|
|
|
Does Pa. deserve an A- for tackling incarcerated women's issues?
The Web site for the award-winning alternative weekly, the Philadelphia City Paper.
Does Pa. deserve an A- for tackling incarcerated women's issues?
 |
| Courtesy of Mother Jones |
The National Women's Law Center and the Rebecca Project for Human Rights released a report last week grading each state on its treatment of female prisoners, and it's got lots of interesting (read: depressing) stats: For instance, the number of women in prison — some 115,000 as of 2009 — has recently increased faster than that of men, largely thanks to new mandatory sentences for drug convictions. Also, most incarcerated females are nonviolent, first-time offenders; two-thirds of them have at least one child less than 18 years old. There's more:
- 43 states do not require medical examinations as a component of prenatal care
- 34 states do not require screening and treatment for women with high-risk pregnancies
- 48 states do not offer pregnant women screening for HIV
- 22 states either have no policy at all addressing when restraints can be used on pregnant women or have a policy which allows for the use of dangerous leg irons or waist chains
- 38 states received failing grades (D/F) for failing to offer prison nurseries to new mothers who are incarcerated
So where does Pennsylvania stand? Mostly thanks to a state bill that passed this year banning the shackling of women in labor, as well as programs like Philly's MOMobile, the Commonwealth got an A-. But does the state deserve it? Ann Schwartzman, the policy director of the Pennsylvania Prison Society, isn't so sure.
"Policies don't always materialize, so rating the states on written policy is limited," she told the Clog. "Many women with families need substance abuse treatment, but slots and funding are limited. More community-based alternatives to incarceration need to be established to provide opportunities for families to develop important bonds but facilities are few and far between. Expanded family visiting is an important measure but requires funds and space within the prison. Health care, including nutrition, exercise and trauma-focused treatment, would impact many of the incarcerated moms in the two state prisons."
You can read the report in its entirety here.
- ActiVman
- adventures
- Arts
- Ask A Man-About-Town
- Award Tour
- Awards
- Bad Idea Factory
- Beer
- Below the Curve
- Bikes
- Booze
- Brian Hickey
- BRT
- Budget
- Budget Fuss
- Business
- Casinos
- City Council
- City Hall
- CouncilMANIC
- CP Abroad
- CP in the Community
- Criminal Justice System
- Day Tripper
- Death and Taxes
- Delaware River
- Design
- DROP
- Drugs
- Dubious Distinction
- Elections
- End of Days
- Environment
- Fashion
- Film Fest
- Financial Meltdown
- FrackTrack
- Free Library
- Gambling
- Gay Stuff
- Get Lit
- Greenstorming
- guns
- Hall Monitor
- Health
- Health Care
- Hello, Kitty
- Holidays
- Ice Cubes
- Iggles
- Immigration
- In Memoriam
- Labor
- Lawsuits
- Letters
- LGBTQ
- Maps
- Marcellus Shale
- Media
- MMA
- Mummers
- Music
- MUST READ
- Mysterious Mysteries
- Nation
- News
- Non Sequitur
- Opinion
- PA politics 2010
- Parking Wars
- Parks and Recreation
- People Send Us This Stuff
- Philadelphia Police
- Philadelphia Union
- Philaphemera
- Philly From Scratch
- philly madness
- Photos
- Poverty
- PPA
- President Obama
- Print Edition
- Prisons
- Protest
- Readers Write
- Real Estate
- Rock Bottom
- Schools
- Science
- Screwing Philly
- SEPTA
- snow
- So Lush
- Soccer
- Sporting Life
- Sports Complex
- State Politicians
- State Politics
- Street Art
- Strike
- Stuff We Like
- Taxes
- Taxi Drivers
- Tech Fetish
- television
- The Budget Crisis
- The City Paper
- The CLOG
- The Human Condition
- The Mayor
- The Phightin Phils
- The World
- Things that make you go hm
- Tinfoil Hats Off
- Under the Table
- Under the Tables
- Urban Development
- Urban Planning
- urban wildlife
- Video Poker
- We Call Shenanigans
- Weather
- Web Junk
- Weekend Omnibus
- White House
- What We've Found
- Women's Issues
- Flyered Up!
- How 'Bout That Weather?
- it's always sunny in philadelphia
- Stu!
- Shopping
- get out
- 10-track mind
- ArtsFlash
- Bloggity
- Bruce Being Bruce
- Colleges
- Comedy
- Gigantic Surprises
- Hello Canary
- Hello Puppy
- errata
- get lost
- Inside The Fishbowl
- Library Closings
- Local Support
- Movies
- Murder
- Night Moves
- Recycling
- radio
- Scientology
- Sex
- Sixers
- Skeeze Police
- State Politicians Screwing Philly
- That's a cool stencil!
- Theater
- Things We See
- This Week
- This Week in Oates
- University City
- WIN
- What we don't heart
- trailer!
- what we heart
- Feeling Guilty
- Askadelphia.
- Broke in Philly
- Contest
- Dance
- Dear Paper Doll
- Do A Good Thing
- Education
- Film Fest Schism
- G20-20 Vision
- Goodbye
- Gossip
- Great American Heroes
- PATCO
- Pearl Jam Week
- Puppy
- Stars of the Photostream
- sustainability
- Lower Merion Webcam-Gate
- The Cycle
- Equality Forum
- Bureaucrat of the Week
- Animals
- ElectionEar
- Photostream
