Blog 21

One of the main focuses of the NAFCO is to bring greater awareness to the issues of sexual assault and harassment for women correctional officers which I think also falls in line with some of Britton’s recommendations. Bringing greater awareness to this issue would help to decrease the male dominance of the field because it would allow for the discussion of women’s issues to be presented into the field as well. The discussion of women’s topics would help to break down the reality that prisons are no longer so male dominated thus the prison system should not be as gendered as it is in order for it o function properly. One of the recommendations that Britton gives is bringing awareness to women’s stories in prison in order to combat the male-dominated stereotype that prisons are given which I think would be accomplished by the NAFCO’s push to bring greater legislative protections for the unique problems that women face in prisons. This new awareness would hopefully bring about change in the working conditions of prisons so that they can better accommodate women’s safety and thus their ability to thrive in their environment instead of being a victim of it. NAFCO also works to educate the public on the issues that face women correctional officers in order to develop a more balanced and realistic stereotype of prisons. This work by NAFCO is also supported by Britton who sees the realization by the public of the “real” prison dynamics as being a great help to dismembering the gendered culture of prisons (an important aspect of her theory of gendered organization). I think it is also important to note that by improving the working conditions of women in prisons, it would also help to improve the conditions of men as the women would be better equipped to perform well at their job which affects the other officers due to the intimate nature of their work.