Characteristics of women in jail and treatment

Women who have been incarcerated are a high-risk group for criminal recidivism, and criminal justice statistics indicate that females are increasing in numbers more rapidly than the male detainee population. According to data from epidemiologic studies, incarcerated women are often young, single, mothers from ethnic minority backgrounds who have little education and poor work histories. Mental illness, drug abuse, and risky behaviors relating to contracting HIV/AIDS are common problems among female detainees. In this report, research into characteristics of women in jail and literature relating to treatment programs for incarcerated women are reviewed. Implications relating to treatment needs, program development, and further research are discussed. A case example and treatment intervention are presented based on this review. 

In the last 25 years, the amount of girls and girls caught within the criminal justice system has skyrocketed; many are swept up within the War on Drugs and subject to increasingly punitive sentencing policies for nonviolent offenders. There are now quite 200,000 women behind bars and quite a million on probation and parole. Many of those women struggle with drug abuse , mental disease , and histories of physical and sexual assault . Few get the services they have . The toll on women, girls, and their families is devastating.

Every day, in courtrooms, legislatures, and the public square, the ACLU fights to ensure that the criminal justice system treats women and girls fairly, protects the health and safety of women and girls in its custody, and facilitates their successful reentry into their communities.

sexual violence, depression, self-harm and suicide 

Worldwide, women prisoners have higher levels of mental disorders and depression than male prisoners. In Pakistan, women prisoners similarly report depression, stress, mental disease , disorder and generalized anxiety. Levels of suicide among women in prison are considerably above among men. Women prisoners are more likely than men to require part in self-harming behaviour like slashing and cutting as a coping strategy. A 2010 study of girls in prisons found that 36 percent engaged in some sort of self-harming behaviour during incarceration. Worldwide, 3 times as many ladies as men report having experienced physical or sexual assault before imprisonment. Despite women prisoners' self-reports of histories of abuse and trauma, and knowledge of hysteria , depression and interpersonal conflicts, few women recognize the necessity for counselling. Women prisoners tend to possess less family support than men, including less contact with relations . A review of female prisoners in Pakistan found that 30 percent were divorced or separated

Female Prisoners and the Case for Specific Treatment

The sharp rise within the number of girls who are arrested, convicted, and jailed is, a minimum of partially , a mirrored image of tougher drug laws and mandatory sentencing practices. Under those laws, women whose drug offenses were relatively minor are punished as severely as more serious offenses committed by men, a situation compounded by the very fact that ladies generally have less information to trade for reduced charges (Radosh, 2002). the share of incarcerated women serving drug sentences has risen from 15% in 1979 to 45% in 1999 (BJS, 1999b). Furthermore, 64% of the females arrested for any reason in 1996 tested positive for illegal drugs at the time of arrest (BJS, 2001a). For a spread of reasons, drug use and dependency is higher among women within the criminal justice system; one study reported that 52% of females have a history of dependency on illicit drugs, versus 44% of males (BJS, 2005b). While in nondrug cases adult women are generally sentenced to less time than men for an equivalent crime, within the case of juveniles the other is true. Teenage girls are detained for fewer serious offenses than are boys. One study reported that 29% of females versus 19% of males were detained for minor offenses like public disorder, traffic violation, and standing offenses. Underage girls were far more likely to be returned to detention for probation violations or technical violations. they're particularly disproportionately punished for deed , perhaps because they're seen as more vulnerable, or more in need of group action (American Bar Association, 2001).

A History of Women’s Prisons

Friendship and betrayal are central themes within the Netflix series Orange is that the New Black, which takes place during a women’s prison where the environment may be a lot like an all-women’s college. the feminine prisoners, the show suggests, are “just like us,” worried about interpersonal relationships the maximum amount as they're about survival. But the show seems to rely an excessive amount of on stereotypes about women living in close quarters—that they’re concerned with appearance, catty, and sometimes manipulative. At an equivalent time, OITNB gives a woman’s version of the prison narrative, a genre that has its roots in social protest, and therefore the show, along side the author of the titular book, Piper Kerman, uses the soap-opera format to influence viewers that reforms are needed because we certainly wouldn’t want to measure because the characters neutralize the show. We are implicated due to the familiarity.

Perhaps the show struck such a popular cord because the mass incarceration of women is a relatively new phenomenon. According to The Sentencing Project, the number of women in prison rose 646 percent between 1980 and 2010, 1.5 times the rate of men over the same period. The same report notes that these women differ from their male counterparts: women tend to be convicted for nonviolent offenses. Women are much more likely to be the primary caretakers of children as well as victims of sexual abuse before and during incarceration. While the debate over women’s experiences of incarceration appears contemporary, this question is embedded in old debates about femininity and the causes of women’s “criminal” behavior. These gendered assumptions about what the model woman inmate should be have caused both substandard conditions and a greater emphasis on rehabilitation over punishment.

