ABSTRACT

Social problems based in women’s social alienation are a central part of the analysis of female criminality. This chapter examines female criminality in Puerto Rico and presents the interweaving of other social and cultural problems, such as poverty, prostitution and social alienation with the problem of drug addiction and trafficking as they pertain to women. Gender implies sexual, social and cultural differences which have been built into the structures of society over many years of socialization. Each country has its special features regarding crime, illegal organized drug schemes and structural dynamics which impact female crime. In the analysis of international illegal drug trafficking, trade and organized crime and drug enforcement task force agencies, the gender issues is invisible. The argument for improving women’s quality of life as a method for the prevention of female criminality is further supported by noting that children are neglected during women’s imprisonment.