Women and prison: a historical review

Kriminaliteta žensk in odzivi nanjo so se skozi zgodovino spreminjali, odvisni pa so bili predvsem od položaja žensk v takratni družbi. V 18. in prvi polovici 19. stoletja je bila vloga ženske močno podrejena moškemu, kar se je še posebej odražalo v zaporih. Veljala je za šibko, čisto bitje, katere glavno poslanstvo je skrb za družino. Ženska, ki ni ustrezala idealom tistega časa, je bila označena za nemoralno in sramotno. Kazniva dejanja žensk so bila v veliki meri ostreje kaznovana kot moška, velikokrat pa so bile ženske obsojene za kriminalna dejanja, katera za moške niso bila kazniva. Kriminologi in penologi dolgo časa niso posvečali posebne pozornosti kriminaliteti žensk. Zapornice so bile vse do druge polovice 19. stoletja potisnjene v ozadje. Strokovnjaki razlog za to pripisujejo majhnemu številu obsojenih žensk in dejstvu, da so bili raziskovalci zaporskega sistema moški. Šele reformatorsko gibanje, katerega pripadniki so se zavzemali za izboljšanje razmer za ženske v zaporih, začne osvetljevati trpljenje zaprtih žensk. Slabe higienske razmere, prostorska stiska, pomanjkanje zasebnosti in fizične ter spolne zlorabe, so predstavljale vsakdan zapornic. Reformatorska gibanja, ki so se okrepila v 19. stoletju, so v prvi vrsti strmela k ustanovitvi neodvisnih zaporov za ženske, ne le v fizičnem temveč tudi administrativnem smislu. Razmere v zaporih od 18. stoletja do danes so se močno izboljšale. Eden izmed razlogov je spremenjen pogled na kriminaliteto žensk, ki se je z razvojem socialnih in feminističnih teorij, oddaljil od pozitivističnih teorij, katere so žensko dojemale kot psihološko in biološko determinirano bitje, ob tem pa zanemarile morebiten vpliv socialnih dejavnikov. Prav tako se je z naraščajočim deležem ženske zaporske populacije od druge polovice 19. stoletja, povečalo zanimanje kriminologov in penologov za raziskovanje žensk v zaporskih sistemih. Kaznovanje žensk je skozi zgodovino postalo bolj humano, zapori pa prilagojeni potrebam obsojenk, za katere je zmotno veljalo, da zapor doživljajo enako kot moški.Female criminality and the responses to it have been changing throughout history, mainly depending on the position of women in society at the time. In the 18th and the first half of the 19th century, women were subordinated to men, especially in the prison setting. They were considered weak, pure beings whose main purpose was taking care of the family. A woman that did not fit the ideals of the time was labeled as immoral and shameful. Compared to men, women have been punished more severely for their criminal acts. They have even often been convicted of crimes that were not considered illegal for the men. Criminologists and penologists did not pay much attention to female criminality for a long time. Female prisoners have been pushed in the background until the second half of the 19th century, which was attributed to a low number of convicted females and the fact that most experts on prison system research were men. It was not until the reformatory movement, whose members fought for improving the conditions for women in prisons that a light was shed on the suffering of incarcerated women. Poor hygienic conditions, overcrowding, lack of privacy, and physical and sexual abuse were a part of everyday life for female prisoners. Reformatory movements, which gained momentum in the 19th century, mainly strived towards establishing independent prisons for women in a physical and administrative way. Conditions in prisons have improved drastically since the 18th century. One of the reasons is a different perspective on female criminality, which, with the transformation of social and feminist theories, moved further away from the positivist theories that perceived a woman as a psychologically and biologically determined being while neglecting a possible influence from social factors. An increased number of female convicts since the second half of the 19th century has also spiked the interest of criminologists and penologists regarding the female prison system research. Penalizing women has become more humane throughout history, and the prisons have been adapted to female prisoners, who were wrongly assumed to be going through the same prison experience as the men