NCJ Number
100804
Date Published
1985
Length
28 pages
Annotation
The overview of female offenders and female prison inmates in Canada contends that society's treatment of women in general influences the reasons why women commit crimes and the problems they face in prison and upon release.
Abstract
A profile of Canadian women in conflict with the law begins with statistics on the incidence and nature of female crime. Factors contributing to female crime are discussed, with attention to poverty, the media, sex stereotyping, family violence, prostitution, drug and alcohol abuse, and problems peculiar to Native women. The booklet explores issues that are problematic for women in prison, particularly the lack of work, educational, or recreational programs. Other problems discussed are health care, child custody, the stigma of prison for Native women, and finding shelter and employment after prison. Alternatives to prison for women are surveyed: community residential centers, fines, fine options programs, bail supervision, and probation. Footnotes, photographs, and tables.