Gender is one of the main principles of an individual's identity and, through the roles, norms and gender-related expectations, determines his or her life experiences, including the experience of prison. Women's pathways to crime are different than men's, and they also represent a minority in crime and among the prison population. The master's thesis examines the position of incarcerated women, first from the point of their specific gender-related characteristics and the special needs they subsequently demonstrate. Imprisoned women have significantly greater physical and mental health needs, they are more likely to come from disadvantaged backgrounds and have greater roles in the family context. The thesis further examines the position of incarcerated women from the perspective of the prison institution, which is mostly created on the basis of the characteristics of incarcerated men; women in prison are thus often disadvantaged in terms of health services, access to work and education, and infrastructure. Even though women do not pose any significant security risks in prison their needs for more lenient treatment tend to remain overlooked. I conclude the thesis with an overview of the gender-responsive strategies in women's prisons while also examining the potential dangers of such approaches.
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