SAUDI WOMEN IN LAW / BLOG 10

A couple of years ago, Saudi Arabia registered their first-ever female lawyer. That woman has been quoted saying that she is a pioneer and has a lot of responsibility being the first to do something, let alone the first woman to practice law in a country such as Saudi Arabia. You would think that in a country where women have been practicing law since 1890 such as the US, they would be close to equal with the men in their field. As with most occupations, that is not the case. Women in law have issues making partner in their firms. Not only is it still a battle but the numbers of women who are achieving the level of partner is actually in decline. Many current focuses such as family-friendliness and paid maternity leave could be playing parts in the inconsistent numbers.

Many law students are determining their future successes up-front now when figuring out where they should be working. There is a list on the site where I found my information (managingpartner.com) that lists the 10 most family friendly firms in the country.

While that is helpful, the issue of women in law enforcement and legal fields being underrepresented both altogether and in leadership positions is still there. In my third article, slightly more light is shined in the law enforcement field where while females only make up 12% of the 700,000 sworn officers in this country, in bigger cities there are cases where there is 1 woman to 4 men. Not the best numbers when looked at blindly but definitely better than they have been in the past since women have infiltrated the officer world.

In many of the major law agencies in America, women are at the forefront. While much of the nation sits back and waits for them to falter so that they can blame it on a gender non-issue, they are still there. They made it to the position. In their field, they are "partner". Which is an amazing step forward.

Article links: http://www.cnn.com/2013/05/09/business/saudi-arabia-first-female-lawyer/index.html
http://www.managingpartner.com/news/hr/fewer-women-are-making-partner-us-law-firms
http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/17/opinion/drexler-shooting-women/index.html 

GENDER REPONSIVE / BLOG 9

Jails in California and Utah have begun the initiative of implementing gender responsive programming within their institutions. This is important and beneficial for all of the women offenders involved because it means that their needs are going to be met be it physically or emotionally. Gender responsiveness is a necessary tool when dealing with women offenders because it allows correctional facilities to look at an offender's past and give them aid when dealing with their likelihood of getting involved with crime based upon their social factors such as poverty level, lack of education and more.

Facilities must be able to acknowledge that men and women are different and must be treated differently when in their care. Women rely on relationships more heavily than men and be able to understand that many have a history of victimization within their close relationships. These things paired with a more emotional approach to offender care will help the women who exit facilities when their time is complete steer clear of things that will land them back in prison or jail and hopefully have a better socioeconomic status after all of the education that they will gain through being in a gender responsive program.

The only problem with programming like this is that all women are not created equal. All come from different backgrounds and while many may have a history of victimization, a handful will not. People need to be treated simply as people first with the understanding that all people are different. Individualized care paired with gender responsive programs will be the most successful combo of offender treatment programming because it breaks down the system individually and then by gender so that everything is more personalized and successful.

IMPRISONED FEMALES / BLOG 8

Module 10 is on the challenges that women who are incarcerated in this country have while in the prison or jail system. Although PREA (Prison Rape Elimination Act) has been in place for three years, the presence of rape while being incarcerated is very real for both genders. Most terrifyingly would be an inmate being taken advantage of by a person of authority in the institution. This article that I found on CNN (I love you, CNN) claims that multiple women were sexually assaulted in an Alabama prison for multiple years between 2009 and 2011.

Over 50 women gave up evidence in interviews that rose questions about officer-on-inmate sexual violence in the prison. In the past few years, 20 employees of the prison have either transferred to another prison or have been terminated in response to a sexual misconduct complaint. For years there were complaints filed but never were they looked into further until now. Past inmates have been quoted saying that women were raped and physically abused on a daily basis. The prison in question has been found to be the 11th worst prison for sexual violence and the worst for violence against women in the country.

The issue with this scenario is that it reinforces the idea in society that people in prison lose their rights as people. Humans. They become incarcerated objects serving a sentence. This is beyond unacceptable especially in a prison where all of the inmates are women. It becomes them against the administrators. Those administrators know that they will be believed over the woman in this maximum-security institution and without any complaints being looked into, that only gave the administrators an even brighter green light to continue doing what they were doing because not only were they not getting caught but they were being complained about and STILL not getting caught. Absolutely unacceptable.

