Blog #21: NAFCO vs. Bitton

The website for the National Association for Female Correctional Officers (NAFCO) is about female safety in prison. Specifically, the National Association for Female Corrections wants to stop sexual assaults and sexual harassment of female officers and employees and they want to implement more technological protective equipment (National Association for Female Correctional Officers, 2008). They also want to have a federal legislature passed that enforces a zero tolerance rule against accused rapists and sexual harassment offenders. With this statute the government will provide more monetary aid to states so they may prosecute alleged offenders. The association also wants to hear the stories women have. This goes along with a recommendation by Bitton that we need to get the” real” story of women’s lives in prisons out there for others to hear (Bitton, 2003, pg 225). Bitton suggests that training needs to be instilled that teaches officers how to work at male and female institutions (Bitton, 2003). Bitton also suggests that we need to portray prisons as they truly are, such as, racial stereotypes, the frequency of violence, and the negative view of officers using unnecessary violence Bitton, 2003). I also really like how Bitton takes things further by saying that instead of thinking we need men to control inmates because they are inherently violent themselves that we should change the way we think and teach officers how to defuse the situation instead. The website for National Association for Female Correctional Officers does not have a lot in common with Bitton’s recommendations. NAFCO is about stopping the harassment of female officers and employees. Bitton is about providing a gender equal and race equal establish as well as getting rid of negative images that most people associate with prisons. I think that by following the recommendations of Bitton’s study, we will be able to eliminate a lot of the harassment and abuse that women face just by creating an equal work establishment through knowledge.