Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice
Abstract
Prisons in the United States and elsewhere are constructed as fundamentally gendered spaces. Officials and courts tend to view women in prison within narrow tropes, commonly as reproductive actors and victims. While women in prison may share certain characteristics, the reification of gender categories in prison can flatten their experiences in ways that are counterproductive or harmful. The U.S. conception of gender in prison is informed by a notion offormal equality, which this Note contrasts with the substantive equality norms employed by European actors, specifically in Northern Ireland. Exploring the legal effect of gender in prison, this Note proceeds in three parts. First, it engages with U.S. case law regarding women in prison in three areas: 1) equality ofprogramming and services; 2) privacy, dignity, and women's bodies; and 3) staffing and gender, with an eye towards sexual assault. Second, it looks to European and international law to understand a different approach to the same issues. Finally, it takes on a case study of Northern Ireland's women's prison, based on the author's research at the facility. That prison has operationalized principles of substantive equality that serve as a counterpoint to the U.S. approach, allowing for engagement with the implications of gendered prisons.
Disciplines
Law | Law and Gender | Law Enforcement and Corrections
Recommended Citation
Molly Petchenik,
Prison, Gender, and Equality: Lessons from Northern Ireland,
28
Cardozo J. Equal Rts. & Soc. Just.
221
(2022).
Available at:
https://larc.cardozo.yu.edu/cardozoersj/vol28/iss2/2