Gender Disparity in Criminal Justice

Introduction

Gender-based disparities like discrimination through the criminal justice system have distinct adverse effects like engaging more obstacles in achieving fair justice. The challenges of gender disparity disproportionately affect women by exposing the group to significant barriers associated with accessing justice, regardless of represented alleged offenders, witnesses, or victims. The analysis strives to highlight the effective use of restorative justice reforms and structures in mitigating the advancement of discrimination among women through the established systems. Moreover, since research highlights circumstances women face through criminal justice remain different from those of men, engaging gender disparities offer indirect and direct results showing layers of deprivation and discrimination, often entertained by the community, their families, and their partners. Hence, in unity with rapid social changes and globalization, the analysis seconds the implementation of restorative justice reforms as suitable interventions for engaging complete and total enforcement, especially for women who fall victims to the criminal justice system.

The Restorative Criminal System

According to Rees and Hobson (291), the therapeutic criminal system and reforms strive to mitigate the underlying increased violence and lack of adequate representation of women by the criminal justice system. The researchers note that analysis from bodies like the National Commission of Violence Against Women shows that women still comprise a disproportionate percentage of all-time high records and experiences of unmitigated violence since 2018 (Rees and Hobson, (291). Suprobowati and Rustamaji (2) also second the notion of implementing restorative justice reforms to mitigate gender disparity in criminal justice. The authors note that the combination of diverse experiences and distinct backgrounds associated with women offenders contributes to the need to implement suitable justice reforms for tackling the target group’s challenges. For instance, an analysis of women’s physical and sexual victimization through the criminal justice demonstrates that women offenders first represent victims and second offenders. Based on the research done by Suprobowati and Rustamaji (2), a lack of recognition of women offenders rather than victims largely contributes to their misrepresentation in the criminal justice sector.

Further analysis done by Kohn (567) highlights that the effects of gender disparity in the criminal justice adversely affect women, leading to contemporary challenges like living with abuse and trauma. Such factors, combined with unstable housing and the management of gendered-childcare aspects, as noted by Kohn (567), contribute to the essence of implementing vital criminal justice reforms for mitigating underlying gender disparities. Furthermore, the research demonstrates that such inequality contributes to increased mental health among the group since women reveal stronger links to mental health challenges and drug use than men. Additionally, Suprobowati and Rustamaji (3) note that such gender disparities in the criminal justice system serve as double transgressions placed on women by both social and legal norms. Such violations force women incarcerated through the justice system to be more exposed to societal stigma than male offenders.

According to Suprobowati and Rustamaji (3), one suitable intervention brought by restorative criminal reforms is increased recognition concerning complexities brought about by women’s cases in the criminal justice system. The author notes that taking account of the vulnerabilities, experiences, and life circumstances women go through under the system offers suitable approaches for engaging in activities for the established offense. The implementation of such gender-responsive interventions, as noted by Rees and Hobson (292), also calls for the analysis of diverse underlying factors that include the assessment of functions like gender relations, cultural concerns, and religious interpretations. As the authors note, such a multi-dimensional analysis of the criminal justice system and contributing factors represents an initial step for solving underlying gender disparities in the criminal justice system. Through the analysis of such studies, data shows the need to pay close attention to victims and their underlying influencing factors for the provision of equitable justice services, especially for women facing the criminal justice system. Rees and Hobson (293) insist on the need to implement restorative and flexible criminal justice reforms that implement accountability mechanisms suitable for mitigating social justice by issuing opportunities dedicated to proper reintegration, repairing, and healing interventions for women under the criminal justice system.

Conclusion

The analysis of gender disparities in the criminal justice system highlights that women remain more susceptive to unfair scrutiny and judgment by the system. Some contributing factors include the lack of ineffective representation of women in the design and a lack of recognition of the different factors affecting women offenders compared to men. The analysis insists on the importance of implementing restorative justice reforms for advancing the suitable representation of women based on established legal and social norms. Examination of the efficiency of the beneficial justice system for mitigating female offenders also offers practical insight into further needed reforms for mitigating gender disparities throughout the criminal justice system.

Works Cited

Kohn, Laurie S. “# MeToo, Wrongs against Women, and Restorative Justice.” Kan. JL & Pub. Poly 28 (2018): 561.

Rees, Ella, and Jonathan Hobson. “Restorative practice in the criminal justice system: examining a restorative reasoning program in a women’s prison.” Laws 10.4 (2021): 95.

Suprobowati, Gayatri Dyah, and Muhammad Rustamaji. “Reconstruction of the Model Recovery of Violence Against Women Victims Fairly Through the Development of Restorative Justice in the Globalization Era.” International Conference on Environmental and Energy Policy (ICEEP 2021). Atlantis Press, 2021.