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Both men and women serving incarceration terms are exposed to distinct issues that are specific to their sex. According to Hagen & Cochran, the rates of women’s incarceration rapidly grow than those of men due to the high vulnerability of gender. Women, being members of the marginal groups, often face challenges and are faced with less favorable conditions while in prisons. In contrast, their male peers are more favored and share less of their struggles. For instance, there are fewer women prisons, making the women to be congested in the few available facilities (Sawyer, 2018). Issues of hygiene and proper sanitation arise, and incarcerated women fail to lead a standard life while serving the imprisonment term. Additionally, the vulnerability context of women to sexual abuse and violation is high compared to their peers of the opposite gender. The male gender has its issues too. Therefore, this essay will point out problems gender-specific in prisons.
It can be very scary having the thought of being a prisoner in the United States prisons while a woman. The trends of rape, coercion, and sexual abuse among women in prisons still extrapolate in this era. According to a review on specific prisons in the U.S. by Human Rights Watch, the contributing factors to sexual abuse in the prisons includes examined the lack of ability for the women to escape their abusers; ineffective or nonexistent procedures to investigate the offense; lack of accountability both administratively and criminally, and finally little concern by the public. Women continue to suffer sexual exploitation in prisons, either from their fellow incarcerated women prisoners or the correctional staff. On the other hand, male prisoners are less exposed to sexual abuse while in prisons. The prisons, which are male-dominated, also offer fewer opportunities for the males to get sexually violated of coerced. One of the reasons why incarcerated males face fewer sexual abuse effects is their masculinity, which allows them to escape the traps of abuse. Therefore, rape and other forms of sexual exploitation are gender-specific issues.
The health care needs for both genders are far distinct. While men require less attention to their general health needs and require no detailed health care, women’s health needs are sensitive and require special attention. The reproductive care, care during pregnancy, the menopausal maintenance, adolescence health needs, and overall nutrition care for the women mark the sensitivity of women’s health needs. The prisons have less effective in meeting the health needs of women. For instance, supplementation programs for pregnant women in prisons are not effective. Similarly, provisions for special care for lactating women in prisons are less effective. The care the health of the children, especially the infants born during the imprisonment period, is minimal. According to Halliday, 2017, women are more likely to suffer psychological and mental disorders during incarceration. The reason behind this is because women may be required to move away from their families or residence while serving the jail term. The detachment from family can cause psychological trauma, especially when the woman is the sole provider for her family or when she is a single parent. Coupled with the experiences during imprisonment, women are more vulnerable to psychological torture. The healthcare is thus a gender-specific issue in the prisons.
The male prisons normally have a large number of persons involved in violent offenses. However, women who are less involved in violent offenses often receive more severe disciplinary actions than their peers of the opposite gender. Certain research found out that those incarcerated women get more frequent and severe punishments than men. When the crimes and offenses committed by both genders are compared, the women tend to have committed rather petty offenses, yet they receive severe punishment (Leese,2018). The effects of harsh treatment are psychological distress and trauma. The correctional activities are thus gendered specific issues in prisons.
In addition to severe correctional activities, sexual exploitation, and insufficient health care services for women, vocational and educational programs are inadequate. These programs are critical for both genders since they help in the recovery process and also significantly assist the people to fall back to the normal life while encouraging indulgence in positive activities. The educational and vocational programs need to be incorporated in all the prisons. However, Scroggins found that such programs are few in women’s prisons compared to male prisons. In other words, this means that women are on the verge of falling back to their criminal activities soon after serving the term of imprisonment. Due to a lack of vocational training, which prepares people to earn a living by engaging in activities such as mansion work and other vocational activities, women may engage in more crime such as drug dealing and commercial sex to sustain themselves (Leese,2018). In general, women across the country lack training needed to obtain jobs that pay a living wage.
Finally, another gender-sensitive issue in prisons is a lack of diversified programs that cater to women’s needs during imprisonment. There a few pastime programs available to incarcerated women. Diversion programs are important since they help to reduce the pressure that the prisoners go through during the period of incarceration. An example of a diversion program is “boot camp,” a program that let offenders in their first time to take part in a rehabilitative and educational program for six-months. The program is only available for men in the United States prisons. Due to a lack of similar programs for women, the female prisoners are forced to serve all the years of their imprisonment term. In contrast, after completing the rehabilitative program, their peers are let free into the communities (Scroggins, & Malley, 2010). The diversion programs need to be incorporated for both genders.
In conclusion, there are many gender-specific issues in the prisons that remain unaddressed. Such problems make one gender to experience a less favorable or rather a harsh environment in the prisons. Additionally, the oppressed gender often fall back to crime offenses soon after serving the imprisonment term. The reason behind this is the lack of aggressive treatment and rehabilitative programs, which could otherwise promote recovery and increase the chances of behavior change. The unaddressed gender-specific issues make coping strategies for the minority difficult. Unfortunately, women fall the subjects of such issues due to their gender predisposition. Sexual abuse, severe correctional steps, poor health care, and hygiene, and lack of educational and vocational programs for incarcerated women are some of the gender-specific issues in prisons addressed in this essay.
References
Hagen, C., & Cochran, J. (2019). The Prison Research Gender Gap. Undergraduate Scholarly Showcase Program (Spring 2019).
Halliday, A., Miller, C., & Peterson, J. (2017). “What are women’s prisons for?” Gendered states of incarceration and history as an agent for social change. Museums & Social Issues, 12(1), 56-66.
Leese, M. (2018). Vulnerable Women: Meeting the needs of female offenders within a gender-specific service. Prison Service Journal, 235(17).
Sawyer, W. (2018). The gender divide: Tracking women’s state prison growth. Prison Policy Initiative, 9.
Scroggins, J. R., & Malley, S. (2010). Reentry and the (unmet) needs of women. Journal of Offender Rehabilitation, 49(2), 146-163.