North Carolina officials have announced that prison officers will no longer shackle incarcerated women during childbirth—but the organizers and advocates at SisterSong, the women of color reproductive justice collective that led the campaign against shackling in the state, aren’t yet embarking on a victory march.
Tag: Justice System
Lawmakers Across the U.S. Want Menstrual Equity for Incarcerated Women
Several states are fighting to put an end to the time when women prisoners do not even make enough to afford a box of tampons.
Well-Intentioned Efforts at “Reform” Have Uniquely Hurt Incarcerated Women
We need more than benign purpose to craft policy. What women are facing now in the criminal justice system is proof.
Solidarity and Liberation on Mama’s Day
Life may be suffering, but we all have the ability to show up for one another—on Mother’s Day and every day.
No Justice: When Abuse and Incarceration Intersect
Women don’t just face the prison industrial complex. They face a prison abuse complex—and their untreated victimization puts them at higher risk for incarceration.
It’s Not Too Late to Give the Gift of Support and Solidarity
We started the Ms. Magazine Prison and Domestic Violence Shelter Program to let women in prison know they are seen and valued, and that feminists remember them and are fighting for them and alongside them.
Gender, Class and Incarceration
More and more women with economic and social advantages are attending institutions of higher learning—but women without those advantages increasingly find themselves in penal institutions.
Resistance to the Prison-Industrial Complex Remains a Feminist Issue
This week’s prison strike is the tactic of a growing movement that promises to tackle the systemic violence touching countless women’s lives.
Ending the Rape Kit Backlog: What’s the Price of a Survivor’s Peace of Mind?
A nationwide investigation spearheaded by USA Today has found that at least 70,000 rape kits sit untested in laboratories around the country. While Detroit and other cities have made headlines for their determination to clear rape kit backlogs (in Detroit’s case, only after the Department of Justice found its police department guilty of “negative, victim-blaming beliefs” in 2008) this […]
What You Won’t See on Orange Is the New Black
When I heard that Piper Kerman wrote the book Orange is the New Black about her experience at the Danbury, Connecticut federal prison camp, I was excited. I served part of my 15-year sentence with her and I found the book an accurate snapshot of Danbury FPC. (Full disclosure: I am “Esposito” in Piper’s book.) […]