Justice

Most of what I've learned about justice in my women's studies classes has been about social justice and reproductive justice.  Both of these theories focus on examining an individual's intersectional identity within the broader context of social and historical realities in order to determine what is just or unjust.  This has taught me to look beyond the simple facts of a situation in considering what is just.  I have learned to consider larger social problems and historical inequalities that contributed to the creation of a particular situation.  For instance, in the case of a woman of color who is imprisoned for drug charges, rather than just looking at the crime and if she is guilty under the law, I would consider how her gender may have played role in her choice to get involved in the drug industry (Was she helping her husband or boyfriend?  Did she need money to care for her family?).  I would also consider her race and the historical racial inequalities in this country that have led certain races to disproportionately live in poverty and the racial inequalities in the legal system that affected this woman's arrest, conviction, and incarceration.

In my mind, justice is the distribution of a fair and equitable outcome to all parties involved in a situation.  What is just will vary with the circumstances because it depends on many factors.  In addition to the simple facts of the situation, the identities and personal circumstances of the individuals involved and the broader social and historical context must be considered.  I struggle to come up with a normative definition of what is just because I'm not sure there is one.  What seems just to one party might seem unjust to another.  However, from what I have read in Socializing Care I think that restorative justice is a good approach because it seeks to repair all the harm in a situation.  I like this approach because it acknowledges that the "victim" of a crime is not the only one harmed when a crime occurs.  The person committing the crime may feel remorse, pain, or confusion and is likely dealing with other personal problems on top of that.  The families and friends of both the victim and the offender are affected as well.  A restorative justice approach seeks to do what is best for all of these parties involved, rather than operating within the confines of a criminal justice formula that stipulates what the punishment should be and expects all to feel better once that outcome is obtained.

In other news, I thought our first visit to the prison was really interesting.  I was surprised at how friendly the women were and how eager some of them were to share their stories with us.  I'm still trying to wrap my head around the idea of being confined to a place for a matter of years and the mindset and outlook on life this would inflict on me.  What surprised me most was how much more freedom the women in GP had than I was expecting.  I was shocked that many of the women we saw were walking around, hanging out, and working without guards (visibly) around.  I guess I was expecting that it would all be more like the women in the segregated and self-inflicted harm units where they weren't allowed to leave their cells without a guard.  That would be such a depressing existence, so I was glad to see that many of the women could walk around with relative freedom.  I'm curious to learn more about the kinds of bonds that form among the women at ICIW.  I wonder if they divide themselves based on how long they've been there, where in the prison they stay, their personal interests/personalities, or what.  I never felt scared or exceptionally uncomfortable while we were there, and I'm looking forward to our next visit.