Current Prison Policies Should Be Changed For Women - Essay Example

28 November Current Prison Policies Should Be Changed For Women: One very importantthing often forgotten by feminists fighting for gender equality is that women and men are psychologically and physically very different from one another. It is due to this inherent difference that equal treatment of men and women in every area is not a thoughtful strategy. Equal treatment of men and women does not always work out to liberate or empower women as originally intended by feminists, rather it drags them to even worse place. This is because equal treatment of men and women does not always lead to equal outcomes. This is an undeniable fact that women need more gender-specific programs because they have important gender-specific needs. In the name of equal treatment, wise investments are not made in the area of designing gender-specific programs for incarcerated women. Mental health issues are encountered more by women prisoners than men. Anxiety and depression is much more common among female prisoners and they also tend to seek out psychiatric help more frequently than male prisoners. Many female prisoners have very serious issues to deal with like rape by correction officers and motherhood behind bars. With the rate of women being incarcerated on a rise in the US, there is a very serious issue to address which is related to babies. It is due to issues like these that modification is required in the prison policies for women. Following discussion in this research paper is meant to reinforce this claim that “female prisoners essentially need gender-specific support programs because of different mental and physical nature of female body.” There is no inequality in the way men and women are incarcerated. They are sent to prison alike, but no attention is paid to negative outcomes of this equal treatment (Crank 304). This is because prison systems around the world have been designed in accordance with the needs of men as male prison population has always been in majority. However, the number of female prisoners is steadily increasing in the US. This is why prison regimes designed for the male population are not suitable for women because they simply do not hold the potential to attend to their needs. They also stand in direct conflict with “international standards of justice” (Crank 305). Women are psychologically and physically different from men and require a different kind of atmosphere for safeguarded living. Women prisoners also more frequently have a history of sexual or physical abuse due to which they require different kind of treatment. There are many incarcerated women who are pregnant, but prison systems are unable to address perinatal needs. This inability of prison system to adequately address women’s needs arises from the fact that “jail and prison conditions operate on gender-neutral policies” (Hotelling 37). Such gender-neutral policies in context of incarceration pose perennial damage to wellbeing of female prisoners. Current prison system is not able to handle mental and physical needs of females because it was originally designed with male population in mind. Just because female population is smaller compared to men does not mean they deserve any less or that they should be forced to comply with a system designed to discipline men. Smaller number of women prisoners cannot be used as a justification for deplorable deficiency of healthcare programs for women. Research claims that any programs female prisoners do get “are often recycled from male facilities and fail to address women’s needs” (Fearn and Parker, cited in Hotelling 38). Strict sentencing laws in the US fail to recognize that the needs of pregnant women or women who have just become mothers are different from rest of the prison population. Such prisoners face different circumstances and hence, should be subjected to different treatment. Many of incarcerated women happen to be full time single parents and have no one to depend on for their children’s wellbeing. This situation is made worse by the fact that female prisoners are usually more economically disadvantaged than male prisoners. More damage is posed to the family network when women are incarcerated as compared to men (Hotelling 38). This is why prison policies for women should be modified because as separating convict but low-risk mothers from their children from a very young age is bound to produce severe developmental deficits in children. Strict imprisonment of women which restricts them from getting the help they need means the glue which holds a family together is removed. Violation of human rights takes many forms in the US prisons (Crank 304). Another factor which should be taken into account as basis for modifying prison policies for women is that crimes committed by women are of far inferior nature than the ones committed by men which are often perilous and high-risk. Most of the women serving time in prison have remained involved in drugs or property offenses. The reasons for imprisonment of women are very different from the reasons for incarceration of men. Still, the prison policies are not gender-specific, but gender-neutral which is a pattern symbolic of our flawed judicial system. Deciding against funding gender-specific programs is bound to cost society more than taking timely measures to provide good healthcare to pregnant prisoners (Hotelling 38). These programs should seek to provide training in parenting and attachment in addition to discouraging recidivism among female convicts. The highest rate of incarcerated women is found in the US. More women are being imprisoned now than ever before. Majority of these women are jailed for non-violent drug-related crimes. But, the US prison system has always been a male-centered institution (Clarke and Simon). This is why the needs of masses of incarcerated women are left unattended by correctional facilities. Research claims that a vast majority of inmates who give birth during imprisonment are immediately separated from their babies in the US prisons (Brown and Valiente). This shortly after birth separation is an emotional kill for women and also disastrous for the babies. Women are also shackled during delivery. The shackling policy in the US prisons is considered highly unethical in