Jeanne Flavin

Feminism for the mainstream criminologist: An invitation

Abstract Feminism has historically been peripheral to the study and practice of criminal justice; mainstream criminologists have not been widely exposed to feminist perspectives. This has contributed to perceptions that criminology is about men and feminism is only about women. Consequently, many criminologists and criminal justice practitioners have yet to understand, much less appreciate, the importance of feminisms contribution to criminology. To address this problem, this article explains some of the major feminist insights in the interrelated areas of epistemology, theory, methodology, and policy. Examples from the criminal justice literature are used to illustrate both the basis for feminist concerns as well as the diversity of feminist scholarship.

Punishing Pregnant Drug-Using Women: Defying Law, Medicine, and Common Sense

ABSTRACT The arrests, detentions, prosecutions, and other legal actions taken against drug-dependent pregnant women distract attention from significant social problems, such as our lack of universal health care, the dearth of policies to support pregnant and parenting women, the absence of social supports for children, and the overall failure of the drug war. The attempts to “protect the fetus” undertaken through the criminal justice system (as well as in family and drug courts) actually undermine maternal and fetal health and discourage efforts to identify and implement effective strategies for addressing the needs of pregnant drug users and their families. In this article, the authors seek to expose some of the flawed premises on which the arrests, detentions, and prosecutions are based. The authors highlight the inherent unfairness of a system that expects low-income and drug-dependent pregnant women to provide their fetuses with the health care and safety that these women themselves are not provided and have not been guaranteed.

Police work in the Caribbean – The influence of gender and nation

Over the past two decades, the growing number of women entering the police profession has challenged the historic male dominance of the occupation. Research from the USA and the UK has examined whether men and women police differ in their assessments of working conditions, occupational opportunities, and other aspects of police work. To date, however, no attempt has been made to conduct a quantitative study of gender across socio‐political contexts or to assess the applicability of models constructed in those two countries to Caribbean nations. This study employs survey data from a sample of police constables and their immediate supervisors in three Caribbean nations. The survey queried 1,237 constables and supervisors. A total of 11 per cent of the respondents were women. Constables were asked about various aspects of policing, working conditions, and the nature of their duties. The questions were based on 24 constructs evaluated in the US and UK literatures. Few differences between genders emerged from comparisons within nations, although such differences have been documented in the USA and UK. These findings suggest that gender models used in developed nations do not necessarily explain differences in developing nations. Differences were observed across the three nations, however. Implications for future research on gender and policing are discussed.

A Glass Half Full? Harm Reduction among Pregnant Women Who Use Cocaine

The current research challenges the popular assumption that pregnant women who use drugs are either unable or unwilling to take steps to promote a healthy pregnancy. Many qualitative studies have found that pregnant women who use drugs may engage in harm reduction strategies. These findings were confirmed in the present study, which uses data collected as part of the 1992 National Institute on Drug Abuse survey of women who delivered live-born infants in DC hospitals. These data also highlight the disadvantaged socioeconomic, emotional, and physical position of women who use cocaine relative to other women. The findings suggest a need for policies and responses to maternal drug use that recognize many womens desire to promote a healthy pregnancy as well as their diminished social and physical circumstances.

Police and HIV/AIDS: The risk, the reality, the response

Risk and fear have been examined empirically and theoretically in the policing literature. To date, however, there has been minimal effort to examine these concepts in the context of HIV/AIDS. Since the HIV/AIDS epidemic was first detected nearly 20 years ago, relatively little attention has been given to the complex issues it presents for police officers. The following discussion draws from both the policing and epidemiological literatures to examine police officers’ fear and risk of occupational HIV transmission and individual and departmental responses to this fear. Important elements of educational programs and policies are also addressed.

Not All Women Are Mothers Addressing the Invisibility of Women Under the Control of the Criminal Justice System Who Do Not Have Children

Research has consistently shown that most women under the control of the criminal justice system are mothers. The robustness of this finding has been accompanied by a failure to consider the characteristics and needs of women without children. In this study, we examine data on 1,334 formerly incarcerated women. Findings indicate that while mothers and non-mothers share some characteristics, they differ on several others, most notably demographic profile, mental health, and timing of contacts with the criminal justice system. These results suggest a need to recognize the diversity among women offender groups, particularly when developing policies and programs need.

(MIS)Representing risk: Headline accounts of HIV-related assaults

The news media construct order by defining which events are sig-nificant and interpreting these events for the public. Sometimes, though, the media distort reality. The current study focuses on the media exaggeration of the threat posed by nonsexual HIV-related assaults. Although such assaults are widely perceived as serious threats, the likelihood of HIV being transmitted through a biting, spitting, or needlestick incident is quite small. Based on news accounts culled from 17 of the largest newspapers in the United States, the findings illustrate how headlines rely upon sensational language, negative stereotyping of offenders, and the cloak of “neutral and objective” court decisions to articulate a sense of order and morality while simultaneously exaggerating the threat people with HIV pose to the general public.