Traditional Housewife Essay Example for Free

Traditional Housewife Essay The power of the woman comes from her spontaneity, presence and being who she is? She has been the tower of strength, patience and perseverance. History of nations worldwide is the proof of her significant role. She has been viewed as the nurturer, nurse and caregiver. Her image is the personification of love and tolerance. She creates, she gives and she embraces her family members unconditionally. She takes care of her home, her children and her family. She is there, always ready to serve and care. She cooks, cleans and procures supplies for everyday living. This pillar of strength is the traditional housewife, who has faded into background of modern day needs, emerging technology and growing industrialization. Until industrial revolution of nineteenth century, most mothers in Europe and America not only stayed home to tend their children and house, they also worked side by side with their husbands to make financial contribution to the family. There was division of labor based on childbearing and strength, but without women, the crops would not have been harvested, food would not have been stored for winter months and people would not have had clothes to wear. The success of economy rested on the capable shoulder of the women. She fulfilled her role not out of necessity, but out of long, â€Å"real† tradition and great skill. (Byington, 2001) The power which women had as traditional housewife came from her valued contribution to household. With advent of industrialization and modern age technological evolution, the need for this traditional housewife got submerged. The priorities changed, expectations grew and her role was not valued any more. She was thrust into the background of anonymity. She had to emerge as the savior of the household in a new role. She emerged as a working woman of 21st century, walking side by side with men, braving the role of care provider on her capable shoulders. References Byington, Jill. Whats a Traditional Mom, Anyway?. Look Smart. Find Articles. 2001. 16 Feb 2007 findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0IUK/is_2001_Summer/ai_78177298. (Byington,2001)

What do you want for Christmas Essay -- Essays Papers

What do you want for Christmas â€Å"Attention holiday shoppers, don’t miss your opportunity to have your picture taken with Santa and his Elves. And today only Macy’s special holiday sale†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Think back to last year. For the Holidays what did you give and what did you get? I can almost guarantee you that for the gifts you bought you either spent long hours searching a department store or long hours racking your brain for what to buy. The perfect gift, where can I get it? And how much will it cost? Why is it that we can’t just tell someone how much we care? Corporations in our society have placed such an emphasis on finding the perfect gift that we can no longer settle, for homemade toys. As a child what is it that you actually understand? Is it the meaning of the holiday or what the holiday brings to you? I can recall as a child running down the stairs to peek at what Santa had brought me. According to my religion, Christmas was meant to be a celebration for the birth of Jesus. Instead it has become a commercial holiday based upon how much we spend on each other. We have put aside traditional values for the most part, by masking them with material gifts. Consider this. Is it any coincidence that most stores do a majority of their business between November and February and several major holidays fall in this range; Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, New Years and Valentine’s Day. What about Black Friday, the busiest shopping day of the year? On that day billions of people across our nation leave their homes to flood the malls in search of Christmas or Hanukkah gifts. This holiday season has been predicted to bring in over $180 billion. Each year the annual holiday sales rise by approximately 5%. (CNN) Stores explo... ... newer products to draw us in. If we don’t go all out for the Holidays we too will become Ebinieser Scrooge or the Grinch who Stole Christmas. Our corporations have set the standards for our holiday shopping. It is something that you cannot escape. Our corporate giants have told us that in order to tell someone you care, you must go out and spend. â€Å"Those who have the money make the rules.† It just so happens that the ones with the money are the heads of the exact companies that you go to, with your holiday needs. They call us to their stores to shop, and like zombies we go. Trudging through the stores on our mission to buy the perfect gift and to spend, just as we have been told. Works Cited Retail Insider. Executive Decisions Systems Inc. October 1994. Lenihan, Rob, Black Friday Brings out Green. CNN America, INC. New York, November 25, 1999.

