Gender Inequalities and the Criminal Justice System, Essay Example

Although the general public might argue that fighting for the gender equality is the case of the history, the reality of the criminal justice system demonstrates a different situation. On various stages from consideration of bail, sentencing, time of imprisonment and further reintegration into society genders are treated differently. On the stage of bailing consideration, according to the law no difference regarding gender should be made; however, on various occasions, the parental status of females had a garter importance in contrast to male individuals. In other words, a single mother was more likely to be bailed than a single father (Hussemann and Page, 2011).

In terms of sentencing, one of the studied issues is that often women are given milder sentences than men under the same circumstances. In this regard, unless the severe crimes were committed by female serial killer or outrageous family violence case, women tend to be more often perceived as less violent and more as victims of circumstances than men (Terry, 2009). This is once again conditioned by the socially-constructed perception of women being weaker than men. In this case, the significant role is played by juries who judge the situation in terms of their personal interpretation of facts provided (Joly and Beckford, 2006).

On the other hand, regarding doing the time except for the existing prison order among inmates, women have the hazard of being abused sexually by the guards who are predominantly males (Player, 2014). This issue is a well-known violation in the system of justice, but it is also one of the most difficult to handle since on various occasions sexual act might take place by mutual consent for certain favours from the guards (Terry, 2009). Consequently, the inequality of doing the term creates extra pressure on the female inmates in their further recovery and reintegration into society. Although there are various rehabilitation programs for both genders, for women having the experience of using their body for favours in prison and not being able to find a job, the path to prostitution and further recidivism becomes more likely than in the case of males (Player, 2014).

References

Hussemann, J. and Page, J. (2011). Gender Diversity and the Prospects for Progressive Prison Reform. Women & Criminal Justice, 21.4, 267-289.

Joly, D. and Beckford, J. (2006). “Race” relations and Discrimination in Prison. Journal of Immigrant & Refugee Studies, 4.2, 1-30.

Player, E. (2014). Women in the criminal justice system: The triumph of inertia. Criminology and Criminal Justice, 14.3, 276-297.

Terry, G. (2009). No climate justice without gender justice: an overview of the issues. Gender & Development, 17.1, 5-18.