This essay explores the differences in living standards and social life between male and female prisoners, as well as the reasons behind these differences.
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Running head: COMPARISON BETWEEN MALE AND FEMALE PRISON Comparison between male and female prison Name of the Student Name of the University Author Note
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1COMPARISON BETWEEN MALE AND FEMALE PRISON Life in prison is quite hard. People are incarcerated there as a result of certain crimes they have committed (Falk et al., 2017). While no gender discrimination is made when a judgment is passed, the life in prison with respect to the men and women gender varies widely. This is so because of certain guidelines of the prisons themselves where the guards are required to tackle the prisoners in a manner which is conducive to their gender identity (Olson, Stalans, and Escobar, 2016). This essay seeks to understand the differences in the living standards of the men and women in the prison and their social life in the prison. The essay concludeswith understanding the reason behind the prevalence of such differences. According to the United States of America incarnation rates, 2010, 126 females per 1000 were incarcerated while 1352 per thousand males were incarcerated(Prison Initiative). This discrepancy follows from the view point that in a situation of crime, it is usually often the male who is likely to cause the crime (Rafter, 2017). Women are often considered to be the weaker of the two genders and hence, the police believe that they cannot be the one to commit any crimes. It is this view point of the authorities of the state which has brought about many differences in the standard of living of the two genders. One of the leading differences in the standard of life as experienced by the men and women in the prison is that of the mortality rates between the two. A research study was conducted on the men who were imprisoned in Texas between 1992 and 2003. In the study, it was revealed that the various causes of death among the men were cardiovascular diseases, infections and even cancer. Many of the male prisoners were also infected by AIDS. The prevalence of this cause can be noted from the fact that the environment of the male prisons are a
2COMPARISON BETWEEN MALE AND FEMALE PRISON lot more unhygienic than the prisons which hosts the female prisoners.Moreover, the health needs of the women are also different from that of the male population, whether they are prisoners or non-prisoners. As a consequence, it is necessary that the women prisoners should be living in a cleaner and hygienic environment when compared to the prisons of the male population. Another difference in the standard of living in the prisons belonging to the two genders has been enumerated by the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners("U.N. Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners"). According to the guidelines, it has been stated that the women prisons must necessarily have certain special accommodation for the women such as pre-natal care and post-natal treatment. There can be instances where a pregnant mother is imprisoned for her crimes (Benning and Lahm, 2016). However, care needs to be taken that the taint of the mother’s crimes should not be reflected on the character of the child. In this sense, the prison should ensure that at the time of delivery of the child, it should be done at a nearby hospital from the prison("U.N. Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners"). Furthermore, if the child is born in the prison then this information should not be mentioned in any document such as the birth certificate of the child. With respect to security of the prison, certain important differences can also be noticed. In a prison for women, no male personnel is allowed to enter unless he is accompanied by a female officer. Moreover, the women prisoners are required to be supervised only by women personnel for their own safety and level of comfort. For here, it can be observed that more attention has been paid to the level of safety and comfort of the women prisoners than the male prisoners. No restrictions as such as in existence in the cases of the male prisoners.
3COMPARISON BETWEEN MALE AND FEMALE PRISON In conclusion, it can be observed that the differences in the organization of the male and the female prisons and the corresponding differences in the standard of life between the two is due to the prevalence of the characteristics of such institutions which follows from the perceived gender differences. The male prisoners are seen to be committing more serious crimes while the female prisoners are conceived to be under pressure while committing a crime. As a result, the correctional institutions are set up according to this thought process where the female prisons are given more chances to rectify themselves.
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4COMPARISON BETWEEN MALE AND FEMALE PRISON References: "U.N. Standard Minimum Rules For The Treatment Of Prisoners."Hrw.org. N.p., 2019. Web. 18 Apr. 2019. Benning, Carin L., and Karen F. Lahm. "Effects of parent–child relationships on inmate behavior: A comparison of male and female inmates."International journal of offender therapy and comparative criminology60.2 (2016): 189-207. Falk,Örjan,etal."Personalityandtraitaggressionprofilesofmaleandfemaleprison inmates."Psychiatry research250 (2017): 302-309. Initiative, Prison. "Incarceration Rates By Gender."Prisonpolicy.org. N.p., 2019. Web. 18 Apr. 2019. Olson, David E., Loretta J. Stalans, and Gipsy Escobar. "Comparing male and female prison releasees across risk factors and postprison recidivism."Women & Criminal Justice26.2 (2016): 122-144. Rafter, Nicole.Partial justice: Women, prisons and social control. Routledge, 2017.