Unit C - Blog 15

Women’s prisons have constantly been increasing for over half a century now. There are many reasons for this increase. One reason this can be said is because the numbers are compared to men’s numbers. Another reason is because of the small amount of women that were incarcerated in the past. Women weren’t imprisoned a lot during early part of the 20th century. There was also a strong transformation in the justice system that allowed for stiffer penalties and stronger sentencing. In addition to all of these reasons women have also had population growth as well. There is also a correlation between the region or state and the ratio of women prisoners to men prisoners. One great example of this would be the strict DUI laws in Arizona. If a woman were to get a DUI in another state, she likely wouldn’t have to serve any jail time. I know of two women that have had to serve over four months in prison for DUI charges. Arizona is the strictest. As time progressed, more and more laws were implemented, and the overall views of women began to transform. Women have, and have had, an image of being lady-like and proper. Men and masculinity have the image of being violent and aggressive. Many crimes are affiliated with violence, and that is one reason why men are, and were, incarcerated more frequently than women. Women were also affiliated with certain types of crime such as shoplifting, prostitution, and passing bad checks (Greene, Pranis, Pg. 21). As women became more liberated and our society transformed, more and more women began having violent crimes as well. This went away from some of the notions that implied properness and being “lady-like.” The article Growth Trends and Recent Research also indicated that drug use and dealing became a factor with women as well. Arizona has always been a strict state an incarceration. Before they even were declared a state they already had a prison. This prison was in Yuma and was considered very strict and brutal. This prison included women even way back in the early 20th century. The male to female ratio was still uneven though. During the article Early ADC History it mentioned how women were often pardoned and didn’t receive as harsh penalties. This was apparent in the Growth Trends and Recent Research article as well when the discussed it, as well as discussed the statistics affiliated with it. Overall, women imprisonment rates continue to increase. There are numerous reasons for this including state policies and laws, feminist progression, female growth, and harsher penalties and reforms.