Throughout the history, women have always been confined to the domestic sphere while the men control the public and all-important decision-making organs in the world. In the past women were not even allowed to make decisions that would determine their future as they were supposed to live under the shadows of their male counterparts. Women oppression was even supported by certain legal positions and therefore in most western and American societies women were expected to conform to the already laid down arrangements. However in most western societies, women stood up and initiated spirited fights in order to create space for themselves in the male dominated sphere as through this most of them found themselves getting into problems with the authorities. There are several success stories resulting from the struggles of women against oppression but still the journey towards gender equality is still far from over since there still exist many societal hindrances that prevent women to be at the same position as their male counterparts.
In general, women problems and limitations in the society stem from the kind of environment they get exposed to as they grow up. Most girls who undergo hardships and instances of violence tend to adopt a hardcore lifestyle that exposes them to more violence and discrimination instead of the kind attention that they seek to gain. For a long time, women have been neglected by the society in that they were only there to follow the societal rules that they were subjected to and therefore this exposed them to instances of violence and abuse emanating from their inability to observe the rules to the latter. Male dominated society tend to look down upon women and whenever a woman tries to stand up and fight to be recognized as equal members of the society, their efforts are normally criminalized and pushed away as their efforts are normally regarded to be against the norm.
Subjecting women to discrimination has pushed them to engage in certain illegal activities such as prostitution. Prostitution is an illegal business activity that has been termed as a form of women exploitation by the males in a patriarchal society. There have been efforts various organizations to empower women in order to end prostitution which is normally used by poor women as a source of their livelihood. Although prostitution is illegal in various jurisdictions, there has been less efforts made by the authorities to curb the spread of the illegal business which has been termed as a form of human rights abuse and attack on the dignity and value of human beings who in most cases are women. However there are organizations that fight for the rights of sex workers based on the argument that sex is normally engaged in by adults. Such groups curtail the efforts of assisting women who engage in the illegal business since they tend to encourage the illegality abuse of humanity for the purposes of getting money. Women engagement in prostitution has been condemned in many jurisdictions and in many cases the prostitutes are normally looked down upon while there are also societies or jurisdictions that do not have strict laws to restrict it. Anti- prostitution feminist’s organizations hold that prostitution is a form of exploitation of women and makes women lose their value in the society. the supporters of prostitutions argue that the activity should be decriminalized since its occurrence is as a result of discrimination of women through sexism, classism and established systems which tend to favor men. The pro-prostitution organizations believe that targeting prostitution and criminalizing it only focuses on a very small part of evil in the society and therefore more focus should be directed towards addressing the issues that push women toward engaging in prostitutions. In the recent times, women have shown their vibrancy in various sectors such as in the political front, business and also education. This shows that it is the society that has been pushing women behind by restricting them to domestic chores. In general, it is evident that women engage in illegal activities while looking for ways in which they can be allowed to come out of the domestic confinement that they have been for long. Most women who engage in prostitution are normally independent and due to lack of opportunities they end up using such illegal ways to meet their needs. The society should therefore be opened for women to express themselves without discrimination in order to curb instances of women engaging in illegal and criminal activities.
According to information collected in the American correctional facilities, most women imprisoned had a history of childhood abuse if not violence in their marriages or relationships. The involvement of women in crime is normally associated with their past and as such they find themselves engaging in criminal activities as a way of coping with what they believe the environment or society expects of them. Women also get into criminal activities while trying to cope with the kind of victimization and violent environment that they have been subjected to. To correct the imprisoned women mentality, various organizations including the correctional facilities should adopt a feminism point of view while addressing issues affecting the imprisoned women such that they would assist women to adopt other mechanisms while dealing with unfriendly society. Having individuals who understand the issues affecting women in the society is essential in that they would assist women to understand their rights and what is expected of them in the society. This would assist the society also to respect women and accord them the necessary support and environment to participate in building the society. Women play a major role when it comes to the welfare of the society since they handle both domestic and public demands effectively and therefore they should be given the respect they deserve as important members of the society. Correctional facilities should therefore offer therapeutic services to incarcerated women to enable them understand their position in the society.
The Canadian government offers a good example when it comes to dealing with the imprisoned women. In Canada, the correctional facilities have opened up initiatives to assist the incarcerated women based on their previous life experiences. The Canadian correctional facilities dealing with women tend to incorporate special programs that cater for the welfare of women and try to establish the relationship between involvement of women in crime and their past life experiences.
Discrimination against women has played a big role in pushing them towards criminal activities. Having an open society that allows women to express themselves I the public sphere would enable them to engage in activities that promote morality in the society. In recent times various jurisdictions and organizations have been working towards ensuring that women get enough spaces in central positions of the society in order to shield them from discrimination that is gender based. Today women also have a voice when it comes to gender based violence and as such they have even been able to access leadership positions.
