Women, criminality and multifocal empowerment responses: some prospects for Botswana

Although the overall agenda of the women's movement is committed to recognizing the needs & aspirations of women & ending gender-based inequality, issues concerning women & crime have always been ignored. This paper documents the situation of women in prison in Botswana. Although th...

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Veröffentlicht in:Journal of social development in Africa 2001, Vol.16 (2), p.5-29
Hauptverfasser: Modie-Moroka, Tirelo, Sossou, Marie-Antoinette
Format: Artikel
Sprache:eng
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Zusammenfassung:Although the overall agenda of the women's movement is committed to recognizing the needs & aspirations of women & ending gender-based inequality, issues concerning women & crime have always been ignored. This paper documents the situation of women in prison in Botswana. Although the proportion of prisoners who are women is relatively small, women constitute a growing subset of the entire prison population whose needs are different from those of men. Whereas factors that draw women to criminal activities may not differ markedly for men & women, women's crime is a reaction to the special circumstances of their prolonged victimization & dispossession. The paper explores how prisons have historically served to enforce & reinforce women's traditional roles & to foster dependency & passivity. The paper combines empirical evidence collected through qualitative research conducted in six female prisons in Botswana with feminist & empowerment models used to highlight the personal experiences & psychosocial problems of women in prison. We argue for the development of gender-appropriate & gender-sensitive social services in education, economic & personal empowerment, legal aid, medical & counseling, among others, in order to help women prisoners take control of their lives. 35 References. Adapted from the source document.
ISSN:1012-1080
1012-1080
DOI:10.4314/jsda.v16i2.23871