Abstract
The object of imprisonment is not only to keep society safe, but also to make efforts to rehabilitate offenders in order to be successfully reintegrated into society upon release. The past two decades have seen an alarming increase of imprisoned women. The number of incarcerated women increased by 587% between 1980 and 2011—1.5 times the rate of men (Fact Sheet, December, 2012). However, even with the dramatic increase, women in prison comprise only 7% of the total national prison population (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2014). Due to this underrepresentation, this population is often ignored in corrections research resulting in limited theory development and services that are specifically designed for women. The majority of …show more content…
A great amount of women who enter the prison system are in great need for therapeutic treatments and drug rehabilitation programs that are designed to meet their specific needs. Without appropriate treatment and programs in prison, women are being sent back into the community without the necessary tools to achieve a successful reentry. This leads women back to commit the same crimes that led them to their initial incarceration. In order to reduce the recidivism rate, treatment for women in prison should be designed differently than those for men. Being able to identify and meet the needs of women in prison through rehabilitation and therapeutic programming is perhaps the key to a successful community reintegration. By increasing our understanding of women’s specific needs, correctional authorities, community support organizations, and others can play a more active role in supporting women in prison. An important component of this project is that it complements a very scarce but growing body of literature that can aid with the development of a more specialized and effective treatment for women while in prison. Although all to the factors regarding the complexity of this issue are not solvable in one thesis, this project will hopefully contribute to and build on the research in this important area. The development of this research is significant because understanding the needs and problems that females in prison face will contribute to the development of effective programming and the creation of policies for successful community reintegration in the
The object of imprisonment is not only to keep society safe, but also to make efforts to rehabilitate offenders in order to be successfully reintegrated into society upon release. The past two decades have seen an alarming increase of imprisoned women. The number of incarcerated women increased by 587% between 1980 and 2011—1.5 times the rate of men (Fact Sheet, December, 2012). However, even with the dramatic increase, women in prison comprise only 7% of the total national prison population (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2014). Due to this underrepresentation, this population is often ignored in corrections research resulting in limited theory development and services that are specifically designed for women. The majority of …show more content…
A great amount of women who enter the prison system are in great need for therapeutic treatments and drug rehabilitation programs that are designed to meet their specific needs. Without appropriate treatment and programs in prison, women are being sent back into the community without the necessary tools to achieve a successful reentry. This leads women back to commit the same crimes that led them to their initial incarceration. In order to reduce the recidivism rate, treatment for women in prison should be designed differently than those for men. Being able to identify and meet the needs of women in prison through rehabilitation and therapeutic programming is perhaps the key to a successful community reintegration. By increasing our understanding of women’s specific needs, correctional authorities, community support organizations, and others can play a more active role in supporting women in prison. An important component of this project is that it complements a very scarce but growing body of literature that can aid with the development of a more specialized and effective treatment for women while in prison. Although all to the factors regarding the complexity of this issue are not solvable in one thesis, this project will hopefully contribute to and build on the research in this important area. The development of this research is significant because understanding the needs and problems that females in prison face will contribute to the development of effective programming and the creation of policies for successful community reintegration in the