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Women's Prison Activism |
Scroll down for information about each item in the exhibit. |
Exhibit curated by Lucy Trainor, '07
Published Spring 2006
With the number of individuals in prison rising at unprecedented
rates, it's clear that the current law enforcement policies in the U.S.
need to be reexamined and reevaluated. Incarcerated women are a segment
of this population who have remained even more invisible than their male
counterparts. Few have bothered to ask who these women are, how they
end up in prison, and what type of support they need to resume their
lives after their sentences are served. What happens to the children
and families of incarcerated mothers? How have women been
disproportionally targeted in the "War on Drugs?" What types of
alternatives to incarceration will benefit communities? The documents
shown here, reflecting almost 30 years of advocating for incarcerated
women, are the work of the organizations and individuals who dared to
challenge the current system by asking these questions and many
more.
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Click image above to download (PDF, 2 MB) |
A Study in Neglect: A Report on Women Prisoners
by Omar Hendrix, 1972
Women's Prison Association
From 1960 to 1970, the total crime rate for women increased 74%,
while the rate for men only increased 25%. This report, based on surveys
conducted from July to October 1972, responded to a critical lack of
information about the women who constituted this growing population in
U.S. prisons. Seeking to answer basic questions about who these women are,
what types of crimes they commit, and what happens to them both when
they enter the criminal justice system and when they are released, the
Women's Prison Association undertook surveys of a sample from the national population of female
prisoners and a sample of female prisoners in New York State. Bringing
public awareness to the dramatic influx of women in the prison system
was a major goal of many of these early studies. The report provides
many recommendations for policy changes at every step of the sentencing
and imprisonment process, especially emphasizing the importance of
improving record keeping in order to keep track of and better understand
the issues facing these women and their families.
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Click image above to download (PDF, 4 MB) |
From Convict to Citizen: Programs for the Woman Offender
by Virginia A. McArthur, 1974
District of Columbia Commission on the Status of Women
This document is one of the first acknowledgements that there are
issues specific to women in the criminal justice system that need to be
addressed. Also noteworthy is the fact that this report, based on public
hearings held by the D.C. Commission on the Status of Women, was
published by a governmental agency, rather than many of the other advocacy
documents which were published by community groups and non-profit
organizations. The report identifies some key problems that need to be
explored further, primarily the lack of data on female offenders - which
remains a constant theme throughout many of the later documents - and the
need to distinguish men and women in the criminal justice system and
provide programs that serve the specific needs of both groups during
sentencing, incarceration, and release.
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Click image above to download (PDF, 4.5 MB) |
Voices From Within: The Poetry of Women in Prison
edited by Ann McGovern, 1975
poetry by Bernadine Adams, Leonore Coons, Glenda Cooper, Clementine Corona, Susan Hallett, Theresa Simmons, Susan Smith, and Constance Walker
Magic Circle Press
"Most poets speak for themselves through the voices of their
poetry, but unfortunately the Bedford Hills Poets are not heard - their
voices are stilled within the walls of the prison they live in."
This collection of poetry written by inmates at the Bedford Hills
Correctional Facility, the New York State prison for women, is one of
the few documents in this collection that features the words and
thoughts of the women themselves. Their poems are about everything from
the mundane details of prison life to their hopes, regrets, and
aspirations. Silenced by society, they have found their voices through
poetry.
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Click image above to download (PDF, 11 MB) |
Women Behind Bars: An Organizing Tool
Resources for Community Change, 1975
This book is a compilation of resources, articles, and organizing
information about women in prison collected from various sources. The
lack of information available to activists working to advocate for women
in prison was one of the main reasons why Resources for Community Change
put together this booklet. In addition to activist resources, the book
also contains poetry, artwork, interviews, and a directory of various
support services for women who are currently imprisoned or have been in
the past.
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Click image above to download (PDF, 6.7 MB) |
Women in Prison: Inequitable Treatment Requires Action
United States General Accounting Office, 1980
This report, submitted to Congress in 1980, describes the
institutional policies that perpetuate the inequitable treatment of
women in prison, denying them access to many of the services that their
male counterparts have available to them while incarcerated, including
vocational training and in-prison jobs. Although the report briefly
suggests community based alternatives to incarceration as one of the
ways to improve conditions for women in the criminal justice system,
there is no emphasis placed on the benefits of sentencing alternatives
for both male and female offenders. As would be expected from a
government document, the goal of the report is to suggest ways to use
available resources to improve the existing system, not overhaul it.
