Digital Commons Network^™

Identifying Program Needs Of Women Detainees In A Jail Environment, Jeanna Michele Rodda

Theses and Dissertations

Since the 1980s, the population of incarcerated women has been steadily increasing. Approximately 200,000 women are incarcerated in prisons and jails in the United States (Clarke, Phipps, Tong, Rose, and Gold, 2010). There is an increasing level of comorbidity among the population of incarcerated women, with the majority requiring mental health, physical health, substance abuse and pregnancy services at the time of their incarceration or soon afterwards. Incarcerated women face a number of challenges; they are cut off from their primary support system and their children. Their physical health deteriorates, they lack appropriate coping skills, and often experience withdrawal symptoms. …

Title Ix And Social Media: Going Beyond The Law, Emily Suran

Michigan Journal of Gender & Law

The U.S. Department of Education is currently investigating over eighty colleges and universities for civil rights violations under Title IX. From a punitive standpoint, these investigations likely will have minimal impact. Indeed, since the Alexander v. Yale plaintiffs first conceived of Title IX in a sexual harassment context, the nondiscriminatory principles of Title IX have proven disappointingly difficult to enforce. However, in today’s world of grassroots social activism, Title IX has taken on a new, extralegal import. Title IX has become a rallying cry for college activists and survivors. Despite (or perhaps because of) its limitations as a law, it …

How Feminist Theory Became (Criminal) Law: Tracing The Path To Mandatory Criminal Intervention In Domestic Violence Cases, Claire Houston

Michigan Journal of Gender & Law

Our popular understanding of domestic violence has shifted significantly over the past forty years, and with it, our legal response. We have moved from an interpretation of domestic violence as a private relationship problem managed through counseling techniques to an approach that configures domestic violence first and foremost as a public crime. Mandatory criminal intervention policies reflect and reinforce this interpretation. How we arrived at this point, and which understanding of domestic violence facilitated this shift, is the focus of this Article. I argue that the move to intense criminalization has been driven by a distinctly feminist interpretation of domestic …

Coercive Assimilationism: The Perils Of Muslim Women's Identity Performance In The Workplace, Sahar F. Aziz

Michigan Journal of Race and Law

Should employees have the legal right to “be themselves” at work? Most Americans would answer in the negative because work is a privilege, not an entitlement. But what if being oneself entails behaviors, mannerisms, and values integrally linked to the employee’s gender, race, or religion? And what if the basis for the employer’s workplace rules and professionalism standards rely on negative racial, ethnic or gender stereotypes that disparately impact some employees over others? Currently, Title VII fails to take into account such forms of second-generation discrimination, thereby limiting statutory protections to phenotypical or morphological bases. Drawing on social psychology and …

Reflexivity: Interviewing Women And Men Formerly Addicted To Drugs And/Or Alcohol, Judith Grant

The Qualitative Report

This article considers how one researcher used reflexivity in two research projects. Qualitative research often involves a consideration of sensitive topics, one which may include research with individuals formerly addicted to drugs and/or alcohol. However, there is little in the literature that focuses directly on such experiences for researchers in this field; that is, a consideration of how a researcher might use reflectivity while interviewing those formerly addicted to substances. Exploring the following themes, I highlight how I reflected on the experiences that my participants (25 women and 25 men) revealed about their stories of their addiction and recovery processes: …

Addressing The Tension Between The Dual Identities Of The American Prostitute: Criminal And Victim; How Problem-Solving Courts Can Help, Brynn N.H. Jacobson

Seattle University Law Review

This Comment focuses on the sexual exploitation of both adult women and girls in the life of prostitution. The primary purpose is to explore the difficulties faced by American citizens who are exploited in prostitution (as opposed to foreign nationals who are subject to exploitation). This Comment focuses only on state and local prostitution laws, as opposed to global or federal laws on prostitution. It takes the position that prostitution is not a chosen profession for the vast majority and that prostitution is sexual exploitation. This Comment discusses the experiment of legalization and decriminalization in the Netherlands and Sweden as …

Where Have All The Women Gone? Trafficking On Women, A Global Problem, Kristeen L. Giese

Journal of Undergraduate Research at Minnesota State University, Mankato

This study examines the problems related to the trafficking on women. Trafficking on women presents a variety of social, legal and moral problems. This study uses a global perspective to define the role of women in society and its implications for the study of trafficking. Secondary data analysis was performed with specific emphasis on the role of women in society, economic factors and documented governmental and non-governmental responses to the problem. Results indicate that trafficking of women is a multi-layered issue. Research on trafficking is further complicated by in availability of data, inconsistent responses to the issue and the global …