Critical Analysis of Women Behind Bars Essay

More and more women-mothers, grandmothers, wives, daughters, and sisters are doing hard prison time all across the United States. Many of them are facing the prospect of years, decades, even lifetimes behind bars. Oddly, there’s been little public discussion about the dramatic increase of women in the prison system. What exactly is happening here, and why? This paper will be a critical analysis of the book, â€Å"Women Behind Bars: The Crisis of Women in the U.S. Prison System. This paper will Introduction Journalist Silja Talvi’s Women Behind Bars: The Crisis of Women in The U.S Prison System is an overview of issues affecting incarcerated women. The goal of the book Women Behind Bars is to increase the awareness about the growing population of women prisoners. Women Behind Bars presents a number of important issues regarding women prisoners. Incarcerated women’s stories represent a distillation of the larger forces that affect free women like racism, sexism and economic pressure. For these reasons, Silja Talvi explains, â€Å"incarcerated women should not be forgotten, despite the stigma of their criminal convictions and their physical removal from the community† (Talvi, 2007). Additionally, though incarcerated women may be locked up, they should not be overlooked. Women Behind Bars succinctly illustrates some of the important connections involving the War on Drugs, racial disparity, medical neglect: physically and psychologically, and the high rate of substance abuse and physical and sexual abuse among incarcerated women. Silja Talvi’s aim is to â€Å"shed light on what has contributed to this historic phenomenon of the mass incarceration of women in the United States† (Talvi, 2007). This paper will give background on how Silja J.A. Talvi researched the increase of female incarceration. This paper will also give insight surrounding the problems of the women, who Silja J.A. Talvi interviewed, faced while incarcerated. Additionally, outside resources pertaining to the issue of women in prison will be mentioned throughout this paper. Finally, an informed opinion based on the collection of outside information and what  was learned from the book will be presented. Silja J.A. Talvi bases her account on interviews with women prisoners. Silja J.A. Talvi had in-person and phone interviews with roughly one hundred women prisoners over a two year span. She also received letters from approximately three hundred women behind bars. In addition, she interviewed more than a dozen women who has been releases form jail or prison. Silja J.A. Talvi stayed in regular contact with fifty women locked up in state and federal prisons in seventeen states. In addition, Silja Talvi visited he women’s county jails in Los Angeles and San Francisco, as well as the Seattle/King County detention facility for juveniles. Silja Talvi also spent a fair amount of time talking with and learning from low-income women on Seattle streets who were willing to talk about their encounters with law enforcement and incarceration. Internationally, Silja Talvi was also granted permission to visit three women’s prisons, including the European Union’s biggest women’s prison, Holloway, in London, England; the sole female prison on Hameenlinna, Finland; and a provincial Canadian prison in British Columbia. Silja Talvi focuses on these women because she believes â€Å"that incarcerated females are the most misunderstood population in the vast U.S. incarceration system† (Talvi, 2007). These accounts from the women interviewed will further the insight on the realities of female incarceration. Further on this topic of incarceration, the author, Silja J.A. Talvi has stated that the United States has more people in prison than any other nation. â€Å"By mid-2006, the total number of women and men in prison rose to over 2.24 million, representing a significant increase from earlier year† (Harrison & Beck, 2006). Relatively speaking, more than one thousand prisoners are added to the prison and jail system every single week (Harrison & Beck, 2006). Meanwhile, â€Å"the number of incarcerated adult women has jumped by a shocking 757% since 1977, at nearly twice the rate of male prisoners† (Harrison & Beck, 2006). â€Å"The number of women in prisons and jails has reached a milestone,† explains Kara Gotsch, director of advocacy for the Sentencing project in Washington, DC. One of the main reasons why women are being locked up at an alarming rate is a result of a policy of mass incarceration. â€Å"Mass incarceration is a rate of incarceration so high that it affects not only the individual offender, but also whole social groups.† (American Academy of Arts & Sciences, 2011) Pursuing further, another main reason of  the increase of incarceration of women are the sentencing policies brought about by the â€Å"war on drugs.† â€Å"At the Federal level, prisoners incarcerated on a drug charge comprise half of the prison population, while the number of drug offenders in state prisons has increased thirteen-fold since 1980. Most of these people are not high-level actors in the drug trade, and most have no prior criminal record for a violent offense.