Article link: http://www.cnn.com/2012/05/22/justice/alabama-prison-complaint/index.html

FEMALE DEATH PENALTY / BLOG 7

         When it comes to females getting sentences for the crimes they commit, they tend to get off for less time, get off easier, or any combination of the sorts. In the article "Mississippi moves to execute its 1st female prisoner since 1944", the title speaks for itself. According to the Death Penalty Information Center, woman only make up 2% of death row inmates. Is that because they get lighter sentences? Or is it because women generally commit less violent crimes than men?

         The specific case that is mentioned in that article is a roller coaster ride in itself, but for the other crimes that women commit that are black and white where they are 100% guilty and have confessed, are there different parameters for how women are sentenced? There shouldn't be. But I believe that there are. Women who are high-profile, beautiful and good at fooling the public may be able to sweeten their deal without doing anything illegal. It could be a response to their nature. That cannot possibly cover all female criminals, though.

         Going onto the Death Penalty Information website brings up all of the current case summaries of women awaiting execution in the states that it is legal. The low numbers of women in each state is astounding. In Tennessee, a woman hasn't been executed since 1837 and there is only one woman currently on death row in that state while there are 72 men. Oregon has never executed a woman and only has one on death row currently while there are 35 men. California, not surprisingly, has almost 750 people on death row currently and only 19 OF THEM are women!

         Ultimately, after going through Module 9 I have concluded that there seem to be discrepancies in the numbers is because women simply commit less violent crimes than me. Women are more likely to commit public order crimes and non-felonious ones.

Article link: http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/25/justice/mississippi-michelle-byrom-execution/index.html

DELINQUENT FEMALES / BLOG 6

Orange is the New Black has been hit on both sides of the praise spectrum for its focus on incarcerated women. The popular show, however, has never showcased a female juvenile alongside the large personalities of the show's regulars. This article by Slate highlights an important issue of mistreatment in prisons for youths. While a small percentage, "youth in adult jails and prisons are more likely to be assaulted both sexually and physically by other inmates and by guards" highlights the article. Would portraying a young female in OITNB be a good move for educating the country or an offensive look into a very overlooked population?

 

Article link: http://www.slate.com/articles/double_x/doublex/2015/06/orange_is_the_new_black_season_4_the_show_needs_a_juvenile_inmate.html

FEMALE SEX OFFENDING / BLOG 5

On the subject of female criminality and offending, I found a video on my favorite news site CNN.com. The video was on female sex offending and posed the question of whether or not it was becoming a "growing threat". The opening of the video showcased women who were charged with the unofficial act of taking advantage of their underaged, male students. The words “attack” and “prey” were used, which made me curious about whether or not the video and any news related to female sex offending was pigeon-holding the situations and generalizing them to appear as attacks when they’re really just statutory rape involving an older woman and a younger boy. One of the cases that they showcased mentioned that after the woman served her prison sentence, she and the young boy went on to marry one another.

The Baltimore Ravens cheerleader controversy has brought this subject to light yet again and that makes you think of whether this is occurring more often or if the news just reports on these cases more frequently. I believe that the idea that women cannot offend and that the young boys are “lucky” to “get it” with someone, no matter the age is what fuels the press fire to keep these women in the news. Beauty sells and when a beautiful woman is the focus of a crime, people are going to pay attention. The news isn’t starting to report more on this case it is simply that the number of women who are offending against young males is actually rising.

http://www.cnn.com/videos/crime/2014/11/11/ctn-pkg-casarez-female-sex-offenders.cnn

CAMPUS SEXUAL ASSAULT / BLOG 4

The Association of American Universities came out with a new, shocking survey this week about sexual assault and misconduct on college campuses. These surveys interest me largely because I learned about so many of them in Sex Crimes and Society, a course I took last semester with Dr. Mancini. Often times surveys are "unofficial" and don't cover every aspect of the topic which makes them hard to live by religiously.

