Gender, Prison and Reentry Experiences
Gender, Prison and Reentry Experiences

Author: Silvia Gomes

Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Published: 2024-04-30

Total Pages: 232

ISBN-13: 1040026796

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This book explores the unique reentry experiences of incarcerated men and women who are about to be released from prisons in Portugal. By analysing gendered reentry experiences through the narratives of men and women, Gender, Prison and Reentry Experiences sheds light on current practices and strategies adopted in prisons regarding reentry and examines the structural, institutional, and personal barriers that infl uence the reentry outcome. Gender, Prison and Reentry Experiences examines the narratives built around an individual’s prison experiences, their perception of the prison’s impact on reentry, and their expectations after release. It reveals how men and women narrate and attribute meaning to their time in prison and how they navigate their ‘prisoner’ and ‘gendered’ identities. In doing so, this book demonstrates the importance of these identities in relation to recidivism and desistance, while also questioning the role incarceration has in further criminalising and obstructing an individual’s reentry process. It puts forward recommendations that aim to improve the lives of all incarcerated individuals within the current system, in addition to advocating for decarceration and prison abolition. It presents a novel contribution to the internationalisation of knowledge across multiple disciplinary subfi elds, namely critical reentry studies and feminist criminology, fi lling a gap in the current knowledge as few studies focus on prison experiences as a core aspect of understanding the reentry process. An accessible and compelling read, this book will appeal to students and scholars of criminology, sociology, law, desistance studies, and those interested in gaining a unique insight into the experience of incarcerated individuals.

The Ex-Prisoner's Dilemma
The Ex-Prisoner's Dilemma

Author: Andrea M. Leverentz

Publisher: Rutgers University Press

Published: 2014-03-20

Total Pages: 249

ISBN-13: 0813562295

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When a woman leaves prison, she enters a world of competing messages and conflicting advice. Staff from prison, friends, family members, workers at halfway houses and treatment programs all have something to say about who she is, who she should be, and what she should do. The Ex-Prisoner’s Dilemma offers an in-depth, firsthand look at how the former prisoner manages messages about returning to the community. Over the course of a year, Andrea Leverentz conducted repeated interviews with forty-nine women as they adjusted to life outside of prison and worked to construct new ideas of themselves as former prisoners and as mothers, daughters, sisters, romantic partners, friends, students, and workers. Listening to these women, along with their family members, friends, and co-workers, Leverentz pieces together the narratives they have created to explain their past records and guide their future behavior. She traces where these narratives came from and how they were shaped by factors such as gender, race, maternal status, age, and experiences in prison, halfway houses, and twelve-step programs—factors that in turn shaped the women’s expectations for themselves, and others’ expectations of them. The women’s stories form a powerful picture of the complex, complicated human experience behind dry statistics and policy statements regarding prisoner reentry into society for women, how the experience is different for men and the influence society plays. With its unique view of how society’s mixed messages play out in ex-prisoners’ lived realities, The Ex-Prisoner’s Dilemma shows the complexity of these women’s experiences within the broad context of the war on drugs and mass incarceration in America. It offers invaluable lessons for helping such women successfully rejoin society.

Public Health Behind Bars
Public Health Behind Bars

Author: Robert Greifinger

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2007-10-04

Total Pages: 588

ISBN-13: 0387716955

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Public Health Behind Bars From Prisons to Communities examines the burden of illness in the growing prison population, and analyzes the impact on public health as prisoners are released. This book makes a timely case for correctional health care that is humane for those incarcerated and beneficial to the communities they reenter.

Entry Lessons
Entry Lessons

Author: Jorja Leap

Publisher: Beacon Press

Published: 2022-04-26

Total Pages: 290

ISBN-13: 080702287X

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“A call to action … A reminder of the beautiful resilience of formerly incarcerated women and a celebration of all that they have to offer.” —Susan Burton, author of Becoming Ms. Burton and founder of A New Way of Life Urgent and empathetic, Entry Lessons is one of the first examinations of the lasting impact of incarceration on women and their families Recent reports show that women make up the fastest-growing population within the United States’ criminal justice system. And yet, despite necessary conversations about incarceration and prison abolition, their stories of abuse, neglect, poverty, and family separation often go untold. Now, through immersive storytelling and expert analysis of women’s lives after prison, anthropologist Jorja Leap explores their journeys into, through, and beyond the jail cell. In these pages, you’ll meet women like: –Ivy and Janet, accused of murder, whose intertwined stories of childhood harm, domestic abuse, and gang violence unfold throughout the book –Denise, who confronts the lasting impact of her childhood sexual trauma as she struggles with relationships and the realities of homelessness –Rosa, a survivor of sex trafficking whose relationship with her mother—her trafficker—is fraught with conflicting feelings she works to resolve –Carmen, whose search for love ultimately endangers not just her life but also the lives of her children –Clara, who survived placement in the child welfare system only to experience having her own children sent to foster care –Angela and Ronnie, two women navigating the complexities of sexuality and queerness in and out of prison Leap chisels away at superficial narratives to unearth pasts rife with struggle and oppression. She reveals the sharp edges of reentry and the wounds suffered by these women and their families, exposing a cycle of trauma that powers the revolving door of reentry and reincarceration. And, still, Entry Lessons is a book of hope just as much as it is of pain. Leap calls for systemic change through the development of meaningful reentry programs and policies that will have a lasting, life-changing impact on women as they rebuild their lives and especially as they are able to reclaim their children.