† (sentencingpolicy.org) According to an excerpt in the Journal of Criminology, women are more likely to serve time for drug-related offenses and are less likely to serve time for violent offenses. (Lalonde & Cho, 2008) In addition, with the passage of the Anti-Drug Abuse Act, women began to be arrested and charged with impunity, and were threatened increasingly with conspiracy charges if they didn’t snitch on their husbands, boyfriends, family member and acquaintances. Women were interrogated and threatened if they did not cooperate and these women would face serious repercussions. (Talvi, 2007) Many of the women that in state or federal prisons are first-time, non violent offenders sentenced on drug conspiracy charges. These women are serving far longer sentences than most first-time offender rapists, child molesters, or even murdered convicted of second degree murder or aggravated manslaughter. Furthermore, to a far greater degree than men, women come into the system with histories of sexual, physical abuse, domestic violence, rape, and mental illness. In this sense it is believed that our country is in crisis. Undoubtedly, because there are so many women locked up, there are a plethora of problems that incarcerated women face on a daily basis while in prison. Some of these problems include sexual assault and misconduct, medical neglect, deficient mental health treatment, and also discrimination based on gender, race and sexual orientation. Experiences of extreme violence and sexual abuse in women’s prisons are far worse and far too common than most American’s realize. In the United States, sexual assault by guards in women’s prisons is so notorious and widespread that it has been described as â€Å"an institutionalized component of punishment behind prison walls† (Davis, 1998). â€Å"Today it is estimated that at least 40% of guards in women’s prisons are men. In some female prisons, the majority of employees are men.† (Talvi, 2007) In these kinds of settings, there are violations of women’s privacy, as well as visual and verbal abuse by the male guards. Today, â€Å"one in four women reports having been sexually abused while being in  jail or prison† (Talvi, 2007). In addition to reports of violent restraint and punishment resulting in abrasions, cuts, bruises and even broken bones, women stated that they were subjected to humiliating strip searches and verbal harassment. Talvi explains that most of the women she interviewed in these prisons are in fear to even say anything about their abuse because of the likeliness to face the wrath of prison guards. The prison guards will cut visitation and phone privileges, take away prized possessions, and threaten these women and their families with bodily harm. On another note, According to Kim Shayo Buchanan, in an article called, â€Å"Beyond Modesty: Privacy in Prison and The Risk Of Sexual Abuse† basically explains, if women are being victimized by male guards in prison, it does them no harm to expose the problem by saying so. It is pointed out that black women are often discouraged from speaking out about sexual abuse because of concerns that, by speaking out about sexual harassment by black men, black women â€Å"will reinforce negative racial stereotypes about Blacks in general and about Black men in particular.† (Buchanan, 2005) Furthermore, ineffective formal procedures, legislation and reporting capacity within the United States prison system account for much of the ongoing sexual abuse of women. In several instances, guards who were disciplined for the abuse of women were reprimanded to the minimum degree. The frequency of sexual harassment and abuse in a prison environment is a constant reminder of how little power the women have over their lives once they are sentenced to do time. The sexually intrusive or abusive nature of these experiences in prison has a devastating impact on a women’s likelihood of achieving a healthy and successful reentry in society. When women leave jail or prison, with even more traumatic experiences heaped upon their life experiences, these women might endure low self-esteem issues, shame and rage. Within the book, Silja Talvi explains, â€Å"that these women who do re-enter into society, manifest any number of serious problems: continuing mental and/or physical illness the likelihood of an interruption of their treatment and medicines; loss of custody of their children; limited education or career opportunities; a lack of safe or stable housing; and the temptations to indulge in drug use or criminal activity.