Matching Items (380)
Description
Sentencing reform has been the subject of much debate in the 21st century and has resulted in a great deal of consternation in state and federal systems of government (Chesney-Lind, 2012). The public does not view incarceration as an important topic needing attention or requiring change, which makes invisible the needs and histories of prisoners as a consequence of not addressing them (Connor, 2001). Through an analysis of the spectrum of women’s crime, ranging from non-violent drug trafficking to homicide, I conclude within this paper that the criminal justice system was written as a male-oriented code of addressing crime, which has contributed to women being made into easier targets for arrest and female imprisonment at increasing rates for longer lengths of time.
In the last decade, California’s imprisoned population of women has increased by nearly 400% (Chesney-Lind, 2012). The focus of this thesis is to discuss the treatment—or lack thereof—of women within California’s criminal justice system and sentencing laws. By exploring its historical approach to two criminal actions related to women, the Three Strikes law (including non-violent drug crimes) and the absence of laws accounting for experiences of female victims of domestic violence who killed their abusers, I explore how California’s criminal code has marginalized women, and present a summary of the adverse effects brought about by the gender invisibility that is endemic within sentencing policies and practice. I also discuss recent attempted and successful reforms related to these issues, which evidence a shift toward social dialogue on sentencing aiming to address gender inequity in the sentencing code. These reforms were the result of activism; organizations, academics and individuals successfully raised awareness regarding excessive and undue sentencing of women and compelled action by the legislature.
By method of a feminist analysis of these histories, I explore these two pertinent issues in California; both are related to women who, under harsh sentencing laws, were incarcerated under the state’s male-focused legislation. Responses to the inequalities found in these laws included attempts toward both visibility for women and reform related to sentencing. I analyze the ontology of sentencing reform as it relates to activism in order to discuss the implications of further criminal code legislation, as well as the implications of the 2012 reforms in practice. Through the paper, I focus upon how women have become a target of arrest and long sentences not because they are strategically arrested to equalize their representation behind bars, but because the “tough on crime” framework in the criminal code cast a wide and fixed net that incarcerated increasingly more women following the codification of both mandatory minimums and a male-oriented approach to sentencing (Chesney-Lind et. al, 2012).
In the last decade, California’s imprisoned population of women has increased by nearly 400% (Chesney-Lind, 2012). The focus of this thesis is to discuss the treatment—or lack thereof—of women within California’s criminal justice system and sentencing laws. By exploring its historical approach to two criminal actions related to women, the Three Strikes law (including non-violent drug crimes) and the absence of laws accounting for experiences of female victims of domestic violence who killed their abusers, I explore how California’s criminal code has marginalized women, and present a summary of the adverse effects brought about by the gender invisibility that is endemic within sentencing policies and practice. I also discuss recent attempted and successful reforms related to these issues, which evidence a shift toward social dialogue on sentencing aiming to address gender inequity in the sentencing code. These reforms were the result of activism; organizations, academics and individuals successfully raised awareness regarding excessive and undue sentencing of women and compelled action by the legislature.
By method of a feminist analysis of these histories, I explore these two pertinent issues in California; both are related to women who, under harsh sentencing laws, were incarcerated under the state’s male-focused legislation. Responses to the inequalities found in these laws included attempts toward both visibility for women and reform related to sentencing. I analyze the ontology of sentencing reform as it relates to activism in order to discuss the implications of further criminal code legislation, as well as the implications of the 2012 reforms in practice. Through the paper, I focus upon how women have become a target of arrest and long sentences not because they are strategically arrested to equalize their representation behind bars, but because the “tough on crime” framework in the criminal code cast a wide and fixed net that incarcerated increasingly more women following the codification of both mandatory minimums and a male-oriented approach to sentencing (Chesney-Lind et. al, 2012).
ContributorsD'Souza, Kristin Tessa (Author) / Gomez, Alan (Thesis director) / Fonow, Mary Margaret (Committee member) / Leone Hamm, Donna (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Social Transformation (Contributor)
Created2013-05
Description
This thesis explores how motherhood as a status and social identity influences the help-seeking decisions made by women who experience Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) and enter a domestic violence shelter in Arizona. Specifically, this report examines the types, severity, and frequency of violence experienced by women with children and the methods of help-seeking among women without children and women with children. Special attention is paid to women who cite their children as a primary reason for seeking legal intervention and those who cite their children as a primary reason for not seeking legal intervention in their relationships. For the purposes of this study, a survey investigating the types and severity of violence experienced, the help-seeking practices of, and the safety-planning measures taken by IPV survivors was distributed to over 600 women in emergency domestic violence shelters in the Phoenix, Arizona area. Data from both closed- and open-ended questions asked on the survey is analyzed in the context of a review of existing literature on the subject and of current Arizona state-level policies and legislation. Conclusions focus on how the surveyed women's status as mothers related to the specific variables of their victimization and the help-seeking methods they used to achieve safety, and how state-level legislation reacts and acts as a barrier to certain types of help-seeking behaviors.
ContributorsHutchinson, Kimberley Robyn (Author) / Durfee, Alesha (Thesis director) / Messing, Jill Theresa (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Social Transformation (Contributor) / Department of English (Contributor)
Created2014-05
DescriptionProvides initiatives that leverage the inclusion of women of color in computer science education.
ContributorsWomen of Color in Computing Research Collaborative (Contributor)
Created2021
Description
Describes the need to provide initiatives that will increase the inclusion of women of color in computer science education.
ContributorsWomen of Color in Computing Research Collaborative (Contributor)
Created2021
Description
Provides initiatives that leverage the inclusion of Latinas in computer science education.
ContributorsRodriguez, Sarah, Dr. (Author) / Ramirez, Daisy, M.A. (Author) / Lehman, Kate, Dr. (Author) / Sax, Linda J., 1967- (Author) / Women of Color in Computing Research Collaborative (Contributor)
Created2021 (year uncertain)
Description
Investigates the inclusion of minority women in the field of computer science, and how the FUTURE Act is advancing this endeavor.
ContributorsShelton, Christin, Ph.D. (Author) / Thomas, Jakita, 1977- (Author) / Eugene, Wanda, Ph.D. (Author) / Daily, Shani B., Ph.D. (Author) / Women of Color in Computing Research Collaborative (Contributor)
Created2021 (year uncertain)
Description
Provides results of a survey on the attitude of Black and Latinix middle school girls toward scientists its effect on their STEM educational aspirations.
ContributorsNguyen, Ursula (Author) / Riegle-Crumb, Catherine, Ph.D. (Contributor) / Women of Color in Computing Research Collaborative (Contributor)
Created2021 (year uncertain)
Description
Describes the challanges Black women face as they strive to overcome racial obstacles in the field of computer science.
ContributorsThomas, Jakita, 1977- (Author) / Women of Color in Computing Research Collaborative (Contributor)
Created2021 (year uncertain)
Description
Assesses different methodologies for recruiting women of color into science and technology industries.
ContributorsGonzales, Laura (Author) / Robinson, Joy, Ph.D. (Author) / Shivers-McNair, Ann, Ph.D. (Author) / San Diego, Clarissa (Author) / Women of Color in Computing Research Collaborative (Contributor)
Created2021 (year uncertain)
Description
Briefly summarizes racial and gender inequities in calculus classrooms.
ContributorsLeyva, Luis A., Ph.D. (Author) / Women of Color in Computing Research Collaborative (Contributor)
Created2021 (year uncertain)