Women have generally been involved in criminal justice mainly as victims compared to perpetrators. They make up close to fifty percent of victims of criminal acts with a lesser number of offenders. Women are looked down upon in the justice system yet this has been fairly ignored by stakeholders. However, the number of women in prison is still low compared to the number of men. It is also important to note that the rates at which women are being imprisoned for participating in violence related crimes have reduced. The rise in the number of women being incarnated is attributed to the change in policy that has for instance affected crimes related to drugs. Most women are usually involved in petty crimes and research shows that this is contributed largely by both sexual or physical abuse and emotions. The biological differences between men and women should be appreciated (Kaschak 1992, 11). Women needs are in most cases ignored in the establishments that make up the correctional system and this can be viewed as oppression. The following paper addresses some of the major challenges women in correctional institutions face and how they can be addressed to ensure they are not negatively affected by them.
Challenges faced by women in correctional institutions
Women serving prison sentences often face a lot of challenges that either come as a result of life before imprisonment or during the sentencing period itself. First of all, most of them are separated from their children and other important family members. A study undertaken in the year 1995 indicated that eighty percent of women imprisoned in California had children (Owen and Bloom, 1995). Such female prisoners tackle problems when it comes to maintaining a proper relationship with their children that is caused by either agency dealing with matters of child welfare or the system itself. The mother’s inability to keep in contact with the child is further dealt a blow by factors such as long distance from the prison to the homes housing the children. Most prison institutions also do not offer transport services to from the institutions to these homes. Furthermore, the little economic resources available deprive the mother of the ability to provide for the child. The children also suffer trauma that results from the arrest and unexpected separation from their mother. A majority of prisons never value how crucial a relationship between a mother and a child is. It is, therefore, important that adequate policies should be put in place to enable this relationship to develop.