Women's eNews (https://womensenews.org/tag/incarceration/)
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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Working as a librarian in a county jail in Nassau County, N.Y., Marybeth Zeman saw the boys’ thirst for books, as well as problems with the juvenile justice system. In this excerpt from “Tales of a Jailhouse Librarian,” she meets the mother of a jailed boy.
Americans Sarah Shourd, Joshua Fattal and Shane Bauer were arrested for crossing into Iran while hiking in 2009. Shourd spent 14 months in Iran’s Evin Prison. In this excerpt from “A Sliver of Light,” she recounts how another inmate temporarily relieved loneliness.
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Calls from the bus station can come at 2 a.m. for two Christian centers run by women, one in Texas, the other in Tennessee. The job is to keep the lights on for female ex-cons with nowhere else to go.
India may soon allow abortion services in its 25,000 primary health centers, which are the first points of care for India’s rural population, Times of India reported Nov. 20.