The US Commission on Human Rights (USCHR) is calling out both State and Federal Governments for their failures to respect the human rights of women serving time.
Female inmates across the United States of America have long been the victims of neglect and abuse within the criminal justice system. Now, the US Commission on Human Rights (USCHR) is calling out both State and Federal Governments for their failures to respect the human rights of women serving time.
Abuse
In the 233 page report Women In Prison: Seeking Justice Behind Bars, released yesterday, the USCHR makes clear that female inmates have been reporting for years that they are victims of extremely high rates of sexual, physical, and mental abuse resulting in trauma.
According to Courthouse News, "Sexual abuse of women by prison guards is widespread, and the report underscores the evolving nature of the law on this issue. Due to the balance of power between guards and inmates, consent to sex is impossible — but trial courts have allowed guards to use consent as a defense to sexual assault charges, and the Supreme Court has not yet ruled on the issue."
It is also important to note that transgender individuals are abused at a rate 9 times higher than their fellow cis gendered inmates.
Healthcare
Women also are not being provided adequate healthcare even though “Prisoners are one of the few groups in the United States who have a constitutionally protected right to adequate healthcare.”
Family & Facilities
The report also focuses on the disparities between how inmates are treated inside men's correctional facilities and women's correctional facilities.
"It [is] common sense that women have the right to facilities and programs that are equal to facilities and programs available to men." -USCHR report, Courthouse News
One such difference between men and women is that incarcerated women are geographically held much farther away from their families (with 1 in 4 women held over 500 miles away from their children) than their male counterparts.
Men get to see their families more even though over 70% of the time it is the mothers who are the primary caregivers of children who have a parent in a correctional facility.
Women also have far more limited access, if they even have access at all, "to prison-diversion programs such as boot camp, educational and drug-treatment programs, halfway houses, and rehabilitation training" (Courthouse News).
Suggested Solutions by the USHRC:
To enforce the 2003 Prison Rape Elimination Act
"implement evidence-based, trauma-informed discipline policies to avoid harsh punishments for minor infractions"
"recognizing the significant harms that can result from placement in restrictive housing"
prioritize putting women in facilities close to their families
accurate security classifications
free video and low-cost phone services;
and free access to feminine hygiene products.