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Masculinity In Prison Essay

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Higher Efficiency
In a study completed by the U.S. Department of Justice, jails reported being better able to manage and control inmates with mental illness when they had specific positions responsible for handling crises and treatment, (Steadman and Veysey, 1997). This plays an important role in the reduction of violence within prisons. If jails don’t feel equipped to supervise or control mentally disordered inmates, then they may be less efficient at doing their job, which could lead to violent behavior. One of the types of treatment in this study was short term treatment, through case management services. This is when an inmate is assigned to a case manager, who facilitates the inmates in having access to the resources they need. The other …show more content…

When men are incarcerated, gender issues often become heightened as they seek power or control in the prison. According to Kupers (2005), toxic masculinity involves “the need to aggressively compete and dominate others.” This concept may contribute to certain groups holding more power over others, and leads to the formation of dynamics between sub-communities within the prison. Toxic masculinity frequently results in male offenders resisting mental health treatment or other psychotherapy, since it could be perceived by other inmates as a “vulnerability”. Therefore, male offenders often underreport their emotional issues, and may not reach out for help until they have developed suicidal ideation or psychotic symptoms, (Kupers, 2005). Many prisoners adopt this survival mindset, in which there is no room to express pain or emotion that could in any way lessen their “masculinity”.This can become a major challenge in trying to incorporate treatment programs in prisons, especially if they are constantly being resisted. In a study by Lamb, Weinberger, Marsh, and Gross (2007), they noted that many problems arose when mentally disordered offenders became non-adherent to their psychiatric treatment, which led to even more issues when attempting long-term treatment. They concluded that those inmates with severe mental illnesses who fight their treatment, could present major challenges for any form of treatment while in

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