Men and women have not shared equal rights as citizens in this country since the beginning of time. Over the past seventy years, women have taken steps to equalize the rights between men and women. Women have also increased their rate of incarceration rate over this time, could it have to do with inequality? But why are prison and incarceration rates still unequal between the two genders? What is causing this injustice in our criminal systems? These are the questions we are looking to answer in this research paper.
Purpose of Study
We selected this topic of study because gender is an untouched topic in our class. Most of the theories we have looked at are male dominated, and focus on why males commit crime. We focused on California in our study because it is the state with the largest population of women correctional facilities in the United States. Through our research we expect to learn why women account for one tenth of the prison population in California. We also expect to learn the different treatments of men and women in the justice systems of California. Our hypothesis for why women are treated differently than men in prison is because men are historically more dominate than women economically, socially, and politically. Men and women are incarcerated at different rates and also treated differently in prison because of the inequality through the justice system. This aspect correlates with feminist theories. Feminist theories help elaborate on our purpose of study because they explain and discuss the differences between men and women.
Research Design or Methodology
We used various sorts of secondary sources for our research paper. Some of our main sources were scholarly journals, books from the library, and newspaper articles. We thoroughly went through our findings, analyzed, and discussed them together as a group.
Review of the Past Literature
Women in Prison:
The Issue: Sexual Assault and Misconduct Against...