I have had the unique opportunity starting in August 2015 to
be placed in the mental health unit of a minimum-security women’s prison for my
clinical practicum experience. As someone who finds passion and meaning through
working with survivors of trauma and my identity as a feminist, the prison was
a very appealing site for me in a multitude of ways. I have been astounded by
the strength and resilience of the women that I have had the pleasure to
provide services to. However, through working with these women I have had to
face some harsh truths about the different ways that the criminal justice system
fails women including the expanding incarceration of women and the cruel
reality of the rampant amount of trauma these women have survived.
Rates of
Incarcerated Women//
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There is much discussion and political debate surrounding
men in the criminal justice system, but there is very little discussion about
women offenders. Recent studies have found that there has been a 757% increase
in women’s imprisonment since 1977 with women of color being incarcerated at 3x
the rate of white women. Women are the single fastest growing demographic in
U.S. prisons.
Harsh reality//
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Contemporary research has found an estimated 75-90% of women
in state prisons have experienced interpersonal trauma. The impact of
victimization in terms of domestic violence, sexual abuse, severe neglect, physical
abuse, human trafficking, and other forms of exposure to traumatic stress is
profound and multi-dimensional for the female inmate population
Violence against young
girls is a painful crisis of national proportions that cuts across every divide
of race, class, and ethnicity. According to the Human Rights Project for Girls: one in four American girls will experience some form of sexual violence
by the age of 18, 15% of sexual assault and rape victims are under the age of
12; nearly half of all female rape survivors were victimized before the age of
18, and girls between the ages of 16 and 19 are 4x more likely than the general
population to be victims of rape, attempted rape, or sexual assault. These
facts are staggering and in a perverse twist of justice, many girls who
experience sexual abuse are routed into the juvenile justice system because
of their victimization. For example, victims of sex trafficking are habitually
arrested on prostitution charges and are often punished as perpetrators rather
than being supported as survivors of abuse; a devastating practice of victim
blaming.
Further, often times victimization from interpersonal
violence and related trauma becomes a gateway to crime, particularly for
impoverished women. In trying to support themselves through prostitution and
low-level drug dealing, they eventually become ensnared in the justice system. Often
women are attempting to
self-medicate the pain of trauma or of mental illness. Studies have
found that more than half of women offenders are under the influence of alcohol
or other drugs at the time of their offenses. Further, many women are pulled
into crime by men (e.g., abusers, pimps, drug dealers) and violence/power are
used routinely to confine them.
Informing
Practitioners//
Given the high rates of trauma and mental health concerns of
the female inmate population, a high percentage of women in America's jails and
prisons have unique needs and challenges. Examples include the need for safe
housing, protection, trauma-informed mental health and substance abuse
services, child care, parenting and vocational supports.
The pattern of women
offender’s lives are often woven from these threads: past trauma, low
self-esteem, poor education, restricted opportunities to earn a living and
support children, substance abuse, mental illness, and/or financial and/or
emotional dependence on men who are involved in crime. Mental health
professionals both inside and outside of the criminal justice system need to be
informed of these unique needs. I am fortunate to work in an institution that
values and promotes trauma-informed care of incarcerated women. Trauma-informed
treatment must include a woman-centered focus to care, which emphasizes
participation, social justice, empowerment, safety, relationships, the
individual, and is comprehensive and respectful of diversity.
A groundbreaking report by the National Resource Center on Justice Involved Women (NRCJIW),
outlined Ten Truths that Matter When Working with Justice Involved Women:
1. Women are a fast-growing inmate population; yet pose a lower public
safety risk than men.
2. Women follow unique relational and trauma driven paths into crime and
require different intervention needs.
3. Women's engagement in criminal behavior is often relationship driven.
4. Traditional criminal justice policies and practices have largely been
developed through male and traditional lens.
5. Justice involved women have a high prevalence of sexual victimization
and trauma and continue to be vulnerable in correctional settings.
6. Traditional prison classification systems tend to result in unreliable
custody designations for incarcerated women.
7. Gender responsive assessment tools can enhance case management efforts
for justice-involved women.
8. Women are likely to respond favorably to gender-specific and
trauma-informed cultures.
9. Incarceration and reentry are particularly challenging for mothers of
minor children.
10. The costs of involving women in criminal justice system are high,
with multi-dimensional consequences.
A Call to Action//
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These women represent the aftermath of failed and oppressive
policies and practices. While my role (as a clinician) in remediation is
necessary and valuable, these women will be faced with an endless daunting
cycle unless the true sources of the problem are changed (e.g., systemic
oppression, rape culture). All
current research, experience, and data speaks to the fact that it is time for
an extreme makeover of how the criminal justice system approaches women in
terms of embracing the evidence base pertaining to trauma. Mental health
treatment and services must be adequately funded and geared to meet the unique
intervention needs and challenges of women. Jail diversion and prison reentry
planning must support women with housing, childcare services, peer mentoring
and employability training.
“No one truly knows a nation until one has been inside its
jails. A nation should not be judged by how it treats its highest citizens but
its lowest ones” – Nelson Mandela
Written by//
Vanessa Facemire, MA, LPC
Selected
references and resources for further inquiry//
Chesney-Lind, M. & Pasko, L. (2013). The female
offender: Girls, women, and crime (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE
Publications, Inc.
Raphael, J. (2007). Freeing Tammy: Women, drugs, and
incarceration. Boston: Northeastern University Press.
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