Women in prisons (India 2021 )

As per the 2019 data released by National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) in its Prison Statistics report, out of the 4,78,600 prisoners, 4,58,687 were male prisoners and 19,913 were female prisoners.

Out of about 1,300 prisons, there are 31 women's jails in 15 States/Union Territories (UTs) including Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu , Kerala, Andhra Pradesh , Bihar, Gujarat, Delhi, Karnataka Maharashtra, Mizoram, Odisha, Punjab, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal . The state of West Bengal has the very best percentage (142.04%) in its women jail followed by Maharashtra (138.55%) and Bihar (112.5%).

These 31 prisons have a capacity of 6,511 inmates and currently, 3,652 women prisoners are housed in these jails. Hence, the percentage is 56.1%. However, in states where there are not any women jails, women are housed in separate sections of normal jails and hence, additionally, there are 16,261 female prisoners in regular jails. Uttarakhand has reported the very best female percentage (170.1%) while Uttar Pradesh has the very best number of female prisoners (4,174) within the country.

In the 5-year period between 2014-19, the amount of girls inmates has increased by 21.7% (from 3,001 to 3,652) in women jails and by 10.77% (from 14,680 to 16,261) in regular jails.

WOMEN PRISON REFORMS IN PAKISTAN (death penalty)

In July 2018, it was reported that there are 1,955 female prisoners in Pakistan. Of those, 1,225 are juveniles and 33 are on death row, representing less than 1% of all death row inmates.

There are 33 crimes in Pakistan that merit the death penalty, including non-lethal crimes such as blasphemy, kidnapping and drug offences. Commonly, women are sentenced to death for murder, terrorism and drug trafficking. Women who are members of religious minorities have also been the target of blasphemy prosecutions.

A 2011 report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) on female prisoners in Pakistan revealed that out of 395 women imprisoned in Pakistan, approximately 40pc were in prison for murder, while 24pc were due to drug-related offences. About 68pc were illiterate and half of them provided some sort of financial support to their families.

In a separate 2013 study, in which 100 women were interviewed from women's prisons in Sindh, 26 were imprisoned for drug-related offences and 23 for murdering their husbands.

Pakistan’s Human Rights Ministry has issued a report finding that women in prison face poor conditions and receive inadequate medical care, Human Rights Watch said today. The government should immediately carry out the ministry’s recommendations to ensure adequate care and end mistreatment in women’s prisons.

The report, “Plight of Women in Pakistan’s Prisons,” submitted to Prime Minister Imran Khan on August 26, 2020, found that Pakistan’s prison laws did not meet international standards and that officials often ignore laws meant to protect women prisoners. Of the 1,121 women in prison as of mid-2020, 66 percent had not been convicted of any offense and were detained while awaiting conclusion of their trial. More than 300 women were detained in facilities outside the districts where they lived, making family visits nearly impossible. The prisoners included 46 women over the age of 60 and 10 girls under the age of 18. Only 24 female health workers are available to provide full-time care to women and girls in prisons across the country.

What are the conditions for female prisoners in China? 

The numbers exclude women prisoners in Qincheng Prison, which is managed by the Ministry of Public Security (MPS). More significantly, the numbers do not include women held in pre-trial detention centers operated by the MPS and the State Security Ministry. Nor do they include women held in other carceral facilities like “legal education centers,” often used to hold female petitioners and practitioners of unorthodox religious groups like Falun Gong and Almighty God. A large but unknown number of Uyghur and Kazakh women in Xinjiang who are involuntarily held in a network of internment facilities known as “vocational training centers” are also omitted in the MOJ statistics. Finally, it should be borne in mind that the numbers are for adult females and do not include juvenile females incarcerated in juvenile reformatories run by the MOJ.

The California jail

‘I honestly felt suicidal’

After her alleged rape, Infante stayed quiet for 3 or four weeks.

Then one morning in October, Infante had a medical appointment to urge an x-ray. When she was alone within the room with a medical staff person, she said, he unzipped his pants and began masturbating ahead of her. Infante fled the space and spent subsequent several hours in her cell, trying to think clearly enough to work out what to try to to .

“I couldn’t take it any longer ,” Infante said. “At that time in time I honestly felt suicidal, and that i had never been suicidal in my life before.”

So she waited a couple of more hours until subsequent time she was allowed out of her cell, picked a deputy she had never spoken to before, and approached him. She told him about the incident that had just taken place with the medical staff person, also because the assault a couple of weeks earlier.

“How long have you ever been here?” Infante recalled him asking.

“For about six months.”

“Well, i feel what happened is that you simply want to urge out of jail so bad that in your mind, you fabricated this in order that you'll get out,” said the deputy.

