Gendered Pathways Into Crime = Gendered Pathways Out of Crime

Programs in prisons that are tailored to women’s unparalleled needs would benefit society in the grand scheme of things. On an individual level it could break the cycle of abuse, victimization, and self-loathing. It is essential that the double damage done to female offenders be repaired because they deserve an unbiased chance at a good life. After all, they could represent your mother, aunt, sister, niece, wife and girlfriend. In her book, A woman doing life: Notes from a prison for women, Erin George did a fine job in depicting the life of women during the time they were incarcerated. She also included a light reflection of what life was like before prison and what life could be like after prison. This book included vivid passages of how women went about their daily routines in prison. It also provided enlightening details on the stark contrast between jail and prison. More importantly, this text was not only written from Erin George’s own observations and experiences, she included the perspectives of her fellow prison mates and even stories from correctional officers. The purpose of this text came across as a way to provide readers with completely detailed phenomenological accounts of prison life for women. These stories were described in such a descriptive fashion that a reader could easily picture the incidences that occurred. The depth of the book included information about debunking myths and stereotypes of female offenders, the lack of prisoner’s rights and the impossibility of parole, along with many other insightful observations. Overall, her intention came across as a genuine means to provide readers with a holistic portrayal of the world of women in prison.

Much of what the public knows about male and female offender...

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Implications for the criminal justice system. In Z. Ruth (Ed.), Female Offenders: Critical Perspectives and Effective Interventions (2nd ed) (pp.1-25). Sudbury: Jones and Bartlett Publishers Inc.

Covington, S, & Bloom, B.E. (1998, November). Gender-specific programming for female offenders: What is it and why is it Important?. Paper presented at the 50th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Criminology, Washington, D.C.

DeKeseredy, W. (2009). Female crime: Theoretical perspective. In J. Barker (Ed.), Women and the criminal justice system: A Canadian perspective (pp. 31-59). Toronto: Emond Montgomery.

George, E. (2010). A woman doing life: Notes from a prison for women (R. Johnson, ed.). New York: Oxford University Press

Pollock, J. (2010). “Afterword,” in E. George & R. Johnson (ed.) A woman doing life: Notes from a prison for women, pp. 176-185.