Feminism and criminal justice

'Feminism and Criminal Justice' is a wide-ranging study of the involvement of the women's movement in England and Wales with criminal justice policy in the period c. 1920-70. Challenging the assumption that feminist interest in criminal justice only began with the emergence of campaigns over rape and domestic violence and of feminist criminology in the 1970s, the book argues that criminal justice matters have been a long-term concern of the women's movement. Taking the topic from the 'suffragette' era to the early days of 'second wave' feminism, the book traces a network of individuals and organizations that took a special interest in this area of policy and examines their campaigns. A wide range of topics are covered including youth justice, the law on prostitution, the campaign for women jurors, the care of victims, women professionals and volunteers in the justice system and the movement for the abolition of the death penalty.

Beyond its central premise, the book can be read through the connected lenses of Nonfiction. Those themes offer useful points of attention as the characters, ideas, or world develop, especially where the book complicates the expectations of its primary category.