Abstract
The rate of female incarceration continues to surge, resulting in over 714,000 women currently being held behind bars worldwide. Females generally enter carceral facilities with low educational profiles, and educational programming inside is rarely a high priority. Access to education is a proven contributor to women’s social and economic empowerment and can minimise some of the obstacles they encounter after being released from custody. Support for the intellectual potential of incarcerated female ‘students’ can address intersecting inequalities that impede access to social protection, public services and sustainable infrastructure. Policymakers, academics and activists concerned with gender equality must begin by focusing on academic and vocational program development for female prisoners, built through strong community partnerships, and inclusive of trauma informed supports.
Highlights
Van Waters had long held a belief in the power of education to help women function and succeed in society upon their release (Chlup 2006); this belief aligns with many female reformers before her
Fry evolved into a national federation of 24 feminist, community-based societies (Canadian Association of Elizabeth Fry Societies) that provided advocacy, services and programs to marginalised women involved with the criminal justice system (Hayman 2006)
If we are to move in earnest towards the development of an equitable society (Tutu and van Roekel 2010), we must consider the intellectual potential of the hundreds of thousands of ‘students’ who are currently held behind bars around the globe
Summary
More than 714,000 women are incarcerated worldwide (Walmsley, 2017). females constitute a small percentage of the international prison population, their rate of incarceration (both in pre-trial detention and sentenced) has surged. China has an estimated female prison population of about half that of the US ‘plus an unknown number of women and girls in pre-trial detention and “administrative detention”’. Following behind these two nations are the Russian Federation (48,478), Brazil (about 44,700), Thailand (41,119), India (17,834) and the Philippines (12,658) (Walmsley 2017: 2). Unfamiliarity with newer technologies and outright exclusion from particular jobs for those with a criminal record further contribute to poor employment prospects (Gunnison and Helfgott 2013; Petersilia 2003)
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