International Women's Day
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This year on International Women's day we take the time to acknowledge and honor the women trapped in our countries prisons and jails. Women make up a proportionately small percentage of the incarcerated population, but have experienced a faster rate of incarceration than men in the past decade. Women in U.S prisons face unique challenges due to the layers of institutionalized gender based violence perpetuated in carceral settings. Power imbalances within the prison setting mimic and exacerbate gender relations, roles, and violence in the general population, making incarceration particularly threatening. The majority of incarcerated women (86%) report being victims of violence themselves, making daily parts of prison life like searches, restraints, and surveillance feel deeply threatening. Power dynamics between incarcerated women and guards are likely to exacerbate the effects of existing traumas women have dealt with, leaving them in a constant state of flight or fight and unable to heal or grow. They are also more vulnerable to abuse and experience higher rates of assault at the hands of guards than their male counterparts.
The U.S. prison system lacks any gender specific treatments, a non issue for men who function as societies standard, but a major detriment to the health of the female captors of the state. Incarcerated women report higher rates of mental and physical illnesses. High rates of victimization prior to incarceration leads to high rates of mental illness, and women struggle to manage these symptoms while in an environment that further reinforces this victimhood. Prisons do a poor job of addressing health issues that only affect women, frequently lacking feminine specific care products, such as hygiene products, contraception, pregnancy care, and hormone treatments. Pregnant women rarely receive the prenatal care they require and have little to no agency over their birth, sometimes even experiencing shackling during delivery. The prison system was built by men for men, and uniquely abuses women by holding them captive in a space of institutionalized patriarchal hierarchy that is uninterested in and unable to meet their needs.
Authored by Ella Foskett
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