Women on Guard: Discrimination and Harassment in Corrections

Andrea Levan is an associate professor and co-ordinator of the Women’s
Studies Program at Thorneloe College, Laurentian University.

This is a very readable book on a little-researched topic: women working
in correctional institutions. As is typical of women entering
male-dominated professions—but with the usual problems exacerbated by
the general isolation and invisibility of prisons—women correctional
officers have experienced harassment and discrimination in their place
of work. Essentially, the book is a harassment case study based on two
examples: the series of incidents at the Bell Cairn Staff Training
Centre for correctional employees in 1992, in which two female employees
were alleged to have been gang raped; and the harassment of female
guards that took place at the Wakefield Jail, a small rural prison in
Ontario. The first case resulted in a mild political scandal that
precipitated a formal enquiry and the publication of all documents
relating to harassment at the institution. In the second case, the women
took their complaints before the Ontario Grievance Settlement Board.
Both cases took place at the very time when the Ontario government was
carrying out an intensive harassment prevention and education program.

The women were subjected to comments that they did not belong in the
prisons, as well as to nicknames, jokes, and abusive language. At the
Bell Cairn Centre, there were frequent harassing phone calls. Intensive
scrutiny of their work, discrimination in work assignments, reduced
hours of work, being reported for minor violations that were ignored if
men did them—all of these experiences formed a pattern of harassment
that created a poisoned work environment for the women involved. McMahon
concludes that the male culture of prisons is a major factor
contributing to the harassment.

McMahon also analyzes other patterns that are now familiar from similar
studies of harassment: the emotional effects on the women, their
reluctance to lodge complaints, and the lack of institutional response.
Although this study does not contribute substantially new insights into
the patterns of workplace harassment, it is still interesting because of
the particular culture that is described. Very little is known about
women’s experiences working in corrections. In addition, McMahon’s
examination of appropriate penalties and responses is useful. Because of
her personal experience working within the provincial Ministry of
Correctional Services, she attempts to make specific suggestions about
the role, as well as the limitations, of the government in making and
enforcing policy.