For this paper, you will need to choose ONE specific problem/issue related to women and crime that you would like to help solve, address, or fix. Then, you will explore at least TWO policies, practices, programs, etc. that are currently being used to address this issue.
For example you can talk about the issue of women being treated more harshly in the criminal justice system than men for certain crimes and the two policies to address the issue could be a re entry program for women going back into society and a victim advocacy program for women accused of committing crimes out of need for survival. Please let me know what specific issue or problem you will choose to address in the paper so I can approve it before you start on the paper.
Attached below is the rubric for the paper as given by my professor.
Overview:
The paper for this class will give you a chance to explore the different policies and practices that can be enacted in order to address the different challenges related to women and crime that we’ve discussed throughout this semester. For this paper, you will need to choose ONE specific problem/issue related to women and crime that you would like to help solve, address, or fix. This can include:
How we can prevent a specific type of gendered victimization or female offending
How we can better intervene or respond to victimization or offending (through the CJ system or other agencies/organizations)
How to increase accountability for gendered victimization or ensure fairness in punishment for female offenders
How to support victims of gendered violence or female offenders
How to support women working in Criminal Justice fields
Then, you will write a short paper (minimum 5 pages) that explores the problem and potential solutions. These policies and practices can include laws, changes in process/policies in organizations, training, services offered, organizations that provide direct support, or any other specific effort to address the issue. You should avoid overly broad or generic solutions like “raise awareness” unless you are able to find specific examples of how this solution has been effective.
Sources:
You will need AT LEAST THREE outside sources for this paper.
One of them MUST BE a scholarly peer-reviewed journal article (published after 2000). The article can be used to help you describe/explain the problem OR be about a specific policy/practice solution
The other two sources can be journal articles, reports/ publications from a research/advocacy/policy organization, or in-depth news articles/videos (published after 2000).
Your paper should include the following elements:
A brief overview of the problem or issue and why we should try to address it (including the extent of the issue in the U.S. with at least one statistic)
An explanation for how or why this problem occurs
A discussion of at least TWO specific policies or practices that can be used to address the problem (this section should make up the biggest part of your paper).
This should include specifics of what the policy or practice does and how it helps to address the problem(or how it fixes gaps/limitations of current solutions)
Who the solution targets including- which parts of the CJ system or other agencies/organizations are involved and which women the solution aims to help the most (use an intersectional perspective- race, class, etc.)
Evidence of how effective it has been in addressing the problem in places it has been implemented (this can include international contexts)
The limitations of the policy or practice (i.e what are the challenges to implementing, what parts of the problem still exist, which groups do not have access or benefit as easily from this solution)
A brief conclusion summarizing the main ideas/concepts covered in your paper about the problem and solutions.
Reference Page
A good paper….
Answers all parts of the prompt and provides SPECIFIC details about the policies/practices. Avoids overly generic summaries of the issue.
Makes connections to the class material (readings, lectures, films, and activities) and incorporates sources appropriately. Does not include extensive quotes.
Is not simply an opinion or summary, but includes analysis and justifications for your points/ (i.e. back up your statements with evidence from class material)
Uses APA format for any non-class material citations. Please include the citations for outside sources on a reference page. You do not need to formally cite my lectures (you can just say, “as mentioned in lecture…”).