research studies (Clarke and Simon). This policy is not even based on security concerns, rather it is “principally a remnant of protocols designated for male institutions” (Clarke and Simon). Dostoevsky’s famous quote is worth mentioning here which says that “a society should be judged not by how it treats its outstanding citizens but by how it treats its criminals” (cited in Clarke and Simon). There is no ambiguity surrounding the claim that prison policies should be changed for women because their emotional and physical needs separate them from men. Current treatment of female convicts by the US prison system is both deplorable and horrendous. This is because instead of serving their needs to bring them back to a normal life, they are further traumatized, shamed, and ruined after incarceration. Forcing helpless female prisoners to perform sex on correctional officers is also no news as some prisons are highly notorious for sexual abuse of prisoners (Pope et al. 30). Imprisonment should be used as an opportunity to train prisoners as responsible citizens, rather female convicts are treated even more harshly than male convicts. Social culture serves as the basis for this discrimination. There is an increasing need for encouraging public awareness about sexual victimization in the US prisons and jails. Incarcerated women are already vulnerable and suffer from marginalization. Majority of them are sent to prisons for nonviolent crimes, yet the way they are treated during incarceration borders on insanity. Many prison guards display genuine sadistic tendencies and women prisoners have no measures to protect themselves from such guards. Pregnancy and birth are two very important issues which are handled in a very sorry way behind bars. The mother’s status as a convict serves to encourage the unfortunate ways in which pregnancy and birth are handled. Shackling policy and immediate separation between mother and child are two consequences of the way by which pregnancy women are handled in prisons. Research claims that both of these issues deserve immediate attention of the government (Clarke and Simon). There is a lack of on-site obstetric care in a majority of prisons which is the reason why pregnant women are provided community-based healthcare services for prenatal care. During transport to community-based providers and in and after labor, handcuffs and chains are used to shackle women. Such coercive measures are only employed to reinforce this idea in women prisoners that they are less than human and absolutely worthless. It is so unfortunate that despite many research studies published which demonstrate a large variety of ways by which the shackling policy ruins the mental health of women prisoners, only a handful of US states have approved “legislation prohibiting the use of restraints on pregnant women and women in labor” (Clarke and Simon). In addition to shackling policy which is an infringement on the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment (Clarke and Simon), post-labour treatment of the mother and her child is also condemned in research studies. Yet, the US prison system remains just the same old same male-centric institution. The pain of immediate separation from newborns can be understood only by their mothers alone. This separation is not temporary because it “can result in the permanent termination of parental rights” (Clarke and Simon). This is a thoughtless and cruel policy which violates basic human ethics. This treatment should not be subjected to women who are imprisoned for low-risk crimes and such women make up the majority of incarcerated women. Women who have committed high-risk crimes like arson are only a minority. There should be difference in treatment in accordance with the nature of crime and physical needs of the prisoners. Maternal separation at birth is cited by research as one of the most important factors responsible for development of myriad behavioural and emotional deficits in children. Such children are poorly able to maintain social relationships and are put at more risk of social isolation. First 24 months after birth hold momentous significance for personality development. Mother and child should never be separated from each other during this time. For this purpose, prison-based nursery programs should be made mandatory all over the US. However, this service is provided by correctional facilities to female prisoners in only 12 states despite ample amount of research evidence stressing on such services. Research has shown that there is a direct link between mother-child separation immediately after birth and the risk of recidivism (Margolis and Kraft-Stolar, cited in Clarke and Simon). Prison facilities should seek to plummet down the level of recidivism in prisoners. There are many known consequences of separating mother and child soon after birth. Mothers have an indescribably hard time in coping with separation from babies. Exploring the subject of incarceration in terms of motherhood and parenting leads to many horrifying revelations. Many women put behind bars play the role of sole breadearners for their children before being incarcerated. This is why the children of many female prisoners end up in foster systems. The experience of mother’s imprisonment very negatively influences the children involved. It also casts a negative impact on children born during incarceration. Research claims that a large majority of these children encounters “more pain than does their criminal parent in prison or even the original crime victim” (Shaw, cited in Stanley and Byrne). Mother’s incarceration more negatively affects the children’s overall wellbeing than father’s incarceration because in many cases, mother is the primary provider. Children are also typically more attached to their mothers. This is why separation of babies from mothers due to prison serves to develop myriad psychosocial and emotional problems for those babies in later years. There is disruption of the attachment bond and at no other time is this disruption more deleterious than “between the ages of 6 months and 4 years” (Fuller, cited in Stanley and Byrne). Children of incarcerated mothers who were separated from them at birth also suffer from physical health problems in addition to behavioural problems like aggression and