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Intersectionality Pertaining To The Disproportionate Rates Of Black Women In Prisons And Jails, Mackenzie Heller

University Honors Theses

The incarceration rates of Black women in America surpass even all other demographics. Yet, Black women are often not on the news when discussing prison rates in the United States. Rather we see Black men, Hispanic men, and so forth. While these people do make up large portions of the prison system they are seeing a decline in their incarceration rates. Black women are often pushed to the sidelines when discussing matters that can be seen as central to their livelihoods.

This thesis addresses the intersectionality that only Black women experience and how that affects their imprisonment rates and experiences …

Batterer Intervention Program Evaluation: A Portland, Oregon Program Case Study, Julie M. Conner

University Honors Theses

Batterer intervention programming (BIP) has shown up as a source of treatment for men who abuse women since the late nineteen-seventies and have since continued to expand. Research has been done to examine how effective these programs are in many different settings at reducing intimate partner violence, but little is known about programs specific to the state of Oregon. BIPs are used as an alternative to incarceration for individuals convicted of domestic violence: existing programs are based on the Duluth Model and Cognitive Behavioral Theory (CBT). Other modalities have utilized trauma-informed approaches, psychoeducation, holistic modeling, and risks, need, and responsivity …

A Look At The Missing And Murdered Indigenous Women Crisis: Investigation Of Potential Causes And Effects, Verity Saige Vogel

University Honors Theses

In North America, Indigenous women go missing and are murdered at a rate higher than any other demographic. Scholars and governmental agencies agree that the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) crisis is a pressing issue; it was not until a series of successful social media campaigns (using the hashtag #MMIW) and other grassroots activism took root across First Nations and Native communities in North America that the gravity of the situation became widely reported. Although many agree that the MMIW crisis is a wicked problem (in that it has many contributing factors that amplify its effect and contribute to …

How Domestic Violence Affects Incarcerated Women, Michelle Ryman

University Honors Theses

The incarceration of women has grown seven times since the 1980s, with up to 90% of incarcerated women being survivors of domestic violence. Women are five times more likely to be abused by an intimate partner. Intimate partner violence leads to unhealthy coping mechanisms like drug abuse and violence against perpetrators. While coercion in IPV can contribute to violent retaliation and drug abuse, it can also lead to criminal behavior prompted by the perpetrator. Whether IPV shows itself as violent attacks, sexual assault, coercion, financial withholding, threats, isolation, psychological abuse, or any other behavior that allows one person to control …

Together Or Apart? The Effects A Parent's Relationship Dynamic Has On Their Child(Ren)'S Romantic Relationship, Kailee Delos Santos

University Honors Theses

The relationship between parents is considered one of the most influential interactions a child will experience; as it is usually the first relationship a child witnesses where personal values and interests develop (Stanger, 2019). Nonetheless, it is a consistently understudied population in family research and, when studied, children are primarily examined during adolescence and often only in the context of conflict and rivalry. Additionally, much of this research does not examine the effects of a child's romantic relationship on the larger family system. This thesis seeks to address this gap in the literature by understanding how the relationship of a …

Policing By Proxy: Interrogating Big Tech's Role In Law Enforcement, Claire Elizabeth

University Honors Theses

Predictive policing, sometimes referred to as data-driven or actuarial policing, is a method of policing that uses a risk-based approach to law enforcement. For-profit technology companies market proprietary risk assessment algorithms to law enforcement organizations as tools meant to proactively mitigate crime. Using data collected from a vast array of sources, both personal and public, police are able to "predict" the likelihood of criminal activity in a given area using these algorithms. Proponents claim that risk assessment tools have the potential to fight crime with unbiased accuracy and speed by predicting when, where, and whom to police by relying on …

Assessing The Accessibility Of The Judicial System's Arrest-To-Parole Timeline For People Who Are D/Deaf And Hard-Of-Hearing, Evelyn G. Birnbaum

