“They’re Meant for Men”: The Gendered Meaning of “Evidence-Based Practices” in Prison

Abstract

Drawing upon 38 interviews with prison staff, administrators, service providers, and volunteers in Iowa, I examined the ways in which prison stakeholders engaged with “evidence-based practices” (EBP). I discovered that many of the stakeholders were both receptive and critical of EBP, and that gendered organizational practices could explain some of this complexity. Gendered hierarchies across the correctional system created valued and devalued sources of knowledge, which shaped women’s prison employees’ perception of and critique of “gender neutral” EBP. For example, organizational practices reinforced ideas of gender difference which facilitated receptivity to gender specific EBP (such as gender responsivity), while “gender neutral” programs that were part of statewide initiatives were received with skepticism and constantly challenged. Policy suggestions for improving the delivery of evidence-based practices are also discussed.

Keywords:

• Gender
• prison
• evidence-based corrections
• gender responsivity

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to thank the participants for agreeing to share their time and insight with me. I would also like to thank the staff and administration at the Iowa Correctional Institution for Women and the Iowa Department of Corrections for granting access to conduct research in their facilities, and for allowing the use of the institutions’ names in publications. I also want to offer my gratitude to Sarah Harkness, Karen Heimer, Michael Sauder, Marina Zaloznaya, and Jackie Rand for offering feedback on earlier versions of this manuscript.

DISCLOSURE STATEMENT

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).