Doubly Disciplined: Gendered Perceptions of and Responses to Women’s Infractions in Prison

• In Event: New Directions in Correctional Research: Violence, Victimization, and Discipline in Prison

Abstract

Women’s pathways into crime are often complex and deeply entangled with trauma. These complexities follow them into the prison system resulting in uniquely gendered interactions between incarcerated women and correctional personnel. Even when correctional policies are written to be gender-neutral, the discretionary application of those policies can vary in women’s facilities. Only a handful of studies have examined the gendered nature of punishment in prisons, and even fewer have explored broader perceptions of women’s rule violations and responses to them. The present study builds on feminist scholarship to examine officers’ reports of and responses to women’s disciplinary rule violations using official data from a U.S. state prison system. Over 2,000 disciplinary reports of female misconduct recorded by officers in 2019 are analyzed to identify gendered themes of in-prison punishment, including the nature of and responses to women’s rule violations. The study provides a unique opportunity to better understand incarcerated women’s experiences and the ways in which traditional gendered norms are enforced in prison. Implications for theory, research, and policy related to gendered disciplinary responses will be discussed.

Authors

• Szilvia D. Biro, Florida State University

• Jillian Turanovic, Florida State University

• Nancy Rodriguez, University of California, Irvine