Essay Sample on Differences Between Male and Female Prison

If someone was told to think of three environments where male and female inequalities were present, most people would give the examples of children and professional sports, the office place and the business world, and music and movie industries. Most of the time, the jails and prisons of the United States and every other country around the world would not come to the top of anybody's mind after being questioned about that. Shockingly enough, the jails and prisons for the men and the women of our generation do have very noticeable differences that reflect all of our society. Whether it's the reason they were convicted into jail or it is the way they are treated while completing their time, there we can visibly see and make connections about the differences in the two types of prisons. Imprisoned women lead marginally different lives than their male counterparts simply because of the influence of patriarchy in the jail system. Female and male inmates live two completely different lives in separate jails, they have majorly different security levels because of the reasons they are there, they have physiological differences causing them to act differently, and they have to follow different rules and limitations/opportunities.

Women’s prisons are a lot less violent than the men’s prisons, because many less inmates were convicted for  violent crimes. Most of the time the females are convicted of drug or property offenses. “One study found that as many as 60% of female inmates have unhealthy substance use, while almost 75% live with a mental illness. The same study showed that the women's crimes were most often a direct result of these problems” (Dugger 1). The male inmates have been proved more likely to be in jail for violent crimes, which include; manslaughter, rape, robbery and assault. “A violent crime is a crime in which the perpetrator uses or threatens to use force against the targeted person” (Dugger 1). Because of the difference in the ways they were brought to jail, security levels vary heavily. “A prison security level dictates the type and number of safety measures used to keep the public protected from the inmates and the inmates protected from one another” (Dugger 1). Since women are considered to be less dangerous, the security level is largely less than the security levels of a male prison. The majority of the time, way less violent incidents occur during the inmate’s time spent in jail, as a woman rather than a man. The women’s prisons mostly are secured the same as a men’s minimum security prison, and are said to resemble college campuses or a camp. The female inmates live in dorms, unlike the male inmates who live in cell blocks. Women's prisons lack armed guard towers, tall stone walls, and razor wire barriers, which are often used to contain the felons in male prisons These big differences in the levels of security  in male and females are based on the actions of the different genders, and affect how the inmates live their daily lives (Dugger 1). 

Men and women generally have psychological differences that cause them to act and react to things not in the same way. It is no different with the male and female criminals.”Women tend to internalize stress, which may explain why female inmates engage in self-harming behavior such as cutting, carving and burning; women have more frequent suicide attempts and use medical and mental health ser   vices at more than twice the rate of male inmates” (Bedard 1). “73 percent of women in state prisons and 75 percent in jails have mental health problems, compared with 55 percent and 63 percent of men, respectively” (Clark). Scholars argue that men and women handle stress differently. Men express their stress externally, while women handle it internally. Women in jail would deal with intense issues that have to do with their children and when they will be able to see them again. “...many female inmates find out who they are for the first time in their life because they are not being abused” (Bedard). While men on the other hand, are not as willing to accept help because their ego gets in the way. The men do not want to show weakness and it delays their progress. One guard shared that “violence, hostility and drugs are more prevalent with the male population” (Bedard). And that working with female inmates makes her feel more rewarded and helpful, like she is making a difference. “Female inmates notice the little things you do,” she said. ”I do not pity them. I simply understand them.” says Warden (Bedard). The women are much more understanding and willing to make a change in themselves for the better. “Gillis said the majority of female inmates are very receptive to rehabilitation programs, and they take the initiative to get involved in programs, classes, and other activities that will begin to pave the way for their future… Gillis also remarked that male inmates are generally very reluctant to volunteer for programs that are rehabilitative in nature — not because they don’t feel that they need it, but because the male population operates based on peer pressure, male ego and reputation” (Bedard).Gillis’s take on the two different genders of inmates really shows the different motivation levels. Gillis also feels that the women are more helpful to each other and open with one another, while the men hide their feelings in order to avoid embarrassment. Although the females try their hardest and want to change the mental pressure and stress causes, many of the women self-harm. It is four times more likely for a woman inmate to self-harm than a male inmate. Different environments and situations, and the stress of being in prison causes men and women to react differently. Generally women form more stress causing self harm and suicide attempts, but are also more motivated to get out and form a close knit community. The men do not get close to each other emotionally, but instead form alliances to not get killed.  

Men and women’s jails and the way the men and women are treated in these jails are both extremely different. The different security levels, physiological differences, and different rules, have made them so unalike. Without different security levels, fighting in prison would be provoked and occur far more frequently making it an even more dangerous environment than it already is. Men and women in general have many psychological differences and when you combine that with mental illnesses and violent natures, you see a very different outcome from the two genders. The ways men and women are convicted differ in such an abundant way where women are more often convicted for non-violent crimes involving drug abuse or anything else. Men have much higher statistics of being imprisoned for fighting and harmful crimes that the overall structure of prison environments differs strongly. Also, the reason that these things could occur is because men and women have different experiences and different outlooks on jail causing them to do and act different behaviors. Some of the inequalities are not necessarily good or bad, but they still portray the way’s males and females are treated differently.