The discrepancies can come from only focusing on one gender instead of both males and females, not spreading the school pool large enough geographically or from being too broad on what "sexual misconduct" really means. For this survey, the AAU looked at cases ranging from rape and attempted rape to unwanted fondling or kissing. Although this is more thorough, critics say that equating rape and unwanted kisses isn't right to the victims of these crimes as rape often leads to more serious psychological disorders in the future. Another issue that often arises is women's likelihood of reporting crimes. Out of almost 800,000 students who received the survey questions, only 150,000 took part.

There are many more critiqued aspects of this survey discussed in the article that I read but honestly this is how I look at it: it's a new survey about a very old problem. The more information that we find out about sexual assaults the better. That way one day a seemingly "perfect" survey can one day be created so we can combat this issue properly.

That “perfect” survey would consist of the following: equal accounts by females and males between a relevant age grouping across various kinds of schools around the nation (i.e. community colleges, large state schools, religious schools, ivy league status schools and more). Even more difficult, the surveyors would need to make sure that respondents are being 100% truthful and not omitting any information. A specified survey separated by type of offense. “Less” traumatizing offenses such as crude catcalling would not be weighed the same as something “as” serious as rape. These are only some of the things that need to be stabilized on the next official survey involving sexual misconduct on college campuses.

I’m glad that the AAU conducted this survey regardless of whether or not critics believe that it was properly done because it brings back to light the sexual misconduct issue and reminds everybody that even though there is far more education being given out on campuses around the nation, the problem still persists. Often times a problem will be talked about for so long and so hard (like this one has) that people become desensitized to the issue at hand. Reminders like this survey show that there is a larger issue that education itself cannot defend entirely on its own. Education paired with proactive tactics will be the only way to help end this epidemic around the country. With one step and one survey at a time, we can hopefully lower the numbers of sexual misconduct cases on campus and in the streets.

http://www.cnn.com/2015/09/22/health/campus-sexual-assault-new-large-survey/index.html

INDIA / BLOG 3

Sexual assault in India is finally receiving the national attention that it should be. I have a vivid memory from when I was a junior in high school when my teacher played a video for my class that showed the gender indifference and violence toward women in India. Having a baby and finding out that she is a female is considered a necessary situation for abortion. Women are looked at as unfavorable to men. That mindset within an entire country, especially one as large as India, without a doubt must play a role into the sexual violence issue that India has. Madison Park wrote the article "India grapples with rape and sexual violence" for CNN.com and discussed how recent crimes that have been heard about worldwide has affected the country and how Indian lawmakers have responded by creating “tougher laws and punishments for sexual crimes and harassment”, which have not lower their sexual assault numbers in any way.

In a mind-blowing number, rape cases in India have risen almost 900% since 1975. In response and as I wrote about before, Indian government have begun making the sentences tougher on sexual assault perpetrators and have even implemented the death penalty for repeat offenders. Unfortunately, while the laws may change it is ultimately up to the society to change their viewpoints on women in general before these numbers will begin letting up in any way. Sexual violence in India is an absolute epidemic and while many times people say that things need to get worse before they get better, I believe they have already gotten worse. It is time for them to get better.

Slowly but surely India can recover from this. Park shed some positivity on this topic at the end of her article stating that men and women around the country have come together to help educate and prevent more sexual violence. While the current census says that there are only 940 women to every 1,000 men, it is up to the young males of the country to become educated and mature and learn how to respect the gender that keeps their population going generation after generation.

