Not Made For Women

According to the U.S. Bureau of Justice, the U.S. makes up about 4.4% of the global population, but it houses about 22% of global prisoners.

When the American prison system was created, it did not have the woman in mind. It was created based off of the sole image of the man. Women were an afterthought.

Although men still compose the majority of the incarcerated population in America, women are entering prisons that do not meet their unique needs. Mothers of children, many of whom are single mothers, are sent to prisons, isolated and unable to see or care for their children. Phone calls and visits can easily balloon family deficits, and it can be hard for such women to regain custody of their children after their release.

In Illinois, 8 in 10 female inmates are a mother and often primary parent. Therefore, their absence has critical rippling effects throughout their family and society.

The reality is that when a family member, especially a mother, is incarcerated, the whole family is chained. To see your mother separated from you by a glass screen, unable to hug you or offer you solace is a traumatic, devastating thing. Children of incarcerated parents are more likely to drop out of school and follow in their parents’ footsteps. To make things worse for incarcerated women, mental health and rehabilitation treatment is scarce, along with feminine care products.

Prisons are not safe. Prisons are dangerous. As various women cycle through the American prison system, they are at high risks of being subjected to physical and sexual abuse.

The issue with our system is that it is broken. Violence. Deprivation. Loss of awareness. Disregard of life. Prisons were designed to hurt, traumatize, and punish. They were not designed for healing, helping, or lifting. But sometimes, the hardest part is the after-effects. You may be free when you are released, but you are chained by the societal label that’s placed upon you. ou are a brain in disbelief, a body of scars, a mind of anguish. Long-term incarceration is soul murder, a term coined by Dr. James Giilligan, a professor of psychology and law at New York University.

About 2.3 million people in prison bring with them this condition after their release as they try to adjust to their new reality. About 650,000 released men and women suffer some form of PTSD every year. Prison leaves you with demons, horrors, and anxieties.

For women, especially single mothers, what about their children? Along with fighting their demons and trying to reintegrate themselves back into society, they must also fight for the custody of their children and find a job that can sustain their family.

Change is brewing, though. Programs and justice initiatives are in their infancy, but they are nonetheless forming. Formerly incarcerated women from all around the country are rallying together for change, women’s rights, and equity. Justice is coming. For women and their families.