Abstract
This chapter seeks to examine the major routes towards female offending and the circumstances of black female offenders in African institutions of incarceration. The focus of the paper is on what led these women to be incarcerated, their profiles, their everyday life within these institutions of incarceration and to suggest ways of improving their conditions. The motivation for this paper is derived from the fact that the black female offender has not received scholarly spotlight in South Africa. There is general racial- and gender-blindness in the dominant literature on offenders in South Africa, which has culminated in an over-concentration on the male offender. The chapter is divided into four sections. First, a historical overview of female offenders in Africa is given. This is followed by an overview of a profile of black female offenders in South Africa. An argument for gendered correctional institutions is given followed by a conclusion.
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Dastile, N.P. (2021). Crossing the Social Boundary: Racial and Ethnic Representation of Black Female Offenders inside South African Institutions of Incarceration. In: Chan, H.C.(., Adjorlolo, S. (eds) Crime, Mental Health and the Criminal Justice System in Africa. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-71024-8_14
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