No, Infante said she told him. “I didn't fabricate what happened. “And if you don’t believe me,” she remembered adding, “when i buy out, i will be able to attend the San Gabriel Valley Tribune and therefore the l. a. Times, and that i will allow them to know what happened.”

The chutzpah Infante showed in making that threat worked in her favor. that very same night around 2am, Infante said, she was awoken by a deputy tapping her on the shoulder and calling out her name. She knew what was happening. She was close to be released, but 24 hours after reporting the sexual assault to a deputy.

While she was being processed out, she said, nobody asked her about the sexual abuse allegations she had made to the deputy earlier. “I believe that they were hoping that … they might release me and that i would never want to return back and mention it.”

Infante was free, but she didn’t be happy . She still doesn’t.

Female inmates allegedly raped in district jail

The alleged rape victim disclosed during a video statement that DIG Jail, Malik Mubashir was also allegedly involved during this shameful and heinous act and he was conscious of the entire matter.

The woman further said, “All the officers and employees inside the jail are allegedly involved during this scam.” She disclosed that the feminine inmates are treated very badly, adding that they need to suffer this torment nightly .

“Women who become pregnant due to this heinous act are aborted and a few women are killed within the process,” she said within the video.

The woman said “We are being deliberately pushed into the mire of sin. Female prisoners should be kept during a separate jail where there's no interference of male police personnel and officers”, she added.

In her video statement, the lady demanded Prime Minister Imran Khan and Punjab Chief Minister Usman Bazdar to order a transparent inquiry into the matter.

Sexual harassment may be a pervasive issue within the country as back on August 13, an anti-terrorism court awarded 70 years imprisonment and 47-year-jail term to 2 accused involved in abducting and sexually assaulting a woman in Multan.

The culprits sexually assaulted the girl and threw her at an isolated place after committing the offense.

What happens if a lady features a baby in jail?

In most prisons, when a lady gives birth, her baby is removed within 48 to 72 hours and sent to either a relative or care . Prison nursery supporters say that keeping newborns with their moms, even behind bars — while not an ideal solution — is best than any alternative

Can female prisoners shave?

Yes. As a general rule, women's prisons do have some quite access to razors therefore the inmates can shave their legs. ... Some prisons don't sell razors, and instead the prison will issue them for a limited amount of your time

How is sex with a woman possible in a maximum security prison?

Some countries allow conjugal visits even in maximum security prisons. In those places the prison authorities arrange for the male inmates to have sex with women, in general only with their wives or partners.

I’ve read that in Denmark in high security prisons normal visits, as a general rule, take place in private visiting rooms without staff supervision. This means that each time a male inmate receives the visit of his wife, girlfriend or even the visit of any woman he can have sex with her. From the information I’ve managed to get from the Internet it appears that supervised visits in Danish prisons are the exception and not the rule.

Other countries (usually European) allow inmates to have sex with their wives and girlfriends only if they apply for private family visits and some conditions may apply for this to be allowed.

What is it like to be in a women's prison?

A friend of mine has been incarcerated in a women's medium security prison for several years.

Some of the issues she deals with daily are:

1. Lack of privacy. Only in her cell (shared with one other person) can she find a degree of privacy and her hours there are limited and controlled.

2. Personality conflicts. Everyone in prison is not at their 'best' in terms of emotional stability. The tension is always high and conflict is a matter of course.

3. Conscripted schedule. There is some free time but it is regulated and meted out according to rules of conduct and other factors. One has few options in the course of the day.

4. Regulations regarding having needs met, such as medical issues. All medical attention and medications must be meted out under strict rules. Sometimes it can take hours to get treatment for a non-critical issue such as a headache.

5. Dietary limitations. Meals are not up for discussion. You either eat what is served when it is served or not. Some snacks are available at ordained times.

6. Censoring of mail, packages received or sent, and visitors. Everything and everyone from 'outside' is carefully examined and controlled. Sometimes judgments are arbitrary.

This is not a comprehensive list by any means, but it gives an idea of what life can be like when one's freedom is taken away.

On the other hand, there are some redeeming (?) factors that can make life bearable if one abides by the rules and does not hinder the privileges afforded.

1. There are jobs and/or tasks assigned or volunteered for which can afford one a bit of productivity in the day.

2. Some social activities are provided and groups from outside invited to present programs, concerts, etc. Also, inmates are afforded the opportunity to form groups such as choirs or bands and can sometimes leave the premises to perform for the public.

3. Visitors are allowed, under close restrictions, as mentioned above.

4. Spiritual advisers and religious meetings are available for those who choose to take part.

5. Medical treatment is free.

6. Pardons, paroles, and reduced sentences are usually a possibility, giving the inmate incentive to work with and within the system in hopes of shortening their sentence.