Women and the Penal System in Barbados, 1875-1929

What is it about?

In this paper I examine the reasons for the high rate of imprisonment of working class women in Barbados during a near 50-year period between 1875 and 1925, spanning years of depression, large-scale labor migration to the Panama Canal construction zone, war (WWI), and repatriation. Women comprised more than 50 percent of those committed to prison for most of these years, giving Barbados an exceptional profile with regard to gendered penal profiles in the Caribbean and generally.

Featured Image

Why is it important?

This is one of a small set of papers by the author that has pioneered the study of women's (and boys') unusual and outlier profile in the penal system in Barbados, British West Indies, during the period 1875-1920s. This research, examining the conditions that account for the unusual situation of having more women than men committed to penal imprisonment (for petty crimes) during this specific period of Barbadian colonial history, is the first of its kind. This paper examines the relationships among Barbados’ “pure” plantation economy, the prominence of women and children in the wage labor force, male migration, the conditions of the transition, and the penal system.