† If these factors are in place, it is believed that these women will find themselves back in the prison system intertwined in a vicious cycle. Secondly, a problem that is also plaguing women’s prisons is medical neglect and carelessness. While medical care for all prisoners is poor, the situation is far worse for women prisoners. Because prison health care systems were created for men, routine gynecological care, such as pap smears, breast exams and mammograms, is extremely rare in prisons. (Talvi, 2007) Care is frequently only administered once the situation becomes an emergency. In addition, women are denied essential medical resources and treatments, especially during times of pregnancy and/or chronic and degenerative diseases. There is also failure to refer seriously ill inmates for treatment and delays in treatment, cutbacks in budgets, lack of qualified personnel, inadequate supplies, and use of non-medical staff, charges for medical attention, inadequate reproductive health care, and lack of treatment for substance abuse. In the same sense, a factor that magnifies the severity of physical illnesses and disease is a nutrient poor, high fat diet. Fruits and vegetables are nearly non-existent in prisons. Relatively speaking, â€Å"the extensive overcrowding in some of these prisons lends itself to a concentration of mental and medical health problems that the prison system was never designed to handle† (Talvi, 2007). Thirdly, deficient mental health treatment is a serious issue when dealing with the incarceration of females. â€Å"48-88% of women inmates experienced sexual or physical abuse before coming to prison, and suffer post-traumatic stress disorder. Very few prison systems provide counseling. Women attempting to access mental health services are routinely given medication without opportunity to undergo psychotherapeutic treatment.† (Amnesty International, 2011) The overuse of jails and prisons to treat mental illness in society is problematic itself. Many of these women would be better served by intensive treatment programs and community based care rather than being thrown in prisons. The environment of prison can make an inmate’s mental health worse, not better. â€Å"Most prison systems lack treatment settings and programs for these prisoners. For instance, most state prisons, refused admittance to a psychiatric inpatient unit if inmates have a record of violent episodes† writes Kupers in Prison Madness. â€Å"they tend to wind up in super maximum confinement, where the harsh conditions and forced idleness worsen their mental disorders, followed by more disruptive behaviors on their part and  even longer terms in lockup.† (Kupers, 1999) A majority of the corrections employees are not trained in any extent in psychology or social work, and are most generally uneducated about the common symptoms of various psychiatric disorders and states of emotional distress. In these prisons that Talvi had visited she felt that there is high level of ignorance and outright hostility toward the mentally ill. The separation between mental health and disciplinary is lacking in many of the prisons. In a book called Prison Madness, Terry Kupers, an expert in psychiatric issues in prison criticizes this issue of mental illness treatment within prisons. â€Å"When behaviors on the part of mentally disordered prisoners-including suicide attempts, self-mutilation, rule breaking, and even some minor violent incidents-are secondary to their mental disorder, they should not be handled entirely as disciplinary infractions requiring punishment. Too often, disruptive acts are merely punished and the possibility that they reflect an imminent psychotic episode or a need for immediate psychiatric attention is never even considered.† (Kupers, 1999) In light of the issue surrounding the treatment of the mentally ill prisoners, suicide rates within in these prisons are at an increase. An investigator appointed by U.S. District Judge Lawrence Karlton took a look into the mental healthcare in the state prison system, and to find out a reason behind the increase in suicides. It was found that prisoners in overcrowded and understaffed Administrative Segregation units are killing themselves in unprecedented numbers. Confining a suicidal inmate to their cell for twenty-four hours a day only enhances isolation and anti- therapeutic. (Talvi, 2007) In addition to insufficient substance abuse and mental health services, educational and vocational programs are also in short supply. Several studies (Pollock-Byrne, Morash, Haarr, and Rucker) found that female prisons offered fewer vocational and education program opportunities when compared to those offered in male institutions. Educational program opportunities could help successful integrate these incarcerated women back into the community. Lastly, discrimination based on gender, race and sexual orientation is a significant matter of contention in women’s prisons. The growth in incarceration has had its greatest impact on minorities, particularly African Americans. â€Å"Over a five-year period, the incarceration rate of African American women increased by 828%.