Incarcerated Women In Prison

O’Brien is an associate Professor and writer at the Jane Addams College of Social Work at the University of Illinois in Chicago. She argues that the U.S should not incarcerate women anymore and close all women’s prisons. She claims that there are far more men in prisons than women. Only seven percent of the prison population are women. O’Brien questions if

Incarceration of women in United States prisons due to drugs-related cases is increasing at an alarming rate. Incarceration serves as one of the main punishment and rehabilitation of drugs-related offenses. While some are in to drugs abuse and trade willingly, others are innocently involved. It could be because of being used to distribute on behalf of their husbands or boyfriends, or even by simply living with people who are involved in the trade. In fact, 70% are those imprisoned due to non-violent drug-related crimes (American Jail Association. 2014).

Involvement of women in the criminal justice system has been notably increasing (Bottos, 2007). This increase has been astounding in the United States; women represented 12,300 of offenders incarcerated in state and federal prisons in the year 1980, that number has risen to 182, 271 as of 2002 (Grant, 2007). A study done by the Bureau of Justice Statistics revealed that “drug offenses represented the largest share of growth in the number of female offenders” (Covington, p.2). It was also noted that 71% of all female arrests are for drug-related offenses (Grant, 2007), and of female offenders in Canadian Federal institutions 80% have substance abuse problems (Matheson, Grant, and Doherty, 2008). Therefore on the basis of empirical support it

Over the past 35 years there have been a pike in the number of women in our criminal justice system. Two centuries ago women prisons were not heard of. The Bureau of Justice Statistics reports that “Majority of these women are between the ages of 25 and 45, about half are racial or ethnic minorities, and over a third are serving time for a violent offence” (Clear, T.R; Cole, G.F; Reising, M.D; &Petrosino. C. (2015).The numbers show that the growth is continuing to rise in the United States. Tougher laws, stricter sentences, and law enforcement agencies closing the gap on crime all contribute to more women in the correction arena. There is an estimate of 200, 000 females incarcerated and about one million involved in other community

The small number of women in jails have resulted in security classifications being mixed together, making it difficult to operate and overcrowding has caused a breakdown of the classification system. We have to recognize that men and women respond differently, men tend to externalize stress, which produces bodily behavior and aggression and women tend to internalize stress, which produces self-harming behavior and create formation of surrogate families while incarcerated; while males may bond as teams, creating. According to “Ten Truths that Matter When Working with Justice Involved Women,” there are ten truths relating to the differences of male and female classification in jails. One, women are a fast-growing criminal justice population, yet they pose a lower public safety risk than men. Two, women

Getting sentenced to serve time in prison is an experience no one would like to have. Having to spend either weeks, months, years or an entire lifetime locked away from society, having other people decide your life, is not a life anyone goes out looking for. However, due to circumstances, a lot of people find themselves in these types of positions. These people are leaving behind their families, friends, and work to serve time for an action or crime they supposedly committed. Few members of society, unfortunately, do not think of these prisoners as anything other than delinquents getting what they had coming, when truly they are members of society just like everyone else who have simply made some past mistakes. What people even more rarely fail to notice is the emotional and psychological effect incarceration leaves on a person, and the hardships these people face while incarcerated. This fact has proven to be an important matter that needs to be looked at in a closer level, specifically in female inmates.

Women in prison facilities are usually overlooked in some aspect. Crime is an ever-growing issue that’s been evolving for decades and decades, as well as the rights of women within the correction system. In contrast to men, the staggering number of women being incarcerated has increased over the past few decades. Studies show that women face a much higher rate of suicide than male prisoners because in many ways women in prison don't have a voice and are usually being silenced and pushed under the rug. From being physically incarcerated to even working within the premises of our correctional facilities, women obtain different characteristics and serve different purpose with in the corrections system. As well as the negative things that are associated

healthful meals, prenatal checkups and prenatal classes to inform them about their pregnancy symptoms. Commodities become costly for prisons leaving many women without efficient prenatal care. Even though the mother is incarcerated the child has a right to a healthy pregnancy. Women are considerably the most vulnerable inmates; the physical and mental health can be the difference between recidivism and prospering in the community. According to Warr and Hoyle’s research, “Sixty six percent of women in prison have mental health problems, compared with 16 percent in the general population” (Warr 2007). Not addressing an inmate’s psychological state can make the individual at greater risk for becoming a repeat offender. In the case of women, issues

