NCJ Number
84765
Date Published
1981
Length
14 pages
Annotation
This analysis discusses grounds for litigation in areas where female inmates' constitutional rights are violated.
Abstract
Most of the issues to be raised on behalf of the rights of female inmates are the same as those raised for males. The debilitating effects of incarceration are generally the same for both sexes. Where conditions in general are deplorable for both sexes, women have filed suits under the eighth amendment, alleging cruel and unusual punishment. On the other hand, where women have been treated more harshly solely because of their sex or denied equal access to programs, such treatment violates the 14th amendment's equal protection and due process clauses. Other suits protesting extreme invasion or violation of privacy allege violations of the fourth amendment. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1976 prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sex in employment can be used to challenge unequal employment opportunities for women. Similarly, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, which prohibits sexual discrimination in educational programs and activities receiving Federal aid, can be used to challenge comparatively inadequate vocational training programs for female inmates. Also, the recently enacted Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act gives the Attorney General authority to intervene in and to initiate civil actions on behalf of State or Federal prisoners. There is an annotated review of U.S. Supreme Court cases in the areas of access to programs, transfers, access to courts, medical care, privacy, and visitation. (Author summary modified)