Unintended Consequences of Regulatory Restraints to Control Sexual Abuse of Female Prisoners in Correctional Facilities

Corrections ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 211-222
Author(s):  
Eddie R. Cargor ◽  
Ravi Chinta ◽  
Ralph E. Ioimo
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Abuse ◽  
Unintended Consequences ◽  
Correctional Facilities ◽  
Female Prisoners

Vera and the Prison Rape Elimination Act

2011 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 42-43
Author(s):  
Tara Graham ◽  
Allison Hastings
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Abuse ◽  
Zero Tolerance ◽  
National Standards ◽  
National Commission ◽  
Correctional Facilities ◽  
Prison Rape ◽  
Prison Rape Elimination Act ◽  
Original Goal ◽  
The Creation

In 2003, Congress unanimously passed the landmark Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA). The legislation established a zero-tolerance standard for sexual abuse in U.S. correctional facilities. Implicitly, PREA recognized that sending individuals to facilities where sexual abuse is tolerated is equal to the imposition of a greater—and unintended—punishment. PREA also called for the creation of a national commission to study the causes and consequences of sexual abuse in confinement and to issue national standards for preventing, detecting, responding to, and monitoring such abuse. The Commissioners believe that standard compliance will result in achieving PREA's original goal: the protection of incarcerated individuals from sexual abuse.

scholarly journals Memories of the ‘inside’: Prison conditions in South African female correctional facilities

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caroline Abgoola
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
South African ◽  
Correctional Facilities ◽  
Female Inmates ◽  
Access To Education ◽  
Female Prisoners ◽  
Retrospective View ◽  
Reading Materials ◽  
Quality Of Food

The inadequate conditions of imprisonment in South African correctional facilities are well known. Health care, sanitation, food provision, access to education and reading materials, and in particular, the overcrowding, of female prisons are considerable challenges faced by the Department of Correctional Services (DCS) regarding the incarceration of female prisoners[i]. A retrospective view of the conditions under which female inmates in South African correctional facilities are incarcerated is examined in this paper. Findings indicate that prison conditions in some South African female correctional facilities are poor: health care and sanitation facilities are largely inadequate, the quality of food is poor, little or no reading materials are made available, and recreational facilities are largely absent. These conditions impact negatively on the female prisoners during, and sometimes, after their incarceration.

scholarly journals Prison Gangs

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Danilo Freire
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Property Rights ◽  
The United States ◽  
Unintended Consequences ◽  
The State ◽  
Correctional Facilities ◽  
Street Level ◽  
Illicit Markets ◽  
Prison Gangs ◽  
The Impact

Although widely seen as unruly and predatory, prison gangs operate as quasi-governments in many American correctional facilities. Inmate groups enforce property rights, regulate illicit markets, and promote cooperation when the state is unable or unwilling to act. Prison gangs are relatively new to the United States, and are best understood as unintended consequences of recent shifts in inmate demographics and the gradual erosion of the convict code. The impact of prison gangs on street-level criminal activities and directions for further research are also discussed.

Characteristics of Violent Crime Committed by Female Prisoners

2016 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 552-570 ◽  
Author(s):  
Judith S. Willison
Keyword(s):  
Violence Prevention ◽  
National Sample ◽  
Correctional Facilities ◽  
Department Of Justice ◽  
Violent Crimes ◽  
Female Prisoners ◽  
State Prisons ◽  
Domestic Setting ◽  
Violent Offenses ◽  
The U.S

This study expands limited existing knowledge of the characteristics of violent crimes for which women in state prisons are incarcerated. An analysis was conducted utilizing survey data collected from female state prisoners by the U.S. Department of Justice for the Survey of Inmates in State Correctional Facilities, 2004. The randomly selected, national sample consisted of 866 female state prisoners. Results suggest that the majority of the violent offenses occurred within the context of a relationship with the victim, most often in a domestic setting, and were influenced by the presence or absence of co-defendants. In addition, the use of weapons was infrequent and often defensive. Implications for practice in violence prevention, prison-based, and reentry services are discussed.

