“Detaining a woman inevitably means detaining her family,” a youthful parent in Sierra Leone explained to me, cradling her tiny newborn in a damp cell. This statement recalls a personal memory from my youth, hearing my mother cry after learning my father had been taken into custody for his political stance in Zambia.
I understand deeply how children become the secondary casualties of imprisonment. During my career as a attorney, I have seen that this is even more true when the primary caregivers, usually women – are the ones arrested.
My work has shown me the destructive consequences of imprisonment on hundreds of women and their offspring. Furthermore, I have seen how their voices are dismissed, even within discussions on female empowerment.
Debunking the ‘Bad Girl’ Stereotype
The public often brands women in prison as “bad girls.” But what if this tag is a falsehood? The greater part of women behind bars are detained because of non-violent crimes. Comprehensive studies conducted over the last 24 months reveals that in most cases, women are criminalised due to financial hardship, mental health challenges, abuse or discrimination.
50% of the female prison population behind bars, compared to less than a third of men, report a drug addiction in the twelve months prior to incarceration.
In Pollsmoor prison, a woman described her arrest for petty theft, an act of desperation to get food for her household. In Sierra Leone, many women were found to be arrested for owing money. In Kenya, stories abound of women taken in for “informal selling” – selling food without a official authorization – simply to get by.
Women from Mexico explained how the global narcotics crackdown is contributing to an increase in the number of women behind bars, notably throughout Latin America and Asia. Many women participate in narcotics distribution due to poverty and force; though not major players in the illegal drug market, they are more readily arrested by police under pressure to show results.
Violence Stemming from Survival
The limited number of women who are convicted of violent acts are typically victims of abuse themselves. For instance, 21-year-old Chisomo from Malawi, arrested for the death of her ex-partner. He had sexually assaulted her and vowed to murder her if she left. Chisomo eventually escaped after he attempted to stab her. But, he later attacked her, stabbing her. In a bid to protect herself, she seized the weapon and struck back.
My efforts have involved lawyers across the globe who advocate for legal processes to take into consideration a woman’s background of deprivation and violence. Yet, even with this work, a legal system built by men and for men continues to disadvantage women through sexism and gender bias. Those who fail to meet traditional stereotypes of the virtuous and nurturing female are often punished more harshly.
Prisons are not protective places for women. Vulnerable women go into prison and are released further traumatised.
My research has recorded instances where women have been subjected to sexual violence and where procedures like humiliating bodily searches and segregation cause further harm to women with pasts involving assault or mental health challenges. The rates among female inmates of self-harm are often higher than those in prisons for men.
Even with international standards requiring that prison should be a last resort, particularly for pregnant women and women with small kids, tragic stories persist of women who suffer stillbirths and of babies who die in prison.
Children: The Unseen Casualties
Children – both inside and outside prison – are the invisible victims. Estimates suggest there are at least 19,000 children detained in prison with their mothers, while a overwhelming 1.4 million children are separated from a mother in prison.
The long-term damaging effects of parental imprisonment on children are thoroughly studied. I vividly recall trying to locate the offspring of a desperate mother in Sierra Leone, who had no idea what had transpired after her arrest. A community member had taken them in but the child went to trade on the street to support herself and was never seen again.
An Overlooked Issue Worldwide
Among the primary disappointments is how female detention remains a neglected area. Major conferences on gender equality, where strategic decisions and resource allocation are set, continue to overlook this critical issue. As an example, there was not a single reference of women in prison in the key document at the UN Commission on the Status of Women this year.
Studies show that organisations working with and for women behind bars are chronically under-resourced, even by funders of rights-based and gender equality initiatives. For too long, social shame, a desire to promote only “sympathetic victims” and the marginalization of those who are not aligned with straightforward profiles has meant that disadvantaged females and their children are ignored, in the face of commitments to “include everyone.”
Seeds of Hope and Change
But despite documenting hardship, I also see optimism. Globally, women are reimagining what fairness might entail, from within and beyond correctional facilities. In Colombia, campaigners helped pass an innovative law allowing women to undertake rehabilitative work rather than face imprisonment in specific cases.
In Sierra Leone, gender justice advocates successfully contested colonial-era loitering laws. In the UK, women’s centres offer a blueprint of local aid that is both more successful and cheaper than prison.
Two years ago, at the inaugural gathering of a international coalition of female ex-inmates, I cried hearing stories of women converting long-held trauma into something empowering, offering mutual support and joining forces to reshape the institutions that govern their existence.
As the number of women in prison continues to grow at an disturbing speed – increasing at a higher rate than that of men – and we near the stark threshold of in excess of 1,000,000 women behind bars internationally, this serves as a critical alert.
A Call for Accountability and Action
The year ahead offers significant chances for influence to address this neglect – from major UN meetings to prominent gender equality summits.
Nations should be held accountable for their {failure to implement|inability
