Challenges of Incarcerated Women
Incarcerated women experience a wide range of problems, some being equal to those experienced by men while some are more severe. Though they are still the minority in the population of women around the world, the number of women in prisons has been on a steady increase. The rate of growth in the population of women in prisons is twice that of men. The United States, Russia and China are the countries that lead to the highest number of women incarcerated. Several challenges affect the lives of women in prisons and are prevalent in different countries. A higher percentage of women in prisons are those who have been found guilty of trading with illegal drugs, with a smaller percentage having committed because of violent crimes (Swavola et al., 2016). The paper explores the various challenges that incarcerated women as they live in prisons.
Separation from the Family Members
Most surveys conducted in different prisons have shown that most of the incarcerated women in the prisons are mothers who probably have left their children behind. Incarceration is a significant challenge as women cannot freely interact with the members of their families. Other challenges are created by the child welfare agencies and the correlational system as they try to interact with their children. The lack of transport system, the distance of the prison and the children homes and the lack of enough resources tend to impose a significant challenge as these women try to meet their children. Likewise, the incarceration of the mothers results in various hardships to their children. Because of the forced or sudden separation resulting from the arrest of the mother, the children can end up being traumatized (Wildeman & Turney, 2014). Emotional reactions of depression, anxiety, anger, and aggression are common among these children.
Lack of treatment for Substance Abuse
Even though most of the incarcerated women are known to have a history of drug and substance abuse, just a relatively smaller percentage of these women receive medical treatments within the judicial system. Also, before the arrest of these women and finally their incarceration, there is always very little assessment to ascertain is the women are in a stable health condition. This is even though most of these offenders are always violent women, mentally ill or even to those who are pregnant. The lack of the appropriate to vocational training and the medical treatment reduces the chances of achieving effective healthy response from the efforts made by intervention measures if any. The findings are in line with results from previous studies in the same areas (El-Bassel & Strathdee, 2015). According to the report, the women who are abusers of drug and substance are more likely to develop the psychosomatic symptoms, distress to the motions, and a lowered self-esteem as compared to the male individuals.
Mental and Physical Healthcare
Apart from their need of primary healthcare services, the women also require other health care services that relate to the women’s risky drug-using and sexual behaviour before imprisonment. According to various studies, the enormity of healthcare matters can sometimes trigger the use of other correlational concerns with a continues to grow. Also, these women are at a higher risk of developing an infectious disease like hepatitis B and C, sexually transmitted infections, tuberculosis and HIV. The needs of the pregnancy and reproductive health of the incarcerated women also serve as one of the neglected areas within a healthcare system. The challenges of pregnancy that the inmates often face is the lack of both the prenatal care and postnatal care (Iversen et al., 2015). These women always are not given enough education on parenting or childbirth, and there are always very little or completely no separation of the child from its mother after delivery.
Mental Health Disorders
The prison officers often don’t attend to the patients with mental disorders, just as for the case with most conditions. Still, the incidences and the prevalence of these healthcare needs are unknown, and studies show that around 25% to 60% of the women in the prisons require assistance with their mental health conditions. Up to 60% of the incarcerated females have the signs of drug abuse, with more than 30% of the inmates showing the signs of alcohol dependency. The studies also showed a third had the signs of post-traumatic disorders. There is also a wide range of emotional and physical abuse that the women inmates experience usually results in the need for therapy and counselling for the women in prisons. The abuse has some Most of the prisons don’t have programs for adequate treatment or assessment of the prisoners (Wildeman & Turney, 2014). In an attempt to get more intensive treatment, the women inmates are often over medicated. Impacts on the emotional and physical well-being of the woman, and it can relate to the offending and drug-abusing behaviour of these women.
Sexual Abuse
There existed a pattern of coercion and sexual abuse during the early days of imprisonment of the women. The trend has continued even into the contemporary era. Several studies have focused on developing an understanding of this problem of sexual abuse within various prisons in the United States. The damage that is caused by the abuse entails four different aspects. It describes the ability of the woman to escape her abuser, inadequate investigative measures, lack of accountability for the employee, and lastly the lack of public concern. According to the studies, being a woman in the prison environment is a terrifying experience one can have (El-Bassel & Strathdee, 2015). The studies also propose the need for the establishment of practical approaches to help handle the situation.
In conclusion, the women in the prisons experience a wide range of problems, mainly because of the harsh treatments. Most women tend to engage in crimes as the trade on illegal drugs, with just a few percentage getting involved in violent acts. The lack of transport system, the distance of the prison and the children homes and the lack of enough resources tend to impose a major challenge as these women try to meet their children. The lack of the appropriate to vocational training and the medical treatment reduces the chances of achieving effective healthy response from the efforts made by intervention measures if any. Also, the women who have been incarcerated in the prisons are at a higher risk of developing an infectious disease like hepatitis B and C, sexually transmitted infections, tuberculosis and HIV. Most of the prisons don’t have programs for adequate treatment or assessment of the prisoners. In an attempt to get more intensive treatment, the women inmates are often over medicated.
References
Swavola, E., Riley, K., & Subramanian, R. (2016). Overlooked: Women and jails in an era of reform. New York, NY: Vera Institute of Justice.
Wildeman, C., & Turney, K. (2014). Positive, negative, or null? The effects of maternal incarceration on children’s behavioural problems. Demography, 51(3), 1041-1068.
Iversen, J., Page, K., Madden, A., & Maher, L. (2015). HIV, HCV and health-related harms among women who inject drugs: Implications for prevention and treatment. Journal of acquired immune deficiency syndromes (1999), 69(0 1), S176.
El-Bassel, N., & Strathdee, S. A. (2015). Women who use or inject drugs: an action agenda for women-specific, multilevel and combination HIV prevention and research. Journal of acquired immune deficiency syndromes (1999), 69(Suppl 2), S182.