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Click image above to download (PDF, 232 KB) |
Incarcerated Mothers Program: A Preventative Services Program of the Child Welfare Administration
by Sister Mary Nerney, 1990
Edwin Gould Services for Children
This document is the transcript of a speech given by Sr. Mary Nerney,
Director of the Incarcerated Mothers program, at the "Women Challenging
the 1990s" hearing on April 25, 1990. The Incarcerated Mothers Program
is based in New York and provides services to incarcerated mothers and
their children. Nerney gives a summary of the mission of the IMP and
describes the population the organization serves - a population that is
primarily made up of poor women of color, many of them drug users, who
have been disproportionately affected by mandatory sentencing laws
enacted in the 1970s and 1980s.
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Click image above to download (PDF, 1.1 MB) |
Breaking the Silence: Women in Prison = Unequal Justice
The Correctional Association of New York, 1991
This folder of materials from the Correctional Association of New
York consists of a number of fact sheets, press releases, and other
information about women in prison in the early 1990s. Among the issues
summarized in the fact sheets, there is a focus on both the impact the
"war on drugs" has had on women and the relationship between domestic
violence and incarcerated women. Beyond all the facts and figures, this
material also provides a look into the struggles of imprisoned women and
their families, in the form of the stories of two inmates from Bedford
Hills Prison and a collection of "Letters from Home" from a child to his
mother in prison. For updated information, please visit the
Women in Prison Project website.
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Click image above to download (PDF, 6 MB) |
In the Decade of the Child: Addicted Mothers, Imprisonment, and Alternatives
by Jim Murphy, Nancy Johnson, and Wanda Edwards, 1992
New York State Coalition for Criminal Justice/ Center for Justice Education
Increasingly harsh laws against drug possession and trafficking
enacted in the 1970s and 1980s have had a major impact on the number of
women in prison in the U.S. While in 1986 1 in 8 women were serving time
for a drug related sentence, by 1999 that number had jumped to 1 in 3.
Estimates place the number of imprisoned women with children at about
75%, making the likelihood that a female prisoner serving a drug related
sentence has children quite high. This report was released in order to
draw attention to the ways in which the criminal justice system ignores
the real social problem of drug abuse by imprisoning women with
substance abuse problems and failing to provide them with the treatment
they need. Taking a "holistic view of all the problems an addicted
person presents," as the report recommends, is the only way to break the
cycle of poverty and substance abuse before it is passed down to the
next generation - the children of imprisoned parents.
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Click image above to download (PDF, 13.5 MB) |
Breaking the Cycle of Despair: Children of Incarcerated Mothers
Women's Prison Association, 1995
As the number of women in prison increases, so does the number of
children with imprisoned parents. Seventy-five percent of women in
prison are mothers, and many are single parents and the primary
caregivers for their children. Their incarceration has an immeasurable
impact on these children. The Women's Prison Association, founded in
1845, is a New York based organization that helps women who have been
imprisoned rebuild their lives and families, providing access to work,
housing, health care, and other services. Published in the mid-1990s,
this report is a response to the influx of female offenders in the
criminal justice system and highlights the ways in which the
imprisonment of mothers affects the next generation. It suggests
correctional alternatives for women with children and describes the type
of support that should be offered to women returning to the community so
they can begin to rebuild their family lives.
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Click image above to download (PDF, 696 KB) |
Protecting Children and Preserving Families
by Ann L. Jacobs, 1995
Women's Prison Association
The Family to Family Initiative, started in 1992, is a foster-care
reform program whose principles have been instituted in numerous cities
and counties across the U.S., including in New York City. This speech,
given by Ann L. Jacobs, Executive Director of the Women's Prison
Association, at the Family to Family Initiative Conference in 1995,
makes the connection between working for foster care reform and serving
the children of incarcerated parents. About 10% of children with
incarcerated mothers end up in foster care, and the instability of their
situations, as Jacobs points out, can have long-lasting effects.
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Click image above to download (PDF, 3.5 MB) |
Mothers in Prison, Children in Crisis Campaign
JusticeWorks Community, 1999
JusticeWorks Community, a Brooklyn based organization that advocates
for alternatives to imprisonment and provides services for women in
prison and their families, released this informational folder in 1999 as
part of their "Mothers in Prison, Children in Crisis" Campaign. In its
5th year in 1999, the national campaign was founded as an effort to draw
public attention to the need for alternatives to imprisonment for
mothers, many of whom are serving drug related sentences. The Campaign
features an annual Mother's Day Rally in cities across the nation, and
the number of cities participating in these rallies has grown from 8 in
1995 to over 20 in 1999.
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