Candace Kruttschnitt - Böcker

This report expands on the work of an earlier National Research Council panel whose report, Understanding Violence Against Women, was published in 1996. The report is based on the presentations and deliberations of a workshop convened in January 2002, at the request of Congress, to develop a detailed research agenda on violence against women. While some of the research recommendations in the earlier report have been funded and carried out, the workshop demonstrated that important gaps remain. For example, prevalence and incidence data are still inadequate to measure trends or to reveal whether interventions being designed under federal programs are, in fact, working. Among its primary recommendations, the committee underscored the importance of strengthening the data and research infrastructure in this area, especially the need for better prevalence data and longitudinal data to determine the causes of violent victimization of women and the impact of interventions.

The Bureau of Justice Statistics' (BJS) National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) measures the rates at which Americans are victims of crimes, including rape and sexual assault, but there is concern that rape and sexual assault are undercounted on this survey. BJS asked the National Research Council to investigate this issue and recommend best practices for measuring rape and sexual assault on their household surveys. Estimating the Incidence of Rape and Sexual Assault concludes that it is likely that the NCVS is undercounting rape and sexual assault. The most accurate counts of rape and sexual assault cannot be achieved without measuring them separately from other victimizations, the report says. It recommends that BJS develop a separate survey for measuring rape and sexual assault. The new survey should more precisely define ambiguous words such as "rape," give more privacy to respondents, and take other steps that would improve the accuracy of responses. Estimating the Incidence of Rape and Sexual Assault takes a fresh look at the problem of measuring incidents of rape and sexual assault from the criminal justice perspective.This report examines issues such as the legal definitions in use by the states for these crimes, best methods for representing the definitions in survey instruments so that their meaning is clear to respondents, and best methods for obtaining as complete reporting as possible of these crimes in surveys, including methods whereby respondents may report anonymously. Rape and sexual assault are among the most injurious crimes a person can inflict on another. The effects are devastating, extending beyond the initial victimization to consequences such as unwanted pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections, sleep and eating disorders, and other emotional and physical problems. Understanding the frequency and context under which rape and sexual assault are committed is vital in directing resources for law enforcement and support for victims. These data can influence public health and mental health policies and help identify interventions that will reduce the risk of future attacks. Sadly, accurate information about the extent of sexual assault and rape is difficult to obtain because most of these crimes go unreported to police.Estimating the Incidence of Rape and Sexual Assault focuses on methodology and vehicles used to measure rape and sexual assaults, reviews potential sources of error within the NCVS survey, and assesses the training and monitoring of interviewers in an effort to improve reporting of these crimes.

In recent decades, the nature of criminal punishment has undergone change in the United States. This case study of women serving time in California in the 1960s and 1990s examines key points in this recent history. In this 2005 book, the authors begin with a look at imprisonment at the California Institution for Women in the early 1960s, when the rehabilitative model dominated official discourse. They compare women's experiences in the 1990s, at the California Institution for Women and the Valley State Prison, when the recent 'get tough' era was near its peak. Drawing on archival data, interviews, and surveys, their analysis considers the relationships among official philosophies and practices of imprisonment, women's responses to the prison regime, and relations between women prisoners. The experiences of women prisoners reflected the transformations Americans have witnessed in punishment over recent decades, but they also mirrored the deprivations and restrictions of imprisonment.

In recent decades, the nature of criminal punishment has undergone change in the United States. This case study of women serving time in California in the 1960s and 1990s examines key points in this recent history. In this 2005 book, the authors begin with a look at imprisonment at the California Institution for Women in the early 1960s, when the rehabilitative model dominated official discourse. They compare women's experiences in the 1990s, at the California Institution for Women and the Valley State Prison, when the recent 'get tough' era was near its peak. Drawing on archival data, interviews, and surveys, their analysis considers the relationships among official philosophies and practices of imprisonment, women's responses to the prison regime, and relations between women prisoners. The experiences of women prisoners reflected the transformations Americans have witnessed in punishment over recent decades, but they also mirrored the deprivations and restrictions of imprisonment.

While rates of violent victimization have declined, women are still much more likely than men to be attacked by an intimate partner. Simultaneously, women's involvement in the criminal justice system, as arrestees and sentenced offenders, is increasing. Criminologists are struggling to understand these patterns of offending and victimization and how they can be prevented. Composed of original contributions by many of the top scholars in criminology, these essays will help to transform our understanding of women's relation to crime.Composed of original contributions by many of the top scholars in criminology, these essays will help to transform our understanding of women's relation to crime.Contributors: Jennifer L. Castro, Stephen A. Cernkovich, Sarah Curtis-Fawley, Kathleen Daly, Laura Dugan, Jill A. Dienes, Rosemary Gartner, Carole Gibbs, Peggy C. Giordano, Karen Heimer, Gwen Hunnicutt, Candace Kruttschnitt, Gary LaFree, Janet L. Lauritsen, Ross Macmillan, Bill McCarthy, Jody Miller, Christopher W. Mullins, Callie Marie Rennison, Nancy Rodriguez, Sally S. Simpson, Hilary Smith, Stacy Wittrock, Halime Ünal, and Marjorie S. Zatz.

While rates of violent victimization have declined, women are still much more likely than men to be attacked by an intimate partner. Simultaneously, women's involvement in the criminal justice system, as arrestees and sentenced offenders, is increasing. Criminologists are struggling to understand these patterns of offending and victimization and how they can be prevented. Composed of original contributions by many of the top scholars in criminology, these essays will help to transform our understanding of women's relation to crime.Composed of original contributions by many of the top scholars in criminology, these essays will help to transform our understanding of women's relation to crime.Contributors: Jennifer L. Castro, Stephen A. Cernkovich, Sarah Curtis-Fawley, Kathleen Daly, Laura Dugan, Jill A. Dienes, Rosemary Gartner, Carole Gibbs, Peggy C. Giordano, Karen Heimer, Gwen Hunnicutt, Candace Kruttschnitt, Gary LaFree, Janet L. Lauritsen, Ross Macmillan, Bill McCarthy, Jody Miller, Christopher W. Mullins, Callie Marie Rennison, Nancy Rodriguez, Sally S. Simpson, Hilary Smith, Stacy Wittrock, Halime Ünal, and Marjorie S. Zatz.

Drawing on qualitative and quantitative research from around the world, this book brings together renowned international scholars to explore life-course perspectives on women’s imprisonment. Instead of covering only one aspect of women’s carceral experiences, this book offers a broader perspective that encompasses women’s pathways to prison, their prison experiences and the effects of these experiences on their children’s well-being, as well as their subsequent chances of desisting from crime.Encompassing perspectives from the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Scotland, the United States, Ukraine and Sri Lanka, this book uncovers the similarities across time and space in women offenders’ life histories and those of their children and examines the differences in women’s experiences and trajectories by shedding light on the moderating effects of particular cultural contexts.Lives of Incarcerated Women will be of interest to academics and students engaged in the study of punishment, penology, life-course criminology, women and crime and gender studies. It will also be of great interest to practitioners.