† (NAACP LDF Equal Justice, 1998.) Also, according to Amnesty U.S.A,  the racial disparity revealed by the crack v. powder cocaine sentences insures that more African American women will land in prison. Although 2/3 of crack users are white or Hispanic, defendants convicted of crack cocaine possession were 84.5% African American. Crack is the only drug that carries a mandatory prison sentence for first time possession in the federal system. (prisonpolicy.org) Women are most vulnerable to different forms of discrimination, including sexual harassment or abuse. Women that do not fit the norm, such as lesbians, face increased risk of torture and abuse. Many of the prisoners Silja Talvi had interviewed expressed their grief about always getting taunted because of their sexual orientation. The issues facing lesbians and bisexuals in the criminal justice system aren’t just limited to what goes on behind bars. One study conducted by Victor Streib, a professor of law at Cleveland State University points to the possibility that lesbians, or women who do not appear to appear feminine, may be victims of harsher sentencing. In addition, lesbian or non feminine women who had entered the prison system may very well have less if a shot at an early release. (Streib, 2002) Human Rights Watch has documented categories of women who are likely targets for sexual abuse. Perceived or actual sexual orientation is one of four categories that make a female prisoner a more likely target for sexual abuse, as well as a target for retaliation when she reports that abuse. (HRW, 2010) These issues facing these women in the criminal justice system are not just limited to what goes on behind bars. In conclusion, based on the information provided from Women Behind Bars and many outside resources, the incarceration of women is at an all time high. Most likely, the number of incarcerated women will increase in the upcoming years unless the problem of mass incarceration is solved permanently. I feel as that as a result of drug laws, women are now a fast growing segment of the U.S. prison population. It is my belief that women are particularly vulnerable to such policies as mandatory minimums, because they are more likely than men to be incarcerated for drug-related or petty, non-violent property crimes. It is these arrests that are driving their high rates of incarceration. The problem of women in prison is directly tied to current US drug policy. For the last ten years, researchers have argued that the war on drugs has become a war on women (Belknap, 2002; Bloom & Chesney-Lind, 2000; Owen, 2000 & 1998, Cheney-Lind, 1997). In my opinion, one of several  alarming statistics is, The Bureau of Prisons reports that almost 80% of their female population is incarcerated for drug-related offenses. Relatively speaking, I think factors of poverty, psychosocial problems, mental illness, histories of trauma and abuse, and involvement in abusive relationships can lead up to a life of criminal behavior in women. Furthermore, based on information, statistics, and stories provided from the book Women Behind Bars and also from outside resources, it is my conclusion to say that many things could be altered within the prison system. First of all, I believe there are simply far too many women in prison for enough people to be drawn to the difficult job of guarding and rehabilitating these women and addressing their needs. With the information that has been researched, women’s prisons are poorly equipped to deal with the range of issues and needs of an ever-increasing female population. One of the things that struck me when reading the book is the degree to which jails and prisons have become America’s new mental health facilities. Also in regards of the issue of incarcerated mentally ill, I believe that basic education could be provided to correctional staff. Furthermore, guards could be taught to calm and talk the dangerous mentally ill women down from fits of paranoia, anxiety, or distress. Also, many of these women would be better served by intensive treatment programs and community-based transitional care, instead of just being thrown into the prison system. Furthermore, I feel that the extreme abuse of women in prison is a serious problem. I believe this action also harms society because it decreases the legitimacy of the justice system. If society cannot trust those responsible for guarding our prisons to behave properly, there is little hope for the rehabilitation of women in prison. Personally, I feel the prison has a place, but it is not in the persecution of non-violent females. I think there can be a lot more rehabilitation for these women. Many of these women in prison have emotional and psychological issues and because of the abuse, discrimination, and medical neglect, it is only going to make matters far worse. An excerpt from Silja Talvi’s Women Behind Bars that I found captivating that summed up a lot of what the book was about is, â€Å"Imprisoned girls and women deserve a chance to heal from past abuse, and to learn from their life experiences and the nature of their crimes. Before women and released, they must be given the tools to ensure that their reintegration  into society is not fraught with immediate economic and social struggle, and to help increase the odds that they will be released into families or communities that will actually support their reintegration. Former prisoners must be given the productive tools to become productive members of society; that is, if they weren’t productive already, and if they even needed to be locked up in the first place. In general, women in prison aren’t given one iota of the emotional, social and vocational skills they need to overcome the vast hurdles awaiting them beyond the gates that have confine them for years or decades on end.