Abuse and Survival of Incarcerated Women

Many of California’s incarcerated women have suffered extreme trauma before they ever step foot on prison ground.?They are survivors of abuse, rape, poverty, and mental illness. They often suffer more violence and sexual abuse as prisoners.?

Here are some statistics:

• 86% of incarcerated women reported experiencing sexual violence in their lifetime.
• 77% of incarcerated women have been victims of intimate partner violence.
• 82% of incarcerated women report substance use disorders.
• 32% of incarcerated women suffer from significant mental illness.
• 36.9% of female prison inmates reported experience sexual or violent victimization in the past 6 months of their incarceration.

Egregious incidents of sexual abuse were reported in 2021 at the Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) Dublin. This is a low-security federal prison for women in the Bay Area. People who knew of the abuse called the prison, "The Rape Club."

Two correctional officers pled guilty to sexual abuse crimes. One cook is scheduled to plead guilty on 10/27/22. A former warden of FCI Dublin is going to trial on felony sexual abuse charges. That warden is presently earning a six-figure retirement pension paid for by California taxpayers.

Prison is not the only form of justice.?For many of these women, participation in collaborative treatment courts is the best method of ending the cycle of abuse, violence and incarceration.?This type of reformative justice is a solution worth our focus.???