quiz 38 Qs
Jude55
WomenandPrison.pptxChapter 12 Prosecuting Women Not Good Enough to Be Pregnant
Crack
Complex medical issues aside, there are few upsides to prosecuting pregnant women who use drugs, other than simply punishing them for being bad mommies.
Drug addiction is a disease; it's not something that most people can walk away from with no help or intervention.
And if a pregnant woman knows she'll be prosecuted for being a drug addict, she's sure as hell not going to seek help knowing that conversations with her doctor or her friends or social services might be used to take her kids away and put her in jail.
Women who are prosecuted under these laws tend to be poor, rural and often of color.
Black women and white women use drugs at about the same rates, but black women are 10 times as likely to be reported to authorities.
Many drug treatment centers won't accept pregnant women.
The women who are prosecuted for drug addiction while pregnant tend to be women who are slipping through the cracks in lots of other ways, and often aren't getting adequate prenatal care and nutrition during their pregnancies.
Women’s Prisons in the United States
Historically, women were confined in separate quarters within men’s prisons
The Early Years
1880’s both men and women confined in the Walnut Street Jail in Philadelphia
Separate Quarters
Mid-18th Century saw increasing rates of women offenders which prompted a move to provide them with prison quarters of their own.
Women’s Reformatories
Reformatory movement began in 1870
Women’s Reformatories (continued)
Indiana Women’s Prison was the first separate prison for women.
Racial Disparities
Not all women received the benefits of the reformatory model with its emphasis on rehabilitation.
Racial Disparities (continued)
African American women were routinely sentenced to custodial prisons, including the atrocious custodial plantation prisons of the South while white girls who committed the same offences were sent to reformatories.
Racial Disparities (continued)
It is clear that racism continued to influence prisoner populations in the U.S. after the Civil War.
The proportions of African American women in prisons of the Northeast & Midwest continuously swelled grossly disproportionate to their representation in the general population.
Women Offenders
The number of women in prison increased by
646% between 1980 and 2010, rising from 15,118 to 112,797.
Including women in local jails, more than 205,000 women are now incarcerated.
Women Offenders (continued)
When demographics are taken into account, black and white offenders accounted for nearly equal proportions of women committing robbery and aggravated assaults.
Women’s Prison Issues
Women in prison are more likely than are men to be victims of staff sexual misconduct. More than three-quarters of all reported staff sexual misconduct involves women who were victimized by male correctional staff.
Women in prison (59%) are more likely than are men (43%) to have chronic and/or communicable medical problems (including HIV, Hepatitis C, and sexually transmitted diseases).
Nearly three-quarters (73%) of women in state prisons in 2004 had symptoms of a current mental health problem, compared to 55% of men.
Women Correctional Officers
Research is clear that the experience of women who have entered into male dominant occupations, almost unanimously, face discrimination in hiring, promotions, assignment policies, opposition and sexual harassment from male co-workers, and inadequacies in job training and socialization.
Women Correctional Officers (continued)
Women correctional officers have historically suffered from discrimination in their attempt to forge an entry into the correctional field.
Health Problems for Women in Prisons
Very long sentences
Overcrowding
Lack of preventive care, mental health services, drug rehabilitation, access to children
Poor nutrition
Delayed access to medical care
Poor dental services
High levels of psychotropic medication
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Health Problems on Release
Loss of rights
Continuity of care challenges
Housing, income, identity, employment
Family reunification
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Reproductive and mothering rights of prisoners across the U.S…
PRENATAL CARE
38 states -have no or inadequate policies on prenatal care
43 states -do not require a medical exam as part of prenatal care
41 states do not require nutritional counseling or pregnancy diet
Source: Mothers Behind Bars: Report from National Women’s Law Center and Rebecca Project for Human Rights (October, 2010)
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Reproductive and mothering rights of prisoners across the U.S… cont’d.
SHACKLING
33 states -do not adquately limit shackling during labor and delivery, recovery, or transport when in labor
22 states have no policy at all on shackling pregnant women
Source: Mothers Behind Bars: Report from National Women’s Law Center and Rebecca Project for Human Rights (October, 2010)
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In 1993, the BOP developed and implemented a new designation and classification system for female offenders to take into account the fact that female offenders are less likely to be violent or attempt escape.
As a result of this classification system, the missions of several facilities were changed to provide more low and minimum security bed space for female offenders.
World Health Organization Health in Prisons Project
Founded in 1995
44 countries, west, south, east and northern Europe
Yearly meetings
Special reports
Declarations
Awards
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WHO HIPP
Philosophical and action base:
“Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.”
UN declarations of rights of prisoners, women, children.
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A global view from WHO
Women in prison have more health problems than men
Multiple chronic conditions
Higher rates of drug dependency and co-morbidity; mental health issues; physical and sexual abuse histories
Reproductive health needs: menstruation, pregnancy, menopause, reproductive cancers, breastfeeding
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WHO-HIPP Declaration concerning women’s health in prison
1. A gender-sensitive criminal justice system is an essential first step to ensure that all stages of the criminal justice system take into account gender-specific needs and circumstances.
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2. A gender-sensitive prison policy has to be developed for every prison system to meet the basic health and welfare needs of women in prison
Meeting women’s special health care needs- including for girls and women.
Gender-sensitive training.
Appropriate female-male staff balance
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3. The human rights of women and of their children must always be dominant; principles of equivalence and of appropriateness of facility and and health care must be recognized. The needs of any child involved must be dominant.
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4. Specialist health care must be provided: for instance, for mental health, including help with a legacy of abuse; for HIV, hepatitis C, tuberculosis and other infectious diseases; for drug and alcohol dependence; for learning disabilities; and for reproductive health.
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5. Pre-release preparations must be planned and provided to ensure continuity of care, and access to health and other services after release must be a clear part of the programme preparing for release.
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Strategies of improvement
Independent Monitoring
Source of health care is from a health-focused agency, e.g. public health department
Prioritize and advocate for health as more important than custody
Breaking down isolation of prisoners and of medical staff
Remove the profit motive by rejecting privatization
Examples: National Health Service - Britain; San Francisco Dept. of Health; US BOP Public Health Service
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Current Projects
Transitions clinic - San Francisco, focus on continuity of care for chronic health problems after release
Community Health Worker training and placement with ex-prisoner focus
Legal Services for Prisoners with Children-advocacy training, research reports, family connections
A New Way of Life- housing, referrals, mental health services on release, advocacy
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Current Projects, continued…
Litigation… Shumate, Plata, current receivership, overcrowding challenges
All of Us Or None- advocacy and activism for released prisoners
Programs like CURB (Californians United for a Responsible Budget)
* Stop All Prison and Jail Construction.
* Reduce Overcrowding and Release our Tax Dollars.
* Stop the Cuts and Invest in Our Future.
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Public Health Initiatives
APHA
Prisoner Health Committee-- links public health professionals working in correctional settings, research, advocacy throughout the U.S.
Women’s Caucus
International Human Rights Committee
Standards for Health Services in Correctional Institutions
World Federation of Public Health Associations initiative
Goal: Prioritize the health of the marginalized,especially those in jail and prison
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From 1979 slide show on women’s health in prison
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Women prisoners at FCI Lexington after a discussion about activism and change -1979
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Women at Valley State Prison, California, 2008
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Where does the incarceration of women and crime control intersect?
