How the ERA can Keep Incarcerated Mothers in their Children’s Lives
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Clearly, the effects of mass incarceration extend beyond the individual cells that hold black women back by disrupting the lives of the people who need them most.
The ERA: The Key to Unlocking Women’s Shackles
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Incarcerated black woman whose pregnancy ends fatally fall victim to the daunting truth that infants born to black mothers die at twice the rate as those born to white mothers. The ERA can help change that.
The ERA: Why Black Women Need It Most
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The level of sexual discrimination is particularly visible in the criminal justice system, where sixty percent of incarcerated women are in jail awaiting trial because they can’t afford bail.
The House that Hope Built: Topeka Sam and LOHM
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“I didn’t learn anything from prison, but I learned a lot from the sisters I met there, and I wanted change.”
Incarceration
I Was ‘Sent to the Hole’ for Trying to Stop a Suicide
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Now, other prisoners will be afraid to help stop someone from killing themselves, the woman says. The incident occurred at a California facility under scrutiny for a lax approach to suicide prevention and mental health.
Incarceration
Suicides Put California Women’s Prison Under Mental Health Scrutiny
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In January, suicide-prevention practices at the California Institution for Women were found to be lacking. Now, two suicides and 10 attempts later, an advocacy group is petitioning state lawmakers to do something.
Incarceration
Let’s Stop States from Shackling Female Prisoners in Childbirth
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Most of the women who are being subjected to this degrading and dangerous practice have already undergone enough trauma. We need the help of Congress and the Department of Justice to stop this “birthing barbarism” in the 28 states that still allow shackling at some or all points from the second trimester through postpartum recovery.
Teen Voices
Risks Are High for Teen Daughters with Jailed Moms
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Women with children are being incarcerated at a rising rate, with ominous implications for girls in particular. “Children typically model their behaviors based on the parent that is the same sex, so missing that female figure is critical,” says one advocate. Story reported with Annie Geng.
Crime & Law
New Drug Law Tests Infants, Sends Moms to Jail
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A Tennessee law designed to punish women who use drugs while pregnant can only hurt, not help, babies being born with withdrawal. We need more drug treatment programs, not laws like this that will deter women from seeking help.
Arts & Culture
Connecticut Trans Teen Ignites Prison Reform Push
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First she was placed in an adult women’s prison, now she’s in a boy’s facility. Supporters decry officials’ indifference to her age and gender identity and are demanding a new law and a new prison commissioner.