An analysis of the diversity of demand that women face after incarceration

Women who have served prison sentences experience a mirage of problems upon their release. The female ex-convicts struggle with unemployment in a society that is slow to give them a second chance.

Similarly, women experience physical and psychological problems that affect their ability to lead normal lives after imprisonment. The study below takes a critical review of the diversity of demands that women face after incarceration. The study that takes a qualitative approach aims to establish the diversity of factors that affect women after their release. The study aims to determine the underlying issues that affect female ex-convicts. The study will enable the public to have an in-depth understanding of issues such as recidivism and continued criminal activities among ex-convicts even after their release. The researcher will conduct interviews and focused group assessment of women who have been imprisoned more than once. A first-hand account of the women will highlight the various issues that ex-convicts face.

Keywords: incarceration, ex-convicts, unemployment, poverty, discrimination

Introduction

The problem of women incarcerations continues to soar in the society as they number of women facing different prison sentences increase. Prisons serve as correctional facilities; however, the rising number of female prisoners is an indicator that there is an underlying problem. The number of first-time prisoners continues to rise as well as the number of women who have already experienced prison time at the facility (Richie, 2001). According to the women’s prison association (2009), the number of female prisoners has risen over 832% in the last thirty years. Statistics further indicate that there are approximately 1.6 million people in American prisons with over 100000 of the prisoners being female.

The rising number of female prisoners is by gendered structural forces such as trauma, abuse, poverty, and alcoholism and drug addiction. Other women struggle with mental problems associated with previous histories of violence. The diversity of social and psychological factors, coupled with the desire to fit in the society push most ex-convicts to crime. Subsequently, the female ex-convicts are re-imprisoned and serve jail time, multiple of times. There are various social elements that lead to increased incarceration of women. The research will establish the underlying issues by determining women’s life-experience, before, during and after incarceration. Former convicts struggle to fit back into society after service their prison terms.

The study will aim to;

1. Explore the underlying social issues that affect women before, during and after incarceration

2. Understand the continued re-entry of former female inmates, into incarceration facilities

3. Build a conceptual framework to understand the life of the women, in the context of crime and incarceration

Literature review

The American judicial system has, for a long time relied on prison as a solution for crimes. The American judicial system has the highest rates of incarceration in the world thus resulting to an over population of American prisons. According to Stinchcomb (2011), the incarceration of women, for instance, has increased significantly. However, despite the prevalence of incarceration, the rates of crime, as well as the number of people facing the re-entry, in prison facilities continues to rise. It is evident that the use of prison as a deterrence of criminal activities is not working. The government and agencies across different local communities should strive to establish the underlying issues that foster the prevalence of re-imprisonment. Women in prison face a mirage of problem during imprisonment and after their release.

According to Shivy, Moon, Mann, Holland & Eacho (2007), incarceration is a life changing experience that affects a woman’s life. The exposure to the harsh prison life, as well as the high risk of victimization and torture from other inmates is high. Imprisoned women also age faster than their counterparts who are free. The tough prison life has an effect on a female convict after her release. Female convicts, who do not access adequate support, are during and after their release are likely to be re-arrested and re-imprisoned. The ex-convicts also struggle to reconnect with their families thus risk experiencing loneliness and depression.

According to (Collica, 2010) the fight for the perfect “mum” image pushes women to engage in criminal activities right after they have completed their term. Women who return to society after imprisonment struggle to fit in society. The women struggle to fit back into the life they knew. Women with children, for instance, struggle to be part of their children’s life. The ex-convicts strive to attain the super mum title, in the face of their children. Unfortunately, without the support of the family and adequate finances, the risk of imprisonment due to engagement in criminal activities is high. Motherhood can drive mothers to engage in criminal activities thus risking re-imprisonment.

Women also struggle to find jobs after imprisonment. The belief that the society gives inmates a second chance becomes a faded reality when the prisoners are from prison. It is difficult for a prisoner to get a job; however, it is worse for a female ex-convict. Females have a difficult time proving that they have reformed compared to the men. The female ex-convicts have to work twice as hard to be in the society, after serving their prison term. The inability to access a job can push a woman to engage in crime. An ex-convict may be rehabilitated; however, after a few months of struggling to find a decent job, and she may opt to revert to her criminal ways. Female ex-convicts can knowingly engage in criminal activities even when they are aware of the repercussions. The desire to be independent pushes the ex-convicts to criminal activities.

According to Shantz & Frigon (2009), the prison experience affects women to the extent that their life after imprisonment is not the same. Women who have served long sentences have to grapple with age and failing health upon their release. Similarly, the women have to establish their identity in a society so as to achieve effective integration. Female ex-convicts struggle with re-integration amid advancing age. The aging ex-convict has to grapple with low incomes, hostile environments, unemployment and poor or lack of proper housing.

