Gendered Justice addresses the complex questions that arise regarding female offenders and criminal justice policy. It raises serious questions about current criminal justice policy and practice that ignore gender, as well as practices that have been widely accepted by mainstream criminologists, policy makers, and practitioners, without regard for their implications for women and girls. Bloom discusses the special circumstances faced by female offenders and the "equal treatment" tradition that has guided criminal law and practice for the past century and has generated the phenomenon known as "vengeful equity." The book challenges mainstream policies of "gender neutrality" in terms of their implications for women and girls in conflict with the law. With the dramatic rise of women and girls in the criminal justice system, gender-based issues are now receiving attention in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and elsewhere.