Women in Prison

Get-tough legislation dramatically affects the female prison population. Although there are still‹as always‹fewer women behind bars than men, the rate at which they are being incarcerated is actually growing faster. In 1980, there were just over 12,000 women inmates in jails and prisons; by 1989, there were about 40,000. That number jumps to an astounding 87,000 by 1991.

Most women are busted for nonviolent offenses, usually drug or property crimes. They are disproportionately women of color, and more than half havenąt finished high school. The majority are mothers. Of course, many men in prison are fathers, but fathers are less likely to be primary caregivers. Locking up the mother often breaks up a family, and it can be difficult for women convicts to regain custody of their kids. Many women enter the system pregnant or get pregnant while serving time. A few facilities have nurseries and allow babies to stay for up to two years, but many more do not.

Numerous studies show women are confined under a different set of in-house rules than men. They are more likely to be punished, and punished more severely, for infractions that barely register in a men's facility. Because there are fewer womenąs facilities, they are often held far away from their homes and families, and the conditions of confinement can be even worse than for men. Sexism and differential treatment are no less prevalent in America's penal system than anywhere else in the culture.

Woman Writhing in Pain During a Gynecological Exam, Anchorage Alaska, 1998 Jane Evelyn Atwood