NCJ Number
145930
Journal
British Journal of Criminology Volume: 33 Issue: 4 Dated: (Autumn 1993) Pages: 525-540
Date Published
1993
Length
16 pages
Annotation
Between 1840 and 1921, significant changes occurred in English, Welsh, and Scottish prisons that affected the manner in which female prisoners were disciplined.
Abstract
The changes were exemplified by the rise and fall of mid-19th Century evangelical approaches, prison centralization in 1878, the emergence of the borstal system in the early 20th Century, and a decline in the number of English and Welsh prisons after 1970. Between 1840 and 1921, the single cell dominated the prison system for both men and women, but there were clear differences in the treatment of female prisoners. For example, in the 1870's, female prisoners could earn one-third remission, as compared to only one-fourth remission for male prisoners. Some historians contend that women were more intensively punished than men in order to condition them in accordance with stereotyped gender roles. Others disagree, stating that characteristics of prison discipline for males and females were similar. One researcher who interviewed women in Victorian prisons found that they were extremely vulnerable when their husbands or partners left them, especially if they had dependent children or babies. This study also found that female prisoners experienced bereavement and loss more generally than through desertion by men, that they felt desolation in the face of violence and abuse, and that they were often disabled. Most female prisoners who wrote about their experiences in the later 19th and early 20th Centuries indicated that prison reduced their natural vitality and hopefulness. With respect to correctional staff, Great Britain's Home Office and Prison Commission appeared to systematically discriminate against female officials; outside pressure groups represented a key factor in securing senior appointments for women. 53 references and 14 footnotes