scholarly journals Memories of the ‘inside’: Prison conditions in South African female correctional facilities

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caroline Abgoola
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
South African ◽  
Correctional Facilities ◽  
Female Inmates ◽  
Access To Education ◽  
Female Prisoners ◽  
Retrospective View ◽  
Reading Materials ◽  
Quality Of Food

The inadequate conditions of imprisonment in South African correctional facilities are well known. Health care, sanitation, food provision, access to education and reading materials, and in particular, the overcrowding, of female prisons are considerable challenges faced by the Department of Correctional Services (DCS) regarding the incarceration of female prisoners[i]. A retrospective view of the conditions under which female inmates in South African correctional facilities are incarcerated is examined in this paper. Findings indicate that prison conditions in some South African female correctional facilities are poor: health care and sanitation facilities are largely inadequate, the quality of food is poor, little or no reading materials are made available, and recreational facilities are largely absent. These conditions impact negatively on the female prisoners during, and sometimes, after their incarceration.

Knowledge and violence experience of female prisoners in their past life

2011 ◽  
Vol 26 (S2) ◽  
pp. 1683-1683
Author(s):  
Z.A.P. Scherer ◽  
E.A. Scherer ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Abuse ◽  
Interpersonal Relations ◽  
Personal History ◽  
Semistructured Interview ◽  
Access To Education ◽  
Female Prisoners ◽  
Thematic Content Analysis ◽  
Alcohol And Drugs ◽  
Past Life ◽  
Education And Employment

IntroductionExposure to violence, particularly physical or sexual abuse, are frequently part of female prisoners’ past personal history.ObjectiveVerify female prisoners’ knowledge on violence and contextualize the violence they experienced, suffered or witnessed before prison.AimsGet to know the perceptions and meanings the female prisoners attributed to violence.MethodExploratory and descriptive study, carried out at the Female Penitentiary of Ribeirão Preto (SP) - Brazil. A semistructured interview was applied to 15 prisoners. The results were submitted to thematic content analysis.ResultsTwo categories were identified. “What violence is”: they recognized interpersonal (intra-family and community) and self-inflicted violence. Regarding the nature, they mentioned physical aggressions, sexual abuse, psychological abuse and negligence. They assess that these practices occur for random and futile motives, with family connivance and complicity. They consider violence a social problem, resulting from inequalities, lack of access to education and employment opportunities. “Violence in past life”: as victims and spectators - physical aggressions (body fight), sexual abuse and mistreatment in interpersonal relations (rejection, depreciation, discrimination, disrespect, intimidation, oppression, exaggerated charge or punishment). As perpetrators of physical aggression, homicides, assaults and drugs traffic, they appoint alcohol and drugs abuse as the main motivator for aggressions and crimes.ConclusionBased on this study, can be suggested the need to construct public policies against violence in primary care, mainly at home, where the violence cycle seems to start.

Feelings of Safety Inside Prison Among Male Inmates With Different Victimization Experiences

2009 ◽  
Vol 24 (6) ◽  
pp. 800-816 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nancy Wolff ◽  
Jing Shi
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Abuse ◽  
Adult Male ◽  
Correctional Facilities ◽  
The Past ◽  
Perceptions Of Safety ◽  
Male Inmates

Correctional facilities have a responsibility to take “reasonable measures” to preserve and protect inmate safety. The extent to which people inside prison feel safe from victimization is explored using a sample of approximately 7,000 adult male inmates housed in 13 prisons. The majority of male inmates reported no victimization in the past 6 months and that they felt safe, especially from sexual abuse and assault. Levels of feeling safe diminished for inmates who experienced victimization. Inmate perceptions of safety varied between facilities. Variation in perceptions of safety among harmful situations and between facilities provides useful information about inmate safety and ways to improve it (n = 104).

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