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7/31/2019 Women in Prison created for the Justice Institute 11/12
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Women are the fastest
growing population in the criminaljustice system in the UnitedStates.
7/31/2019 Women in Prison created for the Justice Institute 11/12
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0637xyJ-003412
0636
SexualAbu
se
Poverty Lacko
fh
ea
lthcare M
en
ta
lilln
ess
Trau
ma domesticv
iole
nce
emotionalviolence
phys
ica
l
low
ereducationa
lattainmnet
Teenpregna
ncy
addiction
Jails and prisons are designed to break human beings, to convert the population into specimens in a zoo - obedient to our keepers, but dangerous to each other.A.D.
Race
I was abused bymy father.
At15Ihad
ababy.
Ihad todropout
ofschool.
motherhoodwashar
Ihadnosupport.
ThenIme
tRobert.
Heletusli
vewithhim
.
Ib
ecame
depend
ent;he
became
dange
rous.I
tried
tolea
ve.
Ifelt
sostupid.He
mademehelp
withhisdrugbusiness.Iwastrapped.
WhenIwas17,wegotarrested....
1.3
milli
onwomenar
e
are
victimso
fdomesticviole
nceeach
year
Vulnerable growomen who
battered by meoften afraid to c
police for fear thavictimization wi
criminalized and they might lose children. Some
they are rig
Substanc
eabu
a
race&cla
ss
Trau
m
a
la
ckof
socials
ervi
ces
Thewomensshelterwasalwaysfull.
P
Leg
is
lation
Policy, raceClass,
politics
How do womenend up in the crimi-nal justice system?Their journey oftenbegins in girlhood.Perhaps theyare born poor,or black,maybeLatino, ormaybe theyare bornto a teenmother.
Maybe they are unfortunate andexperience some form of physi-cal, sexual, or emotional abuse, orperhaps one of their parents isalready incarcerated. All of thesemake them more likely to end up asfodder for the prison industrialcomplex. We now live in a countrythat incarcerates black women atfour times the rate of their whitecounterparts. While their is arhetorical and very real desire toblame womens crimes onpersonal choices thatthey makethere is a biggerpictureto consider...How do race,class, trauma,
access to socialservices,and gendercontribute tothe growingprisonpopulation?
Women who are victims of gender entrapment experience poverty and violence in their private lives; theyareoftenpubliclypunished
bythestatefor
becomingensnared
ina
tangleofsocialconditionsoverwhichtheyhavenocontrol.
Many women begin life in vulnerable situations as girls. They findlittle support in school and the reinforcement of limiting gender roleSchools often do little to counter these negative messages and in
case of pregnant teens enforce strictattendance policies and create an unspokensocial stigma that make it easier for pregnagirls to leave schoolthen to stay. These girlscan become vulnerable tohigh rates of poverty &domestic violence.
7/31/2019 Women in Prison created for the Justice Institute 11/12
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IlostmyparentalrightswhileIwasin
prison.
Felon
After 44 months Iwas released. I waslabeled a felon forlife.
Noonewouldhireme.Ihadnowheretolive.
I sold my body to survive on thestreets. I did drugs to survivethe trauma I endured at thehands of countless men and thepolice. No one would help me.
EventuallyI wasarrestedagainandsent backto prison.
The Adoption and
Safe FamiliesAct allows
the stateto
terminateparental
rightsif achild
has beenin foster
care15 out of
the last 22 months.
Almost 2/3 ofwomen in prison
are mothers.
Spending time in prison and/or receiving a felony convictionmakes getting a job much more dif-ficult. If women are convicted fel-ons and under community supervisionthey often have little or no accessto food stamps, public housing, orsocial services. They also receivelittle or no job training, or
training in fields that are lowpaying. This means that
making a living wage isnearly impossible. Womenwith children are espe-cially penalized. Theyoften prioritize the needfor child care andfamily reunificationover employment.
patriarchy
Viole
nce
Once women are arrested their lives are destroyed. While for some women it may be the first chance they havehad
togetaccesstohealthcare,mentalhealthservices,de
ntalcare,andsubstanceabusetreatment,theafteraffectsofprisonaredevastating&
long-lasting.
If we could divert the moneyour country is pouring into the
prison industrial complex to pro-vide more social
services to vulnerablepopulations, legislate laws toend violence against women,
support outreach services, shel-ters, counseling,
protection, and education thatwould be the beginning of turn-ing the tide in favor of a morejust and humane solution to
crime andpunishment.
Most women are incarceratedfor non-violent offenses. Com-munity treatment options, ac-cess to mental and physical
health care, substance abusecounseling, safe and depend-able child care, trauma inter-vention and treatment, and
economic support would reducerecidivism by a large marginamong women who have been
incarcerated.
WE must work toabolish prescribed gender roles,and racism. We need to recog-nize the resilience and wisdomthat women possess when they
are safe and feel likeproductive members of our
communities.Finally we need desperately tounderstand and examine the
role of racism,heternormativity, and poverty in
our current models ofpunishment and social
control. Women of color, sexualminorities, and poor people aredoubly punished by our system.If we could work to take downthe Prison Industrial Complexit would improve public safety
and make our communities morelivable for everyone, especially
women and children.
[W]omen prisoners aretwice marginalized, invisible in the
free world by virtue of their incarceration, anlargely overlooked even by prison activist by virof their gender Challenging the hyperinvisibilitywomen prisoners is central to effective activist a
academic work around issues of imprisonment
Angela Davis (1999)
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Bibliography
Books:
Davis, A. Y. (1999). A world unto itself: Multiple invisibilities of imprisonment. In Jacobson- Hardy, M.
Behind the razor wire: Portrait of contemporary American prison system. New York, New York Univer-
sity Press, pp. ix-xviii
Davis, A.Y. (2002). Public imprisonment and private violence: Reections on the hidden punishment ofwomen. In Holmstrom, N. The Socialist Feminist Project. Monthly Review Press, pp. 239-249.
Garcia, V. & McManimon, P. (2011). Gendered justice. Lanham, Rowman & Littleeld Publishers.
Heimer, K. & Kruttschnitt, C. (2006). Gender and crime: Patterns in victimization and offending. New
York, New York University Press.
Richie, B. (2012). Arrested justice: Black women, violence, and Americas prison nation. New York, New
York University.
Websites:
http://gender.stanford.edu/sites/default/les/10%20ways%20to%20learn%20more.pdf
http://www.aclu.org/womens-rights/words-prison-womens-incarceration-and-loss-parental-rights
http://www.incite-national.org
http://www.wpaonline.org/pdf/Quick%20Facts%20Women%20and%20CJ_Sept09.pdf
Rachel Marie-Crane Williams, is an artist and teacher currently employed as an Associate Professor at
the University of Iowa. She has a joint appointment between the School of Art and Art History (Inter-media) and Gender Womens and Sexuality Studies. She is originally from North Carolina (the Eastern
Coastal Plain), but she has lived in Iowa since 1998, and taught at The University of Iowa since 1999.
Her work as a researcher and creative scholar has always been focused on womens issues, community,
art, and people who are incarcerated. She earned a BFA in Painting and Drawing from East Carolina Uni-
versity and an MFA (Studio Art) and a Ph.D.(Art Education) from Florida State University.