Sometimes you can feel like you’re imprisoned by your period. Whether you have cramps, fatigue, or a heavy flow that restricts your activities, it can sometimes feel like you’re in a crimson prison and “Aunt Flo” is your prison guard. But, how much worse would this feeling be if you got your period while you were in an actual prison?

new approach, would result in a women-centred approach whereby the women offenders are treated individually and more holistically, like transforming lives objective of including ‘collaboration of multi-agencies to provide more effective support’ (Prison Reform Trust, 2016). Unfortunately, regardless of the recommendations from the Corston report over a decade ago, there has been ‘a stagnation and loss of momentum in fully implementing the Corston report’s recommendations, despite the policy rhetoric surrounding women in the criminal justice system has remained strong’ (Women in Prison, 2017), resulting in current campaigns such as transforming lives to address the continuous issues of women in prison and aim to take ‘action to rebalance criminal justice

Women going to prison is one of the fastest growing trend all over the world, but more so in the United States and Spanish countries. The increasing amounts of women are locked in prisons due to different reasons. A lot of women in prisons are drug addicts who originally took drugs to escape a life of difficulty and childhood trauma. While other women are in prison because they are guilty of who they love, but the government call conspiracy. A lot of were caught being as "mules" in drugs trades. Also the main part of women in prison has been victims of domestic violence some time in their lives. Nearly all of imprisoned women are from poor and working class

The main point that I learned this week was during the discussion area where we discussed how women in prison are treated differently than men around the world. This became a sad, but extremely interesting topic while researching material. The main point that I learned here was that prisons not only here in the United States, but also around the world do not offer equal treatment or programs geared for women (Sobel, 1982, p. 109). In addition to the lack of specialized programs geared for women prisoners they are mixed in prison populations consisting of other males. Finally, throughout the discussions the various opinions given by my fellow classmates and my instructor gave me new insight on this issue.

Let’s face it when people normally thinks about prisons, usually they have a mental picture of these overcrowded facilities, with really high walls barbed wire fencing, filled with men covered in tattoos. We hardly ever think of women, when the pictures of prisoners come to mind. Yes, at one day in time it was true that the number of incarcerated women was a very small in quantity compared to the general inmate population. However the percentage of female prisoners here in the US have grown so fast, that administrators in the prisons are having to reconsider the needs of these incarcerated women and address them. According to, Timothy Williams, a reporter of the New York Times, “ the Vera Institute of Justice and a program called the Safety

It is undeniable that female prisoners require a different form of custodial treatment in comparison to male prisoners. Female prisoners accounted for 4.6% of the prison population in June 2013, which is the lowest monthly female prisoner rate since January 1998 (Ministry of Justice, 2013). There are numerous factors which both men and women face while in prison such as being separated from family and children, and the possibility of suffering from drug addictions, however, female prisoners require additional care in regards to their mental, physical, and medical needs (Loucks, 2004). The most common factor where women are not being recognized as needing additional care is during pregnancy; a gender specific factor which men do not need to worry about. Environmentally speaking, prison is an extremely difficult place for a woman to be pregnant because they require such specialized attention in areas such as diet, exercise, and medical care. For example, it may be difficult for pregnant prisoners to have access to additional food and extra baths or showers. Mental health is another factor where female prisoners require specialized care considering mental health problems are more commonly found in female prisoners. Additionally, women may need therapy designed specifically for them, especially in cases where women worry extensively about their children and what might happen to them without a mother figure in their lives. It is suggested that this can bring on more serious

In addition to women working within the Criminal Justice system, the United Sates has seen a dramatic increase of women being supervised under the system, with over one million women currently incarcerated in prisons or jails, on probation, or on parole in the country a number that rose from 600,000 in early 1990 (Bloom and Covington, 2003, p.2). In viewing these statistics, it becomes clear to see that while women may be in the majority when