Health and Incarceration
Health and Incarceration

Author: National Research Council

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2013-08-08

Total Pages: 67

ISBN-13: 0309287715

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Over the past four decades, the rate of incarceration in the United States has skyrocketed to unprecedented heights, both historically and in comparison to that of other developed nations. At far higher rates than the general population, those in or entering U.S. jails and prisons are prone to many health problems. This is a problem not just for them, but also for the communities from which they come and to which, in nearly all cases, they will return. Health and Incarceration is the summary of a workshop jointly sponsored by the National Academy of Sciences(NAS) Committee on Law and Justice and the Institute of Medicine(IOM) Board on Health and Select Populations in December 2012. Academics, practitioners, state officials, and nongovernmental organization representatives from the fields of healthcare, prisoner advocacy, and corrections reviewed what is known about these health issues and what appear to be the best opportunities to improve healthcare for those who are now or will be incarcerated. The workshop was designed as a roundtable with brief presentations from 16 experts and time for group discussion. Health and Incarceration reviews what is known about the health of incarcerated individuals, the healthcare they receive, and effects of incarceration on public health. This report identifies opportunities to improve healthcare for these populations and provides a platform for visions of how the world of incarceration health can be a better place.

Beyond Recidivism
Beyond Recidivism

Author: Andrea Leverentz

Publisher: NYU Press

Published: 2020-05-05

Total Pages: 388

ISBN-13: 147986272X

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Understanding reentry experiences after incarceration Prison in the United States often has a revolving door, with droves of formerly incarcerated people ultimately finding themselves behind bars again. In Beyond Recidivism, Andrea Leverentz, Elsa Y. Chen, and Johnna Christian bring together a leading group of interdisciplinary scholars to examine this phenomenon using several approaches to research on recently released prisoners returning to their lives. They focus on the social context of reentry and look at the stories returning prisoners tell, including such key issues as when they choose to reveal (or not) their criminal histories. Drawing on contemporary studies, contributors examine the best ideas that have emerged over the last decade to understanding the challenges prisoners face upon reentering society. Together, they present a complete picture of prisoner reentry, including real-world recommendations for policies to ensure the well-being of returning prisoners, regardless of their past mistakes.

Gender, Psychology, and Justice
Gender, Psychology, and Justice

Author: Corinne C. Datchi

Publisher: NYU Press

Published: 2017-04-18

Total Pages: 327

ISBN-13: 1479885843

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Reveals how gender intersects with race, class, and sexual orientation in ways that impact the legal status and well-being of women and girls in the justice system. Women and girls’ contact with the justice system is often influenced by gender-related assumptions and stereotypes. The justice practices of the past 40 years have been largely based on conceptual principles and assumptions—including personal theories about gender—more than scientific evidence about what works to address the specific needs of women and girls in the justice system. Because of this, women and girls have limited access to equitable justice and are increasingly caught up in outdated and harmful practices, including the net of the criminal justice system. Gender, Psychology, and Justice uses psychological research to examine the experiences of women and girls involved in the justice system. Their experiences, from initial contact with justice and court officials, demonstrate how gender intersects with race, class, and sexual orientation to impact legal status and well-being. The volume also explains the role psychology can play in shaping legal policy, ranging from the areas of corrections to family court and drug court. Gender, Psychology, and Justice provides a critical analysis of girls’ and women’s experiences in the justice system. It reveals the practical implications of training and interventions grounded in psychological research, and suggests new principles for working with women and girls in legal settings.

Outlaw Women
Outlaw Women

Author: Susan Dewey

Publisher: NYU Press

Published: 2019-08-06

Total Pages: 277

ISBN-13: 1479845736

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A journey into the experiences of incarcerated women in rural areas, revealing how location can reinforce gendered violence Incarceration is all too often depicted as an urban problem, a male problem, a problem that disproportionately affects people of color. This book, however, takes readers to the heart of the struggles of the outlaw women of the rural West, considering how poverty and gendered violence overlap to keep women literally and figuratively imprisoned. Outlaw Women examines the forces that shape women’s experiences of incarceration and release from prison in the remote, predominantly white communities that many Americans still think of as “the Western frontier.” Drawing on dozens of interviews with women in the state of Wyoming who were incarcerated or on parole, the authors provide an in-depth examination of women’s perceptions of their lives before, during, and after imprisonment. Considering cultural mores specific to the rural West, the authors identify the forces that consistently trap women in cycles of crime and violence in these regions: felony-related discrimination, the geographic isolation that traps women in abusive relationships, and cultural stigmas surrounding addiction, poverty, and precarious interpersonal relationships. Following incarceration, women in these areas face additional, region-specific obstacles as they attempt to reintegrate into society, including limited social services, significant gender wage gaps, and even severe weather conditions that restrict travel. The book ultimately concludes with new, evidence-based recommendations for addressing the challenges these women face.

Prisoner Reentry and Crime in America
Prisoner Reentry and Crime in America

Author: Jeremy Travis

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2005-08

Total Pages: 284

ISBN-13: 9780521849166

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The contributors question the causes of public concern about the number of returning prisoners, the public safety consequences of prisoners returning to the community and the political and law enforcement responses to the issue.