† (Talvi, 2007) In closing, I never realized to a great extent of the problem of women in prison. This book, Women behind Bars and also many outside resources has enlightened me on the growing issue of female incarceration. Women in prison is a problem in itself, then leading to all of the other problems these women face while in prison. I believe the struggles that women go through, go unnoticed, and more people should be aware of the increasing problem. Finally, I feel that Silja J.A. Talvi’s book Women Behind Bars can help focus attention on this growing population of women prisoners, and maybe one day something can be done about this increasing issue. According to the text, women represent the fastest growing segment of the criminal justice system increasing 757% between 1977 and 2004, a rate nearly 2 times the percent increase in the male offender population. The number of women involved in the US criminal justice system doubled during the 1990s (Beck, 2000). An estimated 68 in every 100,000 U.S. women are serving time in a state or federal prison with increased rates to one in every 100 among black women in their late 30s. Women currently represent about 7% of the overall state and federal prison population and 24% of individuals on community supervision. Substance use and abuse have been consistently reported as major contributing factors in the increasing population of women offenders. Some have argued that increased attention to substance users during the late 1980s and 1990s during the war on drugs had particular adverse consequences for women. A majority of women offenders have a history of drug use and drug-related offenses. Conclusion In closing, the writer never realized to a great extent of the problem of women in prison. This book, Women behind Bars and also many outside resources has enlightened on the writer of the growing issue of female incarceration. Women in prison is a problem in itself, then leading to all of the other problems these women face while in prison. The struggles that women go through, go unnoticed, and more people should be aware of the increasing problem. Finally, this book, can help focus attention on this growing population of women prisoners, and maybe one day something can be done about this increasing issue. The writer believes that alcoholism and addiction is a disease. Because it is a disease, communities should address it as a health issue and not a criminal justice issue. Imprisonment only removes a symptom, but does not cure the problem. The number of women incarcerated is steadily rising at frightening rates. When you incarcerate a woman, most often, you are also incarcerating a mother. The state not only pays to house the offender, but often pays for the care of the children of the offender as well. Women offenders have special needs many of which revolve around their children. Corrections should be perceived as a positive and helping connection, not a punitive one. In our present system, unfortunately, the women must often first fail before they are given the level of treatment they needed in the beginning. A new approach to corrections, one that offers a highly structured environment and stresses accountability, as well as, addressing the individual needs of each offender will not only save money, but also more importantly, it will save lives. In addition, communities should take responsibility and become involved in getting and giving education, reaching out to their communities to offer assistance helping addicts find hope through programs that take a holistic approach to their disease. Addicts need programs that heal body, mind and, most importantly, their crushed spirit. If needs are responded to on a personal level, in a way that engenders trust and confidence, women offenders can begin to hope again and the lives of families can be rebuilt. If people do not have hope, there is nothing to strive for, no reason to change. Instead of incarceration, I believe it would be more cost-effective to put women offenders in a community based program similar to the work release program that is used for prisoners after incarceration. These programs would allow the individual to maintain a job, yet they would be held accountable for all their time. They would receive counseling on an individual basis geared toward each one’s individual needs. The best programs combine supervision and services to address the specialized needs of female offenders in highly structured, safe environments where accountability is stressed. In conclusion, I believe that if communities would make an effort to educate themselves and their communities about the disease of alcoholism and addiction, they would begin to understand the magnitude of the problem. Although there are no easy solutions, one must accept the responsibility of educating our children, offer new and innovative programs that heal holistically, and most importantly, accept responsibility that as citizens one must reach out to help those in our communities who are struggling, offering them hope, support and encouragement. References American Academy of Arts & Sciences. (2011) Retrieved from http://www.amacad.org/projects/incarceration.aspx Austin, J., Irwin, J. (2001). â€Å"It’s About Time: America’s Imprisonment Binge.† Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing Co Belknap, J. (2001). â€Å"The Invisible Woman.† Gender, Crime and Justice. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing Co. Bloom, B., Chesney-Lind, M., Owen, B. (1994). â€Å"Women in California Prisons: Hidden Victims of the War on Drugs.† San Francisco, CA: Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice. Bloom, B., Chesney-Lind, M. ( 2000). â€Å"Women in Prison; Vengeful Equity.† In It’s a Crime: Women and Criminal Justice. Roslyn Muraskin, (ed.), pp. 183-204. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Buchanan, K. (2005). â€Å"Beyond Modesty: Privacy in Prison and The Risk Of Sexual Abuse.† Marquette Law Review, 88(4), pp. 751-813. Bureau of Justice Statistics. (1994). â€Å"Special Report: Women in Prison.† Washington, DC: US Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Statistics. (1999). â€Å"Women Offenders.â €  Washington, DC: US Department of Justice. Davis, A. (1998). â€Å"Public Imprisonment and Private Violence: Reactions on the Hidden Punishment of Women.† Crim. & Civ. Confinement, 24, pp. 339-350. Editors. (2006). â€Å"U.S. Inmate Populations on the Rise: U.S. Leads World in Number of Incarcerated.† Correctional News. Harrison, P., Beck, J. (2006). â€Å"Prisoners in 2005.† Bureau of Justice Statistics. Human Right Watch. (2010) â€Å"Sexual Abuse of Women in U.S. State Prisons.† Retrieved from http://www.hrw.org/ Immarigeon, R., Chesney-Lind, M. (1992). â€Å"Women’s Prisons: Overcrowded and Overused.† National Council on Crime and Delinquency. San Francisco, CA Kupers, T. (1999). Prison Madness: The Mental Health Crisis Behind Bars and What We Must Do About It. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers. Lalonde, R., Cho, R. (2008). â€Å"The Inpact of Incarceration in State Prison on the Employment Prospects of Women.† Journal of Quantitative Criminology, 24, 243-265, 23. doi: 10.1007/s10940-008-9050 Mauer, M, Potler, C., Wolf, R. (1999). â€Å"Gender and Justice: Women Drugs and Sentencing Policy.† The Sentencing Project. Washington, DC Owen, B. (2000). â€Å"Women and Imprisonment in the United States: The Gendered Consequences of the US Imprisonment Binge.† In Harsh Punishments: International Experiences of Women’s Imprisonment. Cook and Davies (Eds.) pp. 81-98. Northeastern Press. Streib, V. (2002). â€Å"Gendering the Death Penalty: Countering Sex Bias in a Masculine Sancutary.† Ohio State law Journal, 63 Talvi, S. (2007). Women Behind Bars: The Crisis of Women in the U.S. Prison System. Emeryville, CA: Seal Press. Van Denend, J. (2010). â€Å"Melanie Klein, Drug Crimes, and Women.† Studies in Gender & Sexuality, 11, 10-23. doi: 10.1080/15240650903445799 http://www.sentencingproject.org/template/page.cfm?id=107 http://www.prisonpolicy.org/scans/women_prison.pdf

Sex Education And Sexual Education Essay - 1326 Words

Social trends, public health interest, politics, and various polemics have always affected the essence and teaching of sex education in the United States in different ways. Various sexual education methods exits, however comprehensive and abstinence-only programs are the most commonly know in public schools. Although many schools in the United States prefer to give an abstinence-only lecture, the results shown proof that these programs are ineffective because it simply does not fit the reality we live in, comprehensive sex education works better, and they do not offer honest nor accurate information about human sexuality. Providing information regarding development of the human body, sexuality, and sex relations is what sex education programs accomplish; communicating with young people and assist them into making the correct decisions regarding sex and their sexuality. Future of Sex Education explains that sex education should include information in relation to puberty, reproduction, preventing sexual violence, and gender individuality appropriate to the student’s level and cultural background. Sexual Education has been taught in schools for nearly thirty-five years; since then the abstinence-only programs have existed as well. Adolescent Family Life Act (AFLA) is known for being the originator of today’s abstinence-only-until-marriage programs which goals were to avoid prenuptial teenage pregnancy through self-restraint, encourage adoption among pregnant teenagers, and toShow MoreRelatedSex Education And Sexual Education1253 Words   |  6 Pagesteach sexual education classes, or teach abstinence education classes? Pregnancy rates in America are slowly decreasing, but are still extremely high. According to K. F. Stanger-Hall (2011), Pregnancy rates in America are more than double the rates of other countries with 72.2% per 1000 girls between the ages of 15-19 becoming pregnant. The best way to lower teen pregnancy is to teach about prevention in schools with sex education or abstinence classes. Teenagers need to learn about sex so thatRead