NCJ Number
100540
Journal
New England Journal on Criminal and Civil Confinement Volume: 11 Issue: 2 Dated: (Summer 1985) Pages: 93-101
Date Published
1985
Length
9 pages
Annotation
Canadian feminists and prison abolitionists should cooperate to build programs that protect females from violence, that recognize male violence against women as socially condoned, and that engage men in facing the causes of their violence.
Abstract
Prison abolitionists advocate a moratorium on prison construction, the deinstitutionalization of most inmates, the decriminalization of some existing offenses, and confinement of the relatively few dangerous offenders. Abolitionists provide little guidance on how dangerous offenders are to be identified. Insofar as abolitionists have not embraced a class analysis of crime and punishment, they have failed to address issues associated with violence against women. Abolitionists tend to view the community as a healthy and caring environment that can rehabilitate offenders, whereas prison further criminalizes them. Feminists view the community as a cultural institution that nurtures and reinforces male dominance of and aggression against women. Both prison abolitionists and feminists must cooperate in reforming communities to eliminate patriarchal values and the acceptance of aggression against women. 25 references and 5 notes.