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Gendered Violence and Safety: a Contextual Approach to Improving Security in Women’S Facilities

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Gendered Violence and Safety: a Contextual Approach to Improving Security in Women’S Facilities The author(s) shown below used Federal funds provided by the U.S. Department of Justice and prepared the following final report: Document Title: Gendered Violence and Safety: A Contextual Approach to Improving Security in Women’s Facilities Author: Barbara Owen, Ph.D., James Wells, Ph.D., Joycelyn Pollock, Ph.D., J.D., Bernadette Muscat, Ph.D., Stephanie Torres, M.S Document No.: 225338 Date Received: December 2008 Award Number: 2006-RP-BX-0016 This report has not been published by the U.S. Department of Justice. To provide better customer service, NCJRS has made this Federally- funded grant final report available electronically in addition to traditional paper copies. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice. This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice. Final Report GENDERED VIOLENCE AND SAFETY: A CONTEXTUAL APPROACH TO IMPROVING SECURITY IN WOMENNovember’S FACILITIES 2008 A contextual approach to improving security in women’s facilities Part I of III Gendered Violence and Safety: Improving security in women’s facilities Barbara Owen, Ph.D. California State University, Fresno James Wells, Ph.D. Commonwealth Research Consulting, Inc. Joycelyn Pollock, Ph.D., J.D. Texas State University- San Marcos Bernadette Muscat, Ph.D. Stephanie Torres, M.S. California State University, Fresno PART 2: TABLE OF CONTENTS i This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice. GENDERED VIOLENCE AND SAFETY: A CONTEXTUAL APPROACH TO IMPROVING SECURITY IN WOMEN’S FACILITIES This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice. FINAL REPORT NOVEMBER 2008 GENDERED VIOLENCE AND SAFETY: A CONTEXTUAL APPROACH TO IMPROVING SECURITY IN WOMEN’S FACILITIES PART I OF III: GENDERED VIOLENCE AND SAFETY: IMPROVING SECURITY IN WOMEN’S FACILITIES Barbara Owen, Ph.D. California State University, Fresno James Wells, Ph.D. Commonwealth Research Consulting, Inc. Joycelyn Pollock, Ph.D., J.D. Texas State University- San Marcos Bernadette Muscat, Ph.D. Stephanie Torres, M.S. California State University, Fresno This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice. GENDERED VIOLENCE AND SAFETY: A CONTEXTUAL APPROACH TO IMPROVING SECURITY IN WOMEN’S FACILITIES This project was funded by Award # 2006-RP-BX-0016 from The National Institute of Justice: Research on Violent Behavior and Sexual Violence in Corrections 2006. Points of view expressed in this report are those of the authors alone and do not represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice. For further information on the project, Gendered Violence and Safety: A contextual approach to improving security in women’s facilities, please contact Barbara Owen at the Department of Criminology, CSU Fresno, [email protected]. This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice. GENDERED VIOLENCE AND SAFETY: A CONTEXTUAL APPROACH TO IMPROVING SECURITY IN WOMEN’S FACILITIES TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract..................................................................................................................... iv Executive Summary .................................................................................................. v Acknowledgements..................................................................................................xii Chapter One Introduction ................................................................................................................. 1 Chapter Two Literature Review ........................................................................................................ 5 Chapter Three Gendered Violence in Women’s Prisons and Jails ................................................... 37 Chapter Four Policy Implication and Recommendations................................................................. 61 References............................................................................................................... 73 TABLE OF CONTENTS iii This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice. GENDERED VIOLENCE AND SAFETY: A CONTEXTUAL APPROACH TO IMPROVING SECURITY IN WOMEN’S FACILITIES ABSTRACT In response to the Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003 (PREA), this project investigated the context of gendered violence and safety in women’s correctional facilities. Through a multi-method approach, including focus groups with female inmates and staff and survey development, we examined the context and correlates of both violence and safety in correctional facilities for women. The data support our original hypothesis that sexual violence is embedded in a broader context of violence and safety and that this context is gender-based. We argue that prevention and intervention, through inmate programs and education, staff training and other operational practices, are primary strategies in meeting the goals of PREA. Like all aspects of incarceration, violence in women’s correctional facilities was markedly gendered and nested within a constellation of overlapping individual, relational, institutional, and societal factors. We found that many of the factors contributing to potential violence converge within living units and, thus, present an opportunity for measuring the relative degree of safety and danger of each unit. We also found that violence in women’s jails and prisons is not a dominant aspect of everyday life, but exists as a potential, shaped by time, place, prison culture, interpersonal relationships, and staff actions. On-going tensions and conflicts, lack of economic opportunity, and few therapeutic options to address past victimization or to treat destructive relationship patterns contribute to the potential for violence in women’s facilities. Our findings did not suggest that women’s jails and prisons are increasingly dangerous. While some patterns that shape vulnerability and aggression exist in any facility, most women learn to protect themselves and do their time safely. We also found that most staff and managers are committed to maintaining a safe environment. Building on the focus group data, we developed a comprehensive battery of survey instruments to assess prisoner perceptions of violence and safety in women’s facilities. The resultant battery is comprised of multi-dimensional instruments with specific questionnaire items and response categories designed to accurately capture women’s experiences in correctional facilities. The operational implications of this model focus on prevention and intervention by addressing multiple factors that shape the context of violence in women’s facilities. We offer this study as a way of increasing the ability to ensure all forms of safety for women offenders. This report is presented in three parts. Part I summarizes our findings and provides specific recommendations for improving safety for women offenders. Part II provides a detailed analysis of the focus group data. Part III describes the development of quantitative measures of violence and safety in women’s correctional facilities. Two bulletins regarding the applications of these findings were also developed. iv ABSTRACT This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice. GENDERED VIOLENCE AND SAFETY: A CONTEXTUAL APPROACH TO IMPROVING SECURITY IN WOMEN’S FACILITIES EXECUTIVE SUMMARY In response to the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) of 2003, this project investigated the context of gendered violence and safety in women’s correctional facilities. Through a multi-method approach, we examined the context and correlates that produce and support both violence and safety in facilities for women. The data support our original hypothesis that sexual violence is embedded in the broader context of violence and safety and that this context is gender-based. We also suspected that prior victimization often contributes to a cycle
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