Women in Prison: Why We Need to Treat our Marginalized Populations Better
Mass incarceration is a problem that encompasses our nation as a whole, and it is something many people do not think about. But, as American citizens, we should.
People who are incarcerated are part of a marginalized population. Their needs are not adequately met, they are treated as less than human, and they are taken from everything they have ever known.
This is even more evident when looking at women in the prison system and how the traumatization and victimization these women undergo affects them. And every day, more people – more women – are being incarcerated and forced to undergo the same horrendous, sexualized conditions as those currently incarcerated. Action must be taken. We need to learn more and educate ourselves on this issue. We need to write to our legislatures and all governmental representatives and demand to know the truth of what happens within the four walls of prison.
WOMEN IN PRISON
In a study looking at the sexual victimization on women in prison, it found that 17.2% of the inmates examined in the study reported an “in-prison” sexual assault (Blackburn et al., 2008). This was based on self-reporting, which is consistently seen to be lower than the actual number. And as prison populations continue to increase, so will these numbers. In fact, from 1995 to 2005, the female inmate population more than doubled itself, and this number is still growing exponentially — and with it, so is the number of in-prison sexual assaults. In a more recent report, the Department of Justice investigated the Julia Tutwiler Prison for Women in Alabama. It was noted that these women were living in a toxic – or harmful – and sexualized environment (Samuels, 2014). More to the point, in its summary of findings, Samuel’s wrote about prison guards discouraging women from reporting any experience of sexual abuse or assault. Sadly, they are not only discouraged through words. If a woman makes the already difficult decision to report, she could be placed in isolation, given lie detector tests, or forced to endure further abuse. With these barriers to reporting, what if that 17.2% is actually much higher? But it is not something the average citizen is made aware of. That is, not until someone sheds light on it. An apathetic nation will not allow for change to ever occur.
Why do we need to know this? Why do we need to demand change? Carrie Anne, a thirty-year-old serving a 5-year sentence, says it the best. She talks about the danger of being forced to live with your aggressor, even after reporting. Why? Because it is “your word against their word at the end of the day” (Surrell & Johnson, 2020). The fear of victimization is compounded by the fallout from reporting it. And on top of it all, unlike the majority of the population who has the option to leave an abusive, toxic situation if they get into one, women in prison are unable to escape. They are not allowed to leave the four walls of the prison until they have served their entire sentence or are paroled. One particularly horrific story is one recounted through Patty, an older inmate telling the story of a younger inmate who was raped, an act through which she got pregnant. Patty said:
“That made me feel some kind of way, um about what they did to her, knowing she wasn’t really in her right mind, mentally. And she just accepted what they did, um either out of fear, her mental state, or just ignorance, not realizing what they were really doing. Because they kept her medicated a lot and that bothered me for a long time because that to me is inhumane. The sad thing about it, it wasn’t just one officer involved who raped her. Those other officers who was there pretended they didn’t know nothing. To play with someone’s life like that.”
Patty’s story brings the abstract idea of this abusive situation to life. It is no longer just something you hear is happening second hand. This is a first-hand account of a horrific event happening to a person. Not a prisoner, a person. Now that we have begun to educate ourselves, it is undeniable that things within prisons need to change. The question is, how?
A PROPOSAL FOR CHANGE
There are several theories on how to make prison conditions more humane. These range from abolishing prisons all together, to adopting an open prison system utilized by several Nordic countries, to simply building new prisons and hiring new guards. Danielle Dirks, a sociologist and professor, analyzed prison conditions of women, and how to change them (2004). Her take is unique though, as she looks at it through a “feminist perspective.” Dirks wants there to be a more trusting relationship between women inmates and prison guards. But correctional officers perform strip searches, mail searches, and monitor all of these women’s relationships. How is this trusting sort of relationship supposed to be formed when all of these demeaning duties are still being carried out by the guards? This is a question Dirks explores. She proposed a new component to prisons. Correctional officers will remain in their position, but therapists will be brought in. It is with the therapist that these women will form relationships. The therapists will be the ones fighting to protect these women and forming relationships with them. It would not be a punitive relationship but rather one focused on rehabilitation. The correctional officers will simply be there to monitor safety. That way, there is a balance of power. It adds a system of checks and balances. The therapists are able to keep the correctional officers in check and help the women who are incarcerated in all their endeavors. The correctional officers, on the other hand, keep the therapists safe and ensure order within the prison. This is a great idea because it allows the prison to become less a place of punishment and brutality and more a place of rehabilitation.
No matter how you look at it, the people incarcerated in prisons are still people. They may lose the right to vote, but they still have the right to a safe environment. Not an environment that will be a detriment to their mental and physical health. I implore you, ask the hard questions. Demand change. Learn more and educate yourself on the issue. Write to your legislatures and all governmental representatives and demand to know the truth of what happens within the four walls of prison. Do not let this atrocity go unnoticed any longer.
Resources
Blackburn, A. G., Mullings, J. L., & Marquart J. W. (2008). Sexual assault in prison and beyond: Toward an understanding of lifetime sexual assault among incarcerated women. The Prison Journal, 88(3), 351-377. https://doi.org/10.1177/0032885508322443
Dirks, D. (2004). Sexual revictimization and retraumatization of women in prison. Women’s Studies Quarterly, 34(3/4), 102-115. https://www.jstor.org/stable/40004582
Samuels, J. (2014). Investigation of the Julia Tutwiler Prison for women and notice of expanded investigation. U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division. https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/crt/legacy/2014/01/23/tutwiler_findings_1-17-14.pdf
Surrell, A., & Johnson, I. M. (2020). An examination of women’s experiences with reporting sexual victimization behind prison walls. The Prison Journal, 100(5), 559-580. https://doi.org/10.1177/0032885520956328