University Honors Theses

The judicial system is inaccessible to many groups of people for a variety of reasons, one of those populations being the d/Deaf and Hard of Hearing community (DHH). This community faces prejudice and discrimination in many institutions because of their identity, but within the justice system, this prejudice is compounded and controlled by poor legislation and either the lack of, or barriers to, effective communication. At every point in the chronological timeline from getting arrested to achieving parole, individuals who are d/Deaf or Hard of Hearing face discrimination and obstacles that their hearing counterparts do not. The discrimination they face …

The American Grammar Of Policing As An Afterlife Of Slavery: Arguments For An Abolition Democracy, Emily E. Buss

University Honors Theses

Prison abolition has entered mainstream conversation in recent years as the uniquely American carceral system comes increasingly under fire for its racial disparities, police brutality and prison labor. While these issues are sometimes framed as newly emerging, this paper utilizes a Foucauldian genealogical approach in conversation with works by W. E. B. Du Bois, Angela Davis, and other thinkers from the black radical tradition to interrogate the evolving tendencies and underlying historical forces of racial capitalism and white supremacy that shape the contemporary American prison industrial complex. Emerging out of the experience of racial slavery, these forces constitute what Hortense …

Multiple Identities, Colorblind White Parents, And Persisting Adoption Stigma: Toward An Intersectional Perspective Of Asian American Transracial Adoption, Michelle Y. Leipzig

University Honors Theses

Asian TRAs' experiences are continually shaped by United States policies that were installed to safeguard the current White dominant power structure. The existential threat of COVID-19 imitates the fear-based conditions that historically galvanized the White dominant majority to execute sinophobic immigration laws, imprison hundreds of thousands of Japanese Americans during World War II, and overturn federal abortion rights for women - in a striking display of relevance, the last example occurred during the development of this thesis. Asian TRAs' proximity to Whiteness through their adoption into White families can prevent them from garnering the tools necessary to navigate a racist …

Understanding Male Sexual Victimization: An Expository Synthesis, Grecia D. Robledo Maciel

University Honors Theses

Sexual victimization is typically analyzed in our society through a gender-based lens, with the typecast scenario being that of a female victim and male offender. Because of this, male sexual victimization has been severely understudied, with many believing it is less common than it actually is. This lack of research and stigma surrounding the topic has severe consequences for male victims, who often face the same challenges in recovery as female victims, but with an added layer of complexity. Sexual scripts, gender roles, and male rape myths all contribute to this issue by framing women as "ideal victims" and minimizing …

The Killing Machine Of Juarez: A Literature Review On The Maquiladora Industry And Femicide In The City, Karla Kinzie Munoz

University Honors Theses

In Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, since 1993, more than 400 women have been killed, a conservative estimate due to the hundreds more that are still missing. These women were often employees at tariff and duty-free factories in the area. The factories, also known as maquiladoras contribute to the economy of the city after they were implemented in the Border Industrialization Program. Case studies and news articles reveal the connection between the maquilas and the growing number of femicides in the city. The working conditions and constant harassment of female employees contribute to the abuses the predominantly young women suffer. With the …

Investigating The Efficacy & Implications Of Abstinence-Based Drug Education, Sophia Hanken

University Honors Theses

The United States has a long and complex history surrounding substance use. Drug education programs have become widely implemented in American schools and the media. Policy, rhetoric, and ideology have directly affected the curriculum of drug education programs. Drug education in the United States centers around substance abstinence. While well-intended, abstinence-based drug education is not a pragmatic solution for reducing substance-related harm or promoting health. The purpose of this thesis is to critique two of the most widely used abstinence-based drug education programs; Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E) and Project ALERT. These programs often emphasize the dangers of substance use …

Child Success And Parental Marital Status: The Impact Of Mental Health, Poverty, And Trauma, Cambria Ort

University Honors Theses

Children are brought into this world under many different circumstances and to many different families. Some are planned, some are not; all come from families with a range of income, relationship status, and experiences. Throughout a child's life, there can be many changes in the family unit that impact the ways parents are available to care for their children. This includes divorce/separation, incarceration, co-parenting, married life, etc., relationship statuses may change over time. Different life stressors impact the financial wellbeing of a family and parents’ ability to spend time with their children. This study used secondary data analysis of the …