Women In Criminal Justice

Written by: Irfan Alim Shaikh, LL.M., Department of Law, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj University, Navi Mumbai

&

Supervisor: Dr. PANKAJ DWIVEDI– Department of Law, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj University, Navi Mumbai.

Abstract

This dissertation aims to investigate the impact that prison has upon female offenders concerning the criminal justice system's treatment of women in England and Wales. Research on this topic is needed because there is an identified gap in the literature about women in prison, and such data that does exist is fragmented and thus fails to adequately address women’s needs. This study will undertake a secondary analysis of existing research in order to consolidate current data and bridge the identified gap. The findings of this dissertation are that women have been excluded from criminal justice rhetoric for too long and that, given their complex needs and vulnerabilities, prison as a form of punishment enacts disproportionate harm upon women. Despite the evidence attesting to this, there is still a noticeable lack of public and political will for tangible criminal justice reform. This leads to several gendered and differential inequalities that are systematically imposed upon women at the hands of the prison system and the criminal justice system at large. It is concluded that it is this lack of public will that presents the largest barrier to achieving a more proportionate and appropriate form of punishment for women in the criminal justice system. To tackle these harms and inequalities, this work recommends implementing a policy of decarceration for women and adopting an overall shift towards a female-centred approach to penology.

Keywords: women, criminal justice, gender bias, legal rights, incarceration

IRFAN ALIM SHAIKH.pdf

Download PDF • 457KB

Volume 1 | Issue 5