Exploring the effects of punishment and penality on women's lives, the impact of feminist reforms on the lives of women in prison, and the systemic barriers that limit change in the context of both provincial and federal prisons, these essays question the role of prisons in our society, the importance of taking account of gender and its intersection with race and class, and the problems of both weak feminist models and the cooptation of feminist ideals and Aboriginal spirituality by correctional systems.