NCJ Number
228098
Journal
The Prison Journal Volume: 89 Issue: 3 Dated: September 2009 Pages: 286-308
Date Published
September 2009
Length
23 pages
Annotation
This study examined the Correctional Service of Canada's (CSC's) operating practices and policies regarding two traditionally unfeminine types of conduct: intentional violence against oneself and violence against others.
Abstract
Findings indicate that the gender ideology shaping CSC's policies and practices maintains and reproduces the subordination of women prisoners. The findings also suggest that CSC reconstructed the women's conduct as misbehaved and unfeminine, which then warranted harsh and punitive responses. The misbehaved women were punished not only for their behavior, but also for not adhering to their traditional gender role. In this context, breaking the law or rules becomes secondary to a woman deviating from her feminine identity or traditional womanhood. Focusing on traditional constructions of womanhood reinforces the marginalization of women by CSC; as a result, the regulation of women prisoners takes a specific and gendered form that relies on the acceptance of traditional ideals of passive, feminine behavior. In possibly no other Canadian institution is the oppression of women as apparent as it is in corrections. Though the findings are not generalizable to other institutional contexts, they offer a starting point for future examinations. Data were collected through interviews with correctional personnel, analyses of correctional policies, and the Arbour Inquiry transcripts. Notes and references