At The Intersection Of Social Media And Rape Culture: How Facebook, Texting And Other Personal Communications Challenge The “Real” Rape Myth In The Criminal Justice System, Courtenay Daum, Holly Boux

University of Illinois Journal of Law, Technology & Policy

The “real” rape frame informs how both the criminal justice system and society in general understand rape and operationalize it as a crime. A significant contributor to the maintenance of rape culture in the United States is the belief that acquaintance rapes are not “real” rapes and that women who suggest otherwise are liars. The he said/she said dynamics of acquaintance rapes create ambiguities that work to the detriment of female victims seeking to pursue their cases in the criminal justice system because uncertainty allows individuals to resort to stereotypes and myths. Due to the fact that the “real” rape …

The Safety Of Women On College Campuses: Implications Of Evolving Paradigms In Postsecondary Education [July 2014], Carol E. Jordan

Psychology Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

An Exploration Of Sexual Victimization And Academic Performance Among College Women, Carol E. Jordan, Jessica L. Combs, Gregory T. Smith

Office for Policy Studies on Violence Against Women Publications

The literature has documented the widespread nature of sexual assault victimization among college women. While the aftermath of violence against university women has also received focus, that is, documenting trauma-related sequelae; risk factors; reporting patterns; and legal interventions, the impact on academic performance has not received adequate attention in the literature. The primary purpose of this study was to explore the association of rape and sexual assault with academic performance among college women. Its specific aims included the following: to compare high school and college sexual assault experiences with collegiate grade point averages (GPAs) at key points in time; to …

"If She Can Do It, So Can I": An Ethnography Of A Supportive Living Environment For Women In The Criminal Justice System And Their Children, Regina Cardaci

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

There are now more women in prisons and jails than at any time in United States history. A large number of these women will be returning to the community. Women returning to the community after release from prison or jail face numerous challenges to successful reentry, e.g., securing housing and employment. In addition, following separation and care of their children by others, women with children struggle to resume their roles as mother.

This dissertation is an exploration of a program that assists women transitioning from incarceration to the community. This program helps women by helping to develop job skills and …

Gender Differences And Impact On Addictions Treatment: Special Consideration For Working With Female Clients, Amy Horihan

Counselor Education Capstones

Special considerations when working with women with substance use disorders were assessed in comparison to male counterparts. Topics included gender differences relating to physiological, psychological and socio-cultural spheres. Treatment considerations related to trauma sensitivity, marginalization and stigma were addressed. Special considerations relating to female racial minority populations were evaluated and explored. Research included a comprehensive literature review of peer-reviewed journal articles, research studies and government report findings covering multiple disciplines: counseling, neuropsychology, medical, criminal justice and social work. Findings of this research revealed significant diversity and complexity within the American population of females struggling with chemical addiction. Due to this …

When Women Kill, Giovanna C. Lima

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The media is one of the strongest influences on how society views the criminal justice system and all actors therein. This is especially true for offenders of violent crime. Notably, women who kill are rare. However, when women do murder someone, the media tends to over expose them and portray them in different ways. The current study is intended to examine how the media portrays women murderers. In particular, this research is focused on how fictional and true crime programs portray female killers. Do they portray them in a positive or negative light? Do they portray them realistically? Are true …

No Blood In The Water: The Legal And Gender Conspiracies Against Countess Elizabeth Bathory In Historical Context, Rachael Leigh Bledsaw

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explains and discusses the conspiracies reported against the Hungarian noblewoman, Countess Elizabeth Bathory, regarding her confinement and the arrest of her accomplices in December 1610. The conspiracies state that the Countess was unjustly targeted and charged not because she was guilty of the deaths of several dozen girls from torture, but because she represented a threat to the Hapsburg Empire due to her wealth, her political influence, and her widowhood. This thesis explores the rationality of these two conspiracies using historical context regarding the position of noblewomen in Central and Eastern Europe and the function and use of …

Advancing Women's Health, Population Council

Momentum

IN THIS ISSUE: Celebrating leadership and a legacy: The Peter J. Donaldson Fund | Confronting sexual violence in Africa | Improving women's health through voucher programs | Bringing lifesaving treatment to the community level | Protecting women's health, promoting safe motherhood

