Equality In Prisons

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United States prisons have been striving towards providing a structure that is equal among all people. In the minds of many, such a system would exclude treatment based on differences such as ethnicity, sexual orientation, age, religious belief, employment, and sex. The problem with this attitude is that absolute equal treatment is used interchangeably with fairness; it is best not to forget that equality is not necessarily equity nor is it justice. There are many situations where differences are relevant and they should be taken into account accordingly. Our push for equality is not being balanced with a push towards fairness for women in prisons. The system often fails to meet the needs of women and does not provide as many programs to help …show more content…
For example a parenting program for states on the east coast was offered at 27 different male institutions, while only being offered at 2 female institutions (Clark 55). The program allowed parents to remain in touch with their families while they were in prison, but males, who were not only given this opportunity in greater number, were afforded video recording while females were restricted to audio (Clark 55). This is rather unfair given that women in state prisons were more likely to report that they were the parents of minors and that they lived with the minor before the time of their incarceration (Phillips 3) . Vocational and education programs provided are no better as they prepare women for jobs that are often related to traditional female gender roles such as cosmetology and culinary arts (White 313). These jobs do not help female offender earn a living wage on their own and without a sense of being self-sufficient, may drive them into seeking the aid of a man (Owen 1199). The system is not all bad in every approach that they take, as women who have not completed their high school education must participate in 240 hours of a literacy program, or until the receive their General Equivalency Diploma (White …show more content…
The issue stems from the fact that males represent the majority of the population and consequently their issues take precedent. We must acknowledge that our society has not developed a proper sense of what should be gender neutrality in prisons. The standards for needs are set by the needs of the majority in the prison system, men. Obviously the system should be equal, but equity must be prevalent as well. It is therefore critical that we do not deny the needs of women just because the majority of the population is being satisfied. Accommodating to the opposite sex should not be considered codling. It is simply establishing a system that is not only equal, but
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