NCJ Number
156857
Journal
Corrections Today Volume: 57 Issue: 5 Dated: (August 1995) Pages: 74-76,78,80,82,84
Date Published
1995
Length
7 pages
Annotation
Women have been involved in the American Correctional Association (ACA) since its origin as the National Prison Association in 1870; their participation has been strongly influenced by their status in the larger community.
Abstract
At one time, women were almost systematically excluded from active participation in ACA and were denied leadership and line positions throughout adult and juvenile corrections. However, both women and men struggled, over the last 125 years, to ensure that the ACA truly adhered to the Declaration of Principles in all its activities. Elizabeth Gurney Fry, an English Quaker, was one of the first women active in prison reform. Frustrated by being shut out of male-dominated reform organizations, women formed their own national groups. Their efforts led to the establishment of separate women's correctional facilities and to experiments with alternatives to incarceration. Women's participation in the American Prison Association gradually increased in the 20th century. However, social and economic pressures following World War II reduced women's involvement in the workforce and in ACA. However, the time since 1970 represents a new era. Particularly important is their legal right to equal employment opportunities guaranteed by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which is currently under attack. History demonstrates that gains can easily be lost without supportive statutes, policies, and leadership. Photographs and 23 references