Trauma Informed Nursing Care For Women Who Are Marginalized: An Educational Workshop, Jenna Fadlalla

Theses and Graduate Projects

Traumatic events profoundly affect both the physical and emotional health of a woman who endures the event. Gender, socioeconomic, racial, and ethnic disparities in rates of trauma exist showing that women who are marginalized are at a higher risk for trauma. Nurses are privileged to provide care for these women in their greatest times of need, yet despite the intimate relationship between nurses and their patients, trauma is a topic that remains largely unaddressed by the field of nursing. Because trauma can have such a profound effect on health, it is essential for nurses of all specialties and at all …

Criminalization Of Polygamy In Canada: Historical, Legal And Sociological Analysis, Washi Ahmed

Osgoode Legal Studies Research Paper Series

The Canadian Criminal Code criminalizes the act of polygamy pursuant to s.290, and bigamy (another act which is similar to polygamy) pursuant to s.293 under the assumption that such practices have an adverse impact on women and children. However, the history of the criminalization of polygamy in Canada suggests that it was enacted deliberately to marginalize a particular minority group. This paper is divided into four chapters. Chapter I discusses the historical background of polygamy and indicates that the criminalization of polygamy in Canada was an adoption of the American legal approach to Mormonism. Chapter II analyzes the provisions of …

The Sex Ratio, Gender Equality, And Women's Victimization : A Cross-National Analysis, Laura M. Demarco

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The relationship between the sex ratio and crime is underdeveloped in the criminological literature, particularly regarding the victimization of women. Much of the existing work draws on theorizing by Guttentag and Secord (1983) on the interpersonal dynamics related to dyadic power. In this line of research, the characteristics of structural power are largely taken for granted. Drawing on literature about gender inequality and women's victimization, this study recasts Guttentag and Secord's notion of structural power as a continuous measure of gender equality. I examine the effect of the sex ratio on women's victimization, and evaluate if that effect is contingent …

Dislocation And Relocation: Women In The Federal Prison System And Repurposing Fci Danbury For Men, Anna Arons, Katherine Culver, Emma Kaufman, Jennifer Yun, Hope Metcalf, Megan Quattlebaum, Judith Resnik

Faculty Publications

(Excerpt)

This Report tracks the lack of progress in keeping federal prison space in the Northeast available for women and the impact of the absence of bed-spaces for women on the implementation of federal policies committed to reducing over-incarceration. The problems began in the summer of 2013, when the federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) announced plans to transform its only prison for women in the Northeast—FCI Danbury—into a facility for men. The BOP explained that this self-described “mission change” was a response to the need to provide more low-security beds for male prisoners.

Women, Law, And Human Rights In Cameroon: Progress Or Status Quo?, Victoria M. Time

Sociology & Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

This paper assesses what progress there is in Cameroon regarding women’s statuses. Based on a qualitative strategy, the paper examines laws that are in place to address women’s plight in the country. The paper argues that while progress is being made on some levels, the status quo, that is, female marginalization is still entrenched in other facets. The paper advances recommendations for creating an egalitarian society.

A Home With Dignity: Domestic Violence And Property Rights, Margaret E. Johnson

All Faculty Scholarship

This Article argues that the legal system should do more to address intimate partner violence and each party's need for a home for several reasons. First, domestic violence is a leading cause of individual and family homelessness. Second, the struggle over rights to a shared home can increase the violence to which the woman is subjected. And third, a woman who decides to continue to live with the person who abused her receives little or no legal support, despite the evidence that this decision could most effectively reduce the violence. The legal system's current failings result from its limited goals-achieving …

Realities Of Religio-Legalism: Religious Courts And Women's Rights In Canada, The United Kingdom, And The United States, Anissa Helie, Marie Ashe

Publications and Research

Religio-legalism – the enforcement of religious law by specifically-religious courts that are tolerated or endorsed by civil government – has long operated against women’s interests in liberty and equality. In the 21st century, religious tribunals – Protestant, Catholic, Jewish, and Muslim – operate throughout the world. Almost all are male-dominated, patriarchal, and sex-discriminatory. Harms to women produced by Muslim or sharia courts have come into focus in recent years, but present realities of religio-legalism operating through Christian and Jewish – as well as Muslim – religious courts in Western nations have been under-examined.