truancy. Motherhood behind bars is a very serious issue which sadly does not receive as much attention. Women are far more likely to be victims of sexual abuse than men. Before and after incarceration, sexual exploitation of women is secret to none. This is a grave problem for female convicts in both single-sex and mixed-sex prisons. Sexual abuse can lead to a variety of health problems like sexually transmitted diseases, unwanted pregnancy, HIV etc. Disease rate is worsened by the issue of overcrowding in prisons. There is a direct link between overcrowding and prison suicide (Marsh et al. 450). This is because overcrowding leads to developing such conditions which force the inmates to idealize suicide and inflict death upon them. Women happen to be more paranoid and anxious than men. Also, many of the incarcerated women happen to have already experienced sexual abuse. Mixed-sex prisons do not provide a suitable environment for such women who require separation from men for peace of mind. Both the government and prison management authorities should acknowledge and respond to the fact that the pressure of overcrowding has horrific consequences for female convicts. Instead of cramming women in the same prison facilities with men, building up new units for housing new inmates and investing more money in this area should be prioritized. Strip searches also pose serious psychological trauma to masses of female convicts. Sexual assault in the name of strip search is a common problem experienced by many incarcerated women. Present research on prisons and imprisonment can surely benefit from more focus concentrated in the area of how traumatic strip searches can be for female prisoners. Research has labelled prison strip search and videotaping a sexually abusive practice (Law). The correction officer (CO) who has the video camera and is required to video tape the whole event as women are being strip searched “is almost always male” (Law). Research claims that the kind of brutal and abusive strip searching to which women are subjected in prisons is no different than sexual assault. It is important to note that “women arrive in prison with more social and health problems than men” (Friedman and Parenti). When they are abused in prison in many degrading ways including by way of strip searching, they take the horrible effects of that abuse to their homes. They are stripped off of the ability to maintain family relationships. In absence of post-incarceration support, psychological and emotional health problems worsen for many women after serving time. Using a male CO to monitor the whole strip search is an act in direct violation of international and national laws. Still, the voices of countless women in prison and human rights activists who support them have fallen on deaf ears as over the years nothing has been done by prisons to change the way women are strip searched. It is such hypocrisy that on one hand our community standards maintain that sexual assault should be punished, while on the other hand they do not object to the use of sexual assault in prisons as a means of controlling women. Strip searching is sexual assault because like the latter, the former also aims to make women feel powerless. Prisons throughout the US continue to use those methods of coercion during strip searching which are typically used during sexual assault. Strip-search practices need to be essentially reformed in the US because they reinforce “women’s sense of powerlessness” (Carlton and Segrave 173-174). Concluding, current US prison policies for women prisoners should be changed because they do nothing to protect them from brutalization. It is wrong to suggest that such policies which are gender-neutral may be harmful for women in the short run, but in the long run are only beneficial for women themselves. This is because no amount of benefit can substitute the loss of mother and her child which occurs after birth. The loss is in reality for life, but the first two years leave a lasting impression on the mind of a child and decisively impact his/her personality also. Forcefully applying all the rules and conventions of a system that was designed for men on women is an unethical approach taken to imprisonment by the US correctional facilities. The current system and policies are such that they work to enhance the rate of recidivism instead of reducing it. The kind of treatment to which women are subjected in prison from shackling to forceful sex to mother-child separation to overcrowding promotes criminal behaviour in women and renders them even more helpless than they are before being incarcerated. Gender-neutral prison policies cannot be justified because they openly violate human ethics and do not respect the needs of a female body. Differences between needs and personalities of men and women should be explicitly recognized by the law enforcement system, so that prison facilities could be designed according to those differences. Works cited: Brown, Ely and Valiente, Alexa. “Babies Born, Raised Behind Bars May Keep Mothers From Returning to Prison.” abcNEWS. Abcnews.go.com, 07 Feb. 2014. Web. 28 Nov. 2014. Carlton, Bree, and Segrave, Marie. Women Exiting Prison: Critical Essays on Gender, Post-Release Support and Survival. Routledge, 2013. Print. Clarke, Jennifer G., and Simon, Rachel E. “Shackling and Separation: Motherhood in Prison.” Virtual Mentor 15.9 (2013): 779-785. Web. 28 Nov. 2014. Crank, John. Imagining Justice. Routledge, 2014. Print. Friedman, Alex, and Parenti, Christian. Capitalist Punishment: Prison Privatization and Human Rights. SCB Distributors, 2013. Print. Hotelling, Barbara A. “Perinatal Needs of Pregnant, Incarcerated Women.” The Journal of Perinatal Education 17.2 (2008): 37–44. Print. Law, Victoria. “On the Way to Solitary, Women in Massachusetts Jail Get Strip Searched and Videotaped.” Solitary Watch. Solitarywatch.com, 15 Mar. 2014. Web. 28 Nov. 2014. Marsh, Ian, Melville, Gaynor, Morgan, Keith, Norris, Gareth, and Cochrane, John. Crime and Criminal Justice. Routledge, 2011. Print. Pope, Cynthia, White, Renee T., and Malow, Robert. HIV/AIDS: Global Frontiers in Prevention/Intervention. Routledge, 2014. Print. Stanley, Emma, and Byrne, Stuart. Mothers in Prison: Coping With Separation From Children. Aic.gov.au, 2000. Web. 04 Dec. 2014. Read More