What actually goes on in prison for female inmates? Also, how would we know, especially because nobody really talks about it? For women, going to prison is like walking into Hell. These conditions are unfair and leave women feeling worse leaving prison than they do going in.
Between the years 2016 and 2017 it was reported that 1396 women were pregnant while serving their sentence. Although the anti-shackle law was put into place, many states still require that women wear shackles while being transferred to the hospital and giving birth. This is inhumane. This is telling me that being locked up is more important than letting my body do what’s natural. Being shackled while giving birth makes it harder for the woman to do what the doctors ask and could quite possibly cause complications. Also, how hard is it to embrace the child you’ve been carrying in your body for nine months when you have chains wrapped around your wrists? It’s harder for the child and the mother to make that connection when the mom is sidetracked about the fact that she’s wearing shackles.
Kids are basically taken away from their mothers. At a young age, children learn what to do and what not to do when visiting their moms in prison. When visiting, the children and the mom sit across from each other. Although a hug is allowed at the very beginning of the visit when they’re walking through the door, touching is not allowed. The child cannot reach across the table to hold their mother’s hand; if hand-holding was attempted a guard would be forced to come over and push them apart. This takes a toll on not only the child but the mother. You can’t be a parent when in prison. You could barely touch your child, how could you even parent? When getting ready to see their children, women would have to get undressed in front of a guard, after being fondled by the guard they had to get dressed and recollect before forcing themselves into that “happy place” for their child. Basically, these women are being stripped of their dignity in order to lay eyes on their children.
When it comes to bail, the system is basically effed up. The wage gap between black women and white males exists and can affect jail time. According to UCLA’s Smart Justice Campaign and the Prison Policy Initiative, about 60% of women have not been convicted with a crime and are awaiting a trial. What does this mean? This means the poor are automatically criminalized, more often and usually for longer periods of time. This causes a disadvantage for women who are victims of the wage gap, they cannot afford to make bail over half of the time.
For those of us who have not experienced prison and the struggle of getting your hands on necessities, we don’t think twice about how much we need to spend on tampons, pads, shampoo, and other everyday products. For women incarcerated, they do. Most women’s jobs pay less than a dollar an hour, meaning by the end of the month they get paid approximately ten dollars. But, soap, shampoo, pads, and tampons cost as much as three to five dollars for each product. Women have to think about what they can afford and what they can’t because although we complain about how we have to actually pay for our tampons and maxi-pads outside of bars, that’s normally the only thing women can afford in prison. They have the opportunity to pay for things such as food, clothing, and internet access but are forced to put that money towards a bodily function that is unavoidable and happens every month. In order to get these necessities women sometimes have to perform sexual acts towards guards. Personally, my paycheck is a reasonable amount where I don’t have to think that hard about how much is taken out of my bank account when I purchase my monthly needs. Usually, after I buy everything that I need, the cost racks up to the same amount of money female inmates make a month. This means that if I received the same paycheck as the average incarcerated female, I could only afford hygienic products every month and struggle to buy food, pay bills, and get new clothes. Menstrual necessities aren’t seen as a luxury for U.S citizens, but they’re not even seen as a basic right in prison.
Very many things aren’t seen as a basic right for women behind bars.
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