If the world continues to respond as incredibly as they have to recent stories in India, maybe the message will begin to get across and a sweeping opinion can change in the country. Gang rapes and child assaults are not only heinous, but extremities. They are the kind of shocking story that has already gotten the world talking and will continue to do so. Times have changed in America and other developed countries and India will have to get there at some point.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/08/15/world/asia/india-rape-problem/index.html

MILITARY SEXUAL ASSAULT / BLOG 2

I am truly so beyond tired of hearing about the topic of rape and sexual assault. Now, I'm aware of how insensitive that sounds. However, as a 22-year-old female college student studying Criminal Justice, I have been bombarded with information on the topic since I was 18. It's been the same information broadcasted in a different manner every year, every semester, every course. I've learned how to avoid situations that may lead to an assault, how to fend off a perpetrator, what to do if I do get assaulted and who is required to report what I tell them and so much more. It should be something that is beaten so dead by everyone and everything that it shouldn't occur anymore.

Well, it should be. That does not mean that it is.

A simple search on CNN.com brings up countless news stories on athletes particularly who have sexual assault or rape charges on them or who have recently had them dropped. Rarely are these cases proven. Rarely are these news stories anything different. It's the same old story every single time.

How is sexual assault still something that happens so frequently?

I read an article that sheds light on the positive side of this issue. How sexual assault in the US Military has dropped over the last couple of years.

In "Sharp decrease of sexual assault in military, study finds", Steven Holmes writes about how the number of sexual assault cases reported by personnel has dropped by about 27% in the last two years. The big question is always "how many cases go unreported?" and that is still too difficult to tell. The one thing that seems to be helping the cause is that there is pressure on legislation change so that the military is not in charge of prosecuting alleged sexual assaults. Bringing these issues to an “independent body” may prove to be more successful in sentences, which could have warded off the assaulting behavior.

This article title was misleading because although these numbers are the lowest since 2013, the numbers are only back down to what they were in 2010. In 2010, 19,000 persons a year or about 52 cases a day arise from unwanted sexual contact within the military.

Even though the numbers are lower than they have been, there is still a lot of work to be done. The military exercises a “no tolerance” policy and 19,000 cases a year is far, far from something that they are aiming to deal with. There needs to be more efforts put forth to lower than number even further while keeping reporting truthful.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/08/15/world/asia/india-rape-problem/index.html

WOMEN ASSISTING IN CRIMES / BLOG 1

            Although early theories involving gender and crime are no longer what are used today in criminology, ideas such as the masculinity and chivalry hypotheses lend to the misconception that women do not commit crimes as often and are considered to be victims more often. Simply because those theories were once around means that there was an understanding once upon a time and people today still somewhat hold that understanding. Although it has been proven that women commit some crimes less than men, they tend to hold certain positions in criminal happenings in a static manner. Women are thought of to many times be the aid or helper in a crime where they are aiding another criminal, typically a male. There are many news stories on this but minimal scholarly articles.

            As reported by Carol Cratty of CNN, two women aided in what is being called a “hate crime” case in Kentucky. The women’s roles in the crime were to lure a supposedly homosexual man into a van where two men were awaiting to kidnap and later beat him. The women did not commit the crime that was largely being prosecuted against but were instead helpers and assisted in the actions leading up to the crime, which can allow them to be found guilty.

            Another case that brings to light women in the assistant’s role is one Tina Susman of the Los Angeles Times reports held the woman in jail for $100,000 cash or $200,000 bond bail. The woman accused, Joyce Mitchell, worked as a supervisor in a prison’s tailor shop. A prison that two inmates managed to escape from and “beat the odds” by being on the loose for over five days. Joyce was suspected of “promoting prison contraband”, which is a felony as well as befriending the inmates within her workplace. Mitchell pleaded not guilty but that doesn’t change the fact that the state found her suspicious enough to apprehend and arrest her in conjunction with this crime.

            Both of these stories showcase the different ways that women can aid in the carrying out of crime by a male counterpart. I don’t think that women are any less likely to commit crimes than men when on an equal scale but the facts are that the likelihood of committing crimes can be based off of testosterone levels, body types and more making it impossible to have men and women be on equal playing fields. I’m excited to see how in this course I will learn more about equality within criminology.

http://www.cnn.com/2012/04/13/justice/kentucky-hate-crime/index.html

http://www.latimes.com/nation/nationnow/la-na-new-york-prisoner-escapees-20150612-story.html