Results of a National Survey of Wardens in Women's Prisons: The Case for Gender Specific Treatment

Abstract

The pathways that lead a female child into ultimate criminality and imprisonment are unique to the female gender. Yet the criminal justice system today, partly due to a backlash against the women's movement, is sending women to prison in unprecedented numbers. Women's prisons today are constructed and operated according to a model developed to contain antisocial males. This article summarizes findings from a national survey of women's prison administrators to argue the case for a gender specific model for the treatment of female offenders. © 2006 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved.