Currently the rates for women are rising due to the deteriorating economic conditions which are pushing women to the brink faster than men. As the primamry caretakers of children, women may be driven by poverty to engage in more "crimes" of survival.
California now has the uncertain distinction of having the most women prisoners in the nation, as well as the world�s largest women's prison.
The women that are in prison are mostly young, single mothers with few marketable job skills, as well as high school drop-outs who live below the poverty level.
DID YOU KNOW...?
- African-American women are eight times more likely than white women to go to prison (54% are women of color)
- 90% are single mothers. There are 167,000 children in the US whose mothers are incarcarated
- Women are much more likely to kill in self-defense in response to their male partners� physical aggression and threats
- Women are confined in a system designed, built, and run by men
- Many of the institutions have no pretenses and are notoriously overcrowded and inadequate
o Despite the fact that 45% of California�s female prisoners are held on drug charges, there is no comprehensive support program for detoxification when a female addict enters the prison system
o Women prisoners spend on average 17 hours a day in their cells, with one hour outside for exercise
o More than 4 in every 10 women reported that they had been abused at least once before their current admission to prison
o An estimated 34% of female inmates reported being physically abused, and 34% reported being sexually abused. About 32% said that the abuse had occurred before the age of 18, and 24% said they had been abused since age 18
A GLANCE AT THEIR LIVES:
MEDICAL
o Medical treatment is often unavailable, inappropriate, and inconsistent
o They have fewer medical, educational, and vocational facilities than men�s prisons
o Women are forced to pay inflated prices from basic hygiene products. Indigent female inmates (those with less than five dollars in their prison account) are provided as total of 5 sanitary pads per month. The rest must purchase the pads from the prison commissary that sells such items at two to three times the market rate. Federal prisons are required to supply a short list of basic supplies to female inmates such as shampoo, soap, and sanitary pads; however, the number and the frequency of distribution is up to each warden�s discretion
o Such practices combined with the repressive pay scale create an environment where women will barter sex or other acts in order to acquire their most basic needs
o While medical care for all prisoner�s is poor, the situation is far worse for women prisoners. Because prison health care systems were created for men, routine gynecological care, such as pap smears, breast exams, and mammograms, is extremely rare in prisons. Care is administered only when the situation becomes an emergency
RESPECT
o In most prisons, guards have total authority and in the ostensible name of security, male guards can take down or look over a curtain, walk into a bathroom, or observe a woman showering or changing her clothes
o At times these searches are opportunities for some guards to sexually grope female inmates
o Male guards are allowed to do body shakedowns where they run their hands all over the women�s bodies
o Female inmates have reported experiencing degrading and sexually explicit language and frequent harassment from guards. If an inmate protests or appeals to the prison administration, it can potentially mean more mistreatment, limited privileges, or an increased sentence
o Guards call prisoners by their first names and admonish them to �grow up,� �be good girls,� and �behave�; they also threaten the women with a �good spanking�
o Friendship among women is discouraged, and the homophobia of the prison system is exemplified by rules in many prisons which prohibit any type of physical contact between women prisoners
HARDSHIPS OF MOTHERHOOD
o Eighty percent entering state prisons are mothers and 6% are pregnant when they enter prison
o Their children are twice as likely to end up in foster care than the children of male prisoners
o Women often have no one else to turn to and are in danger of permanently losing custody of their children. For all imprisoned mothers the separation from their children is one of the greatest punishments of incarceration, and engenders despondency, feelings of guilt and anxiety about their children�s welfare
o All the essentials for a healthy pregnancy are missing in prison: nutritious food, fresh air, exercise, sanitary conditions, extra vitamins and pre-natal care
o In federal prisons, pregnant women must give birth while wearing shackles. This is contrary to international human rights standards; only 20% have live births; and those who do, forced separation from the infant usually comes within 24 to 72 hours after birth