MoreSex Education And Sexual Education991 Words   |  4 PagesCountless avenues shape our knowledge of sex; whether its teachers, parents, media, or other sources. At some point most individuals receive an account of sex education. These lessons, connections, and knowledge we acquire impact our ideas about sex. The subject of my interview, whom we’ll refer to as Jessica, was no exception. Jessica is a 21-year-old, who grew up in a small, conservative North Carolina town. The public schools she attended taught sex education from an abstinence perspective and usedRead MoreSex Education And Sexual Education884 Words   |  4 Pagesâ€Å"After a while, sex became a reality. It’s a lot harder to abstain when you’re actually in the moment, faced with that decision† (Stevens). Individuals encounter the reality of coming face to face with the temptations of intercourse; over time it becomes harder to sustain from joining the system. Students devour lust, but do not know how to co ntrol themselves and sex education provides substantial advice. With this in mind, sex education provides preparedness, answers questions, and creates awarenessRead MoreSexual Education And Sex Education1762 Words   |  8 Pagesimportance of sexual education and describe differences and similarities in some of the research done on this topic. Having sexual education available to youth is the key in reducing the number of unwanted situations in the sexual health of the individuals. Teaching adolescents about sex is beneficial because they become aware of consequence that might follow specific actions. This is a chance to ensure adolescents take safer routes when deciding to become sexually active. Youth sexual education has beenRead MoreSexual Education And Sex Education1358 Words   |  6 PagesDo Not Have Sex, You Will Get Pregnant Die (Mean Girls) What if a rapist was coming at someone? Do kids know what to do besides lie on the ground and cry? What if a teenager had an unplanned pregnancy? Do they know their options about abortion or adoption or keeping the baby? Will young adults know the results of their choices? Sexual education teaches all of the following, and kids in the curriculum are more likely to defend themselves in a plot when they were approached by a stranger (â€Å"TeachingRead MoreSex Education And Sexual Education1632 Words   |  7 Pagessystems in the United states have been implementing sexual education into classrooms. Arguments are abundant when dealing with such fragile situations and there are many advantages and disadvantages of sexual education being taught in the public schools. It seems that most parents are either strongly for or against sex education classes, but there are a few parents that are on both sides. In fact, there are more parents that support sex education classes. However, there ar e pros and cons that mustRead MoreSex Education And Sexual Education1365 Words   |  6 PagesSex education is and always has been lacking in our country. An increase in sexual education would be greatly appreciated from almost everybody, especially with how high the sexually transmitted disease rate has raised in the past twenty years. Sex education can be used to teach young people how to have safe sex and show them the scary truths of sex that they are never taught otherwise. To lower STD rates and raise pregnancy awareness in younger people, schools and parents should be teaching childrenRead MoreSex Education And Sexual Education948 Words   |  4 Pagescomprehensive sex education taught in schools. One the other hand, the opponents believe that the reason for this decline is the sex education classes that teach about not having sex. Even when most schools are teaching abstinences only sex education about sixty-six percent of high school students says they are sexually active . Which concludes that the abstinences only sex education is not working and is not the proper way of teaching sex education in schools. Not teaching proper sex education may resultRead MoreSex Education And Comprehensive Sexual Education1609 Words   |  7 PagesLet s talk about sex. Stances on comprehensive sexual education vary, whether it be from religious beliefs or past experiences, different views are held throughout. It is in the interests of society in general... for every secondary school pupil to be in receipt of sexual education† (Cumper 16). The phrase ‘it’s better to be safe than sorry’ applies heavily on the topic of sex education, the idea of a pregnant and STD ridden 15 year old tends to frighten a million times more than the thought ofRead MoreSex Education : Comprehensive Sexual Education972 Words   |  4 PagesSex Education Comprehensive sexual education has long been a contentious issue within the United States of America. Owing largely to America’s history and culture, sexual education has long been stigmatized as unnecessary involvement in the private life, or even misattributed to rising rates of pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections. A U.S. review article, however, poses the opposite argument – â€Å"The overwhelming weight of evidence reveals that sex education which discusses contraception