Women also face a diversity of health demands upon their release from prison. According to Douglas & Fitzpatrick (2009) healthcare facilities offer the lowest form of health services. Inmates are thus exposed to numerous health problems. Minimal provision of healthcare services at prisons means that women prisoners experience high rates of mental health problems, substance abuse problems, as well as communicable illnesses e.g. hepatitis and HIV/ Aids. Women prisoners also experience high rates of victimization during their stay, in prisons. Additionally, women prisoners also experience a significant rise in negative habits such as drug use. Upon their release, they struggle with the same mental and substance abuse challenges that affect their ability to fit their societies.

Studies also indicate that the prevalence of post-prison deaths is high, for female prisoners. According to Carlton & Segraves (2011), the risk of death to ex-convict females is high due to the problem of reintegration and fitting back to the society. The experience of imprisonment is traumatizing for many women. Similarly, the release of women from prison also exposes them to the risk of harm. While in prison, women are likely to encounter near-death experiences arising from their association with hard-core criminals. Imprisoned women risk beatings, assault, torture and starvation from their fellow inmates. The harsh prison environment can adversely affect the physical and mental wellbeing of the female convict thereby increase the risk of unnatural death during and after imprisonment.

Method

Participants will be from two correctional facilities, in the city. The researcher will focus on convicts who have beenimprisoned more than one time. The research will select random participants from the group thus there will be no emphasis on geographical differences, age and social status. The pathway to crime for many women is often gradual with factors such as structural; forces, trauma and abuse, as well as poverty and drugs and substance abuse facilitating prison. The sample will be inclusive and will include 18-50-year-old inmates. Additionally, the researcher will make considerations over the inclusion of women from different races. The use of representatives’ participants of the entire community will provide the research with a valid perspective.

The study will conduct extensive interviews on the life of former inmates before their incarceration, during their incarceration and after their incarceration (Appelrouth & Edles, 2011). Credible questions will be in-depth and open-ended to allow the participant to be as elaborate as possible. The researcher will pose questions in a manner that allows the participant to provide a full account of his experiences, as well as provide a detailed reflection of his life before, during and after imprisonment. The researcher will then record the responses provided by participants for purposes of analysis.

Use of Open-Ended Interviews

The open-ended interview will be ideal for the collection of data in a qualitative research. The open-ended interview will be ideal because the participant will be free to provide any response that he deems as suitable. The open-ended interview will enable the researcher to gather the respondent’s opinion, personal experiences and thoughts on different issues related to the research. Additionally, the researcher will use the open-ended interview to probe the responded to give detailed explanations, in his responses. The open-ended interview will be conducted face-to-face thus allowing the researcher to build on the responses that the respondent provides. The researcher will begin the open- ended interview with a set of questions that will broaden depending on the response that the respondents provide. The participant’s response will give rise to different questions that had not been set by the researcher. Overall, the open-ended interview will give the researcher an opportunity to acquire a new perspective over issues under investigations. The researcher will also acquire new knowledge that he was unaware of prior to the start of the research exercise

Use of Focus Groups

The use of focus groups will entail the collection of data from a group of participants rather than from individuals. The researcher will organize his participants into small groups of approximately ten individuals. The researcher will then ask the research questions to the group and gather information based on the responses that the members of the focus group provide.

A Grounded Approach

The researcher will utilize the grounded approach for purposes of data collection and data analysis. The GT will use inductive logic that will be linked to the data. The researcher will use the data for the establishments of new theories. Using a GT emphasis will be on determining and evaluating the factors that have led to increased female inmates. The application of the GT is so as to establish methods that can be used to explain the phenomena of increased female imprisonment. The data collected from the participants will be assessed using themes such as the perception of the value of motherhood. Additionally, the themes of “Munchausen’s Syndrome by Proxy (MSbP)” (Raitt & Zeedyk, 2004, Abstract), the fight against child services and the increased sense of guilt. The research will use the grounded theory to determine theories arising from the data analysis. The researcher will gather and analyze data from participants. The researcher will use the theories to explain the phenomena that the research presents (Corbin & Strauss, 2008).

Expected conclusion

The findings of the study are expected to demonstrate significant demands that female ex-convicts face when they are from prisons. The study is expected to reveal that female convicts who have a history of imprisonment experience difficulties staying out of criminal activities. The interview will reveal approximately 70% of ex-convict females have a criminal history and thus likely to be pulled to their old criminal activities.

Phenomenology design

Qualitative studies use the phenomenology design to examine human experiences through the participant’s experiences. The completion of the research is based on the information that the researcher gathers from the selected participants. The participants provide the researcher with lived experiences that the researcher uses to describe the meaning of the experience. When researching on the incarceration of women, for instance, the research can strive to gather data from ex-convicts, as well as the sentenced service prisoners (Hancock, Ockleford, & Windridge, 2009).

The use of convicts provides the researcher a viable with data for the study. The study collects first-hand information on the prison experience, from the members. In a phenomenological research, opinion of the researcher must put aside, and open to the ideas that the participant will provide. A researcher uses a structured interview as the best data collection method for the phenomenological design. When analyzing data from the participants, the researcher will strive to use the participant’s accounts and descriptions. The interview with thus, is video-taped or audio-recorded. The researcher thus uses the participant’s responses to uncover the underlying meaning (Padgett, 2004).

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