This essay by Ashe and Helie documents …

The Politics Of Pretext: Vawa Goes Global, Deborah M. Weissman

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Advocates Of The Peace, A Qualitative Study Of Former Politically Motivated Female Prisoners And Conflict Resolution In Northern Ireland, Mary Mccourt

Dissertations

The Good Friday Agreement is extensively recognised and acknowledged as a successful model of conflict resolution. Prior to its implementation and in the aftermath of the agreement, former politically motivated female prisoners have been instrumental in securing support for the agreement and also sustaining the agreement in the grassroots communities in Northern Ireland. This study explores the roles in which former politically motivated female prisoners have undertaken in micro levels of conflict resolution and presents a gendered perspective of conflict resolution. Findings within this study reveal the grassroots activities of participants, which is aligned with preventing violence within interface communities …

Restorative Justice And Gendered Violence? From Vaguely Hostile Skeptic To Cautious Convert: Why Feminists Should Critically Engage With Restorative Approaches To Law, Melanie Randall

Dalhousie Law Journal

Legalremedies for crimes ofgendered violence that are more effective, expansive, creative, victim-centred, and victim-sensitive are urgently needed. The author argues that restorative justice is one promising approach -which warrants critical engagement and, more importantly, requires input from feminists in their efforts to end violence against women. The paper concludes with some key principles and recommended directions for further engagement between feminists and proponets of restorative justice in the development of approaches to the harms of gendered violence.

The Perceived Role Of Biological Father Contact In The Self-Estem Development Of Young African American Women : An Exploratory Study, Kendra R. Archer

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

This qualitative study was designed to explore how young self-identified women of African American and African descent describe the connection between their father-daughter relationships and their self-esteem development. This exploratory study presents findings and narratives from the perspectives of 14 self-identified women of African American and African descent between the ages of 22- 30 who had face-to face contact with their biological fathers for at least five years throughout their lives. It was expected that the African American women in this study would speak to their experiences of paternal love or rejection in ways, which were tied positively or negatively …

Women's Work Attitudes, Aspirations, And Workforce Participation Before And After Relocation From Public Housing, Edith J. Barrett

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

For the past decade or so, public housing policies have focused on moving residents from concentrated housing developments into newly designed mixed-income developments or, through housing choice vouchers, into neighborhoods with lower concentrations of poor. These newer programs are driven by research that suggests public housing residents will have greater opportunity for financial self-sufficiency and, although not openly discussed, will better appreciate the importance of work when they live among higher income working residents. Using panel data collected from public housing residents relocated following the closure of a public housing development, this study explores the relationship between individual characteristics, neighborhood …

Resilience And Syndemic Risk Factors Among African-American Female Sex Workers, Mance E. Buttram, Hilary L. Surratt, Steven P. Kurtz

CAHSS Faculty Articles

Research on street-based female sex workers documents a multitude of problems faced by these women, such as substance use, HIV risk, mental health problems, victimization, and homelessness. The presence of problems such as these is understood as a syndemic, or co-occurrence of two or more risk factors that act synergistically to create an excess burden of disease. However, the syndemic framework has not previously incorporated the examination of resilience to understand what protective factors enable female sex workers to cope with syndemic risk. Using 562 baseline interviews from street-based African-American female sex workers enrolled in a randomized intervention trial, this …

Narrative Framing Of U.S. Military Females In Combat: Inclusion Versus Resistance, James Scott Herford

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study utilizes discursive data to examine how the strategic use of narratives inform policies that shape women's participation in military service overall and more specific, the current controversy over exclusion of women from participation in combat roles within the U.S. military. Specifically, I examine popular military newspapers, blogs and the Department of Defense 2012 Report regarding policies and regulations of female service members. In this study, I provide a sociological analysis of current military-cultural narratives and the institutional narrative discussing women's participation in combat roles in order to provide evidence of the current threat to the military form of …

"Mom, Why Did You Have To Choose Him?": Women's Experiences With An Lntergenerational Cycle Of Intimate Partner Violence In A Conservative Christian Denomination, Michael Hermann

Journal of Interdisciplinary Undergraduate Research

The purpose of this paper is to provide a literature review about intimate partner violence and to present results from thirty-two qualitative interviews regarding women's experiences with an intergenerational cycle of abuse. The literature review presents a comprehensive summary of the literature of intimate partner violence. The review covers causes for IPV, types of gender asymmetry and symmetry, various effects on female survivors, an explanation for the cycle of abuse, possible effective interventions, limitations of existing studies, and it presents areas of research that still need to be studied.