there are so many more males than females in prison across
the country?
What If Scenario
What if a mother is released from prison after serving eight years and during that time she had no
visual contact with her children? What surprises and challenges await her as she tries to
reconnect with her children?
See Assignment 2
LECTURE NOTES
The focus of this chapter is the incarceration of women, beginning with a discussion of why
women are considered “forgotten offenders.” A useful way to illustrate this point might be to
have students quickly write down what they picture when they hear the word “prisoner.” Poll the
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Chapter 12: Incarceration of Women
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applies to men and women. However, there are some issues unique to female inmates that are
provided special attention in this chapter.
The chapter reviews the history of women’s incarceration. You may want to compare this history
with that of the prison itself. The reformatory movement is linked to the evolution of female
incarceration and an important piece of penal history. Students should be able to distinguish a
reformatory from a penitentiary and understand the development of the reformatory and the
This chapter illustrates what it is like to be incarcerated in a women’s prison and highlights
differences between male and female institutional life. Have the class contrast life inside a
women’s institution with that in a men’s institution. Have students identify similarities and
differences. Pay particular attention to subcultural differences and to the characteristics of
women in prison.
While many issues in corrections affect both men and women, there are indeed policy issues that
pertain exclusively or in particular ways to the incarceration of women. Students should be
aware of these policies. It is important to elaborate on the subject of incarcerated mothers and
ASSIGNMENTS
1. Direct students to read Meda Chesney-Lind’s article “Are Girls Getting Tougher, or Are
We Tougher on Girls?” and summarize the research conducted and the results. Based on
the article, have the students answer the question posed in the title. The full article is
2. Ask students to visit the Women’s Prison Association website
3. Students can view the webinar From Arrest to Homecoming—Addressing the Needs of
Children of Incarcerated Parents, hosted by the National Reentry Resource Center
(http://www.corrections.com/news/article/28833-the-importance-of-family-support-in–
reentry). (It may take a few minutes to load.) Based on the information presented, have
students answer the following questions:
• What is the impact of the increase in women incarceration rates on family?
• What are some of the behavioral consequences of parental incarceration?
• How does contact with family impact recidivism?
• What is meant by the phrase “cumulative effects” of parental incarceration?
4. Have students write a position paper on whether correctional officers should be the same
5. Direct students to watch the short segment of National Geographic’s Hard Time series
titled “The Studs.” Based on this clip, have students write a brief essay explaining why
some incarcerated women take the role of the man in prison. Clip available through:
ANSWERS TO END-OF-CHAPTER DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Although the answers provided below will vary from student to student, the responses should
include at a minimum a discussion of the following key points.
1. How has fragmentation of corrections among federal, state, and local governments affected
the quality of services for incarcerated women?
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