Women and the Criminal Justice System: Gender, Race, and Class [Paperback]

Katherine Stuart van Wormer (Author), Clemens Bartollas (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 27, 1999 | ISBN-10: 020529457X | ISBN-13: 978-0205294572

Women and the Criminal Justice System focuses heavily on gender and ethnic diversity and on the strengths of oppressed people, especially women of color in criminal justice and social work. A wide range of issues are covered, from the rate of early childhood sexual abuse victimization in female inmates, to estimates of instances of male prison-guard-on-female-inmate rape, to the rate of women lawyers achieving partnerships in their firms. The authors provide a wealth of recent data drawn from both official and international human rights sources. The final portion of the book includes text and personal interview materials that are devoted to the justice occupations records of women's progress and setbacks in entering the traditionally male dominated fields of policing, the law, and corrections. For anyone interested in issues of race, class, and gender in criminal justice and social work.

Editorial Reviews

From the Author

This text includes an overview of innovative programs globally, also of victimization across the world. The chapter on women and addictions is unique in a book of this sort. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From the Back Cover

Women and the Criminal Justice System focuses heavily on gender and ethnic diversity and on the strengths of oppressed people, especially women of color in criminal justice and social work.

A wide range of issues are covered, from the rate of early childhood sexual abuse victimization in female inmates, to estimates of instances of male prison-guard-on-female-inmate rape, to the rate of women lawyers achieving partnerships in their firms. The authors provide a wealth of recent data drawn from both official and international human rights sources. The final portion of the book includes text and personal interview materials that are devoted to the justice occupations records of women's progress and setbacks in entering the traditionally male dominated fields of policing, the law, and corrections.

For anyone interested in issues of race, class, and gender in criminal justice and social work.

Product Details

• Paperback: 244 pages
• Publisher: Allyn & Bacon (December 27, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 020529457X
• ISBN-13: 978-0205294572
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,355,061 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Katherine van Wormer, MSSW, Ph.D., grew up in New Orleans, taught English in Northern Ireland and is Professor of Social Work at the University of Northern Iowa. She worked extensively in the field of substance abuse counseling in Washington State and Norway. Dr. van Wormer has authored or co-authored 16 books. Her most recent contributions are two volumes of Human Behavior and the Social Environment, Micro and Macro Levels (Oxford University Press), Addiction Treatment: A Strengths Perspective (Cengage), Women and the Criminal Justice System (Prentice Hall), and Death by Domestic Violence: Preventing the Murders and the Murder-Suicides (Praeger), and Working with Female Offenders: A Gender Sensitive Approach.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a valuable and rare resource, June 16, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Women and the Criminal Justice System: Gender, Race, and Class (Paperback)

Although laid out like a textbook(numerous summary statements and bullet points) and encompassing an enormous amount of literature, the writing is crisp and interesting, liberally sprinkled with quotes, original interviews, vignettes and illustrative sidebars. The chapters fall into the basic categories of women as imprisoned perpetrators, women as victims of crimes, and the place of women in the law enforcement system. The book is a joint effort from a social work professor and a sociology/criminal justice professor. THis resulted in a fruitful interplay between the objective and subjective voice in the presentation of this material. The subject is explicitly approached from an empowerment perspective, which focuses on giving people the information they need to navigate the issues most effectively for helping themselves and others.The assumption is that issues of gender,social class and racial oppression enter into all aspects of the subject.This is a valuable and rare resource in this area of human concern. Reviewed in Social Work Forum Newsletter

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Book on Women in Criminal Justice, July 24, 2000

By 

Rudolph Alexander, Jr. - See all my reviews

This review is from: Women and the Criminal Justice System: Gender, Race, and Class (Paperback)

Van Wormer and Bartollas' book provides a very broad discussion of all facets of women in the criminal justice system, such as rape, spouse abuse, women in prison, women in law enforcement, and women in the legal profession. Because of its broad range of information, it provides a strong book for courses in criminal justice programs involving women. It also provides a strong reader for lay persons who are just interested in knowing the issues involving women and the criminal justice system. In the College of Social Work at Ohio State University, I teach a course entitled social work practice in corrections and would adopt this book as a second book for my course to provide students with broad perspective of women issues in criminal justice.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This Book Has it All!, May 14, 2011

By 

Ty Hyderally "Ty Hyderally" (Kinnelon, NJ, US) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Women and the Criminal Justice System (3rd Edition) (Paperback)

If there is a book of which it could be said, "It covers it all" this is the one. It covers virtually everything involving women and the Criminal Justice system. Many of the topics are concerning women who have been subjected to various types of abuse including rape. But it makes a full swing around to emcompass women who work as law enforcement personnel and even those whose jobs are deeply seated within the field of criminal justice. I'd say it's a very eye opening text with tons of information! It's a good read!