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This project examined gender-based descriptions of violence and safety in women's correctional facilities. In describing this context, multiple methods were used to assess the range of factors contributing to violence in women's facilities. While sexual violence among and against women was a significant focus of this research, the project took a broader view of the correlates of violence and safety in female facilities across multiple dimensions. Study sites included two prison systems and three jails. In Phase One of the project, over 200 women inmates and staff working in these female facilities participated in focus group interviews. Phase Two saw the development and validation of an instrument grounded in these focus group narratives. This survey was validated through a subject matter expert assessment process and through administration to almost 800 women from the selected sites. These two sets of data had been combined in making recommendations regarding the application of the standards relating to the implementation of the Prison Rape Elimination Act and assisting in operational practice in female facilities. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, a group of 24 criminal justice majors from San Diego State University embarked on an intensive and life-changing five-day excursion through eight famous correctional institutions all over California, replicating something that nearly 2,000 of their predecessors had done over the past 25 years. In a completely unprecedented move, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation permitted a professional film crew to accompany them on this incredible adventure. The result was the compilation of nearly 25 hours of footage and a one-of-a-kind feature documentary movie, beginning with pre-excursion interviews with the students, incredible footage of they move through the likes of Folsom, San Quentin, Salinas Valley, and the largest women's prison in the world, and engage in candid and animated exchanges with inmates, guards, wardens, and each other. The program concludes with a set of powerful post-trip interviews, as students confide in how revealing and life-altering the entire experience was for them. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent research on gender-responsive risk factors demonstrates that needs unique to women offenders are related to women's prison adjustment as well as their recidivism in the community. This study focuses on the impact of parenting and parenting issues on the future offending of probations Female probationers from Minnesota, Missouri, and Maui, Hawaii, were examined with regard to gender-responsive needs pertaining to abuse, victimization, housing safety, anger, anxiety/depression, psychosis, parental stress, relationship difficulties, family support, educational assets, self-concept problems, and gender neutral factors pertaining to criminal history, substance abuse, financial problems, criminal associates, and criminal thinking At 12 and 24 month time periods, risk factors for mothers were compared to those for women who were not mothers. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Set within the framework of feminist theories of female incarceration,this paper presents findings from a study of the first new prison for women in Ireland for almost 200 years.The Dochas Centre ,the new prison,had an innovative design and regime directed at the needs of individual offenders.Conducted in the first 30 months of the project,the research involved interviews and observations .A number of similar experiments resulted in benevolent intentions being undermined by internal and external factors.By contrast,this study shows that despite initial setbacks and ongoing challenges,the underlying aspirations remained intact.This is an encouraging example of how sustained commitment to an ideal can offer encouragement in an otherwise bleak picture of female incarceration at the start of the 21st century. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent decades the number of women under criminal justice supervision has increased considerably. Approximately a quarter of all women under the care or custody of adult criminal justice authorities have been convicted of a drug offense. Additionally, beyond being arrested and convicted for a drug offense, women in prison are more likely than their non-institutionalized counterparts to suffer from a substance abuse disorder. While there is a growing body of research concerning women offenders' drug abuse and treatment needs, few studies have examined the substance abuse treatment outcomes of women in the criminal justice system. Using data from the Forever Free Residential Substance Abuse Treatment Program at the California Institution for Women, this study expands upon previous literature by looking at the influence of social support, family functioning, and substance abuse by friends and family on women's substance abuse relapse within 12 months following prison-based treatment. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While sexual abuse is acknowledged as a persistent problem behind bars, the impact on victims and the free community is often underscored. In order to assist correctional facilities in releasing more stable inmates into society, this issue must be properly addressed. This paper examines the unique culture of female prisons and the role it has on sexual abuse, both among inmates and with correctional staff. General problems with collecting sexual assault data are discussed, as well as the difficulties when comparing male and female facilities. This paper ends with a discussion of the implications for future research. While the characteristics of inmates have been explored, other characteristics should be explored so that more accurate predictions of an "at-risk" population can be identified. Attitudinal surveys should be distributed to inmates in order to gauge opinions on homophobia and homosexuality. The value of longitudinal studies is discussed. By exploring the impact sexual abuse has on offenders that are released back to their respective communities, a more in-depth knowledge of issues such as rape trauma syndrome, homosexuality and the cycle of violence can be studied. In order to accomplish these goals, it is necessary to develop qualitative interviews. In order to identify a general profile for victims, questions regarding the total criminal history of offenders must be analyzed. Furthermore, attitudinal questions should be included to capture perspectives on homophobia, homosexuality, and sexual abuse, both while incarcerated and for follow-up periods after release to examine how these attitudes impact the free community. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This poster draws upon data from over ten years' research in women's prisons in the UK. It highlights the main health issues for incarcerated women, taking the broadest possible definition of the term 'health'. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research has supported the significance of the Principles of Effective Intervention in correctional treatment. The Risk Principle suggests that intensive correctional interventions be reserved for high risk offenders. Increasingly, there is discussion about the application of the Risk Principle to specialized populations such as female offenders. The purpose of this paper is to test the Risk Principle on a large sample of female offenders involved in community corrections in a mid-western state. Results contribute to the growing literature on effective treatment interventions for female offenders. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]