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More women are serving time in the United States than ever before and incarceration in the women’s prison system is growing at a rate faster than it is in the men’s system. From 1980 to 2010, the number of female prisoners increased from 15,118 to 112,797, according to The Sentencing Project. From 2010 to 2013 the population grew another 10.9 percent.
Like the characters Orange Is the New Black, many of the women in prison today are victims themselves. Research tells us that the following factors are often closely correlated with the incarceration of female offenders: sexual abuse, physical abuse, poverty, substance abuse, and mental health issues. As such, women’s prison systems and their security personnel need to pay particular attention to helping inmates build positive relationships while in prison, otherwise known as implementing a relational model.
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Many prisons are failing to help with rehabilitation and instead exacerbate the problem by not building their systems around the complications of their demographics, however. To begin fixing many of the problems within the female prison system, it’s essential to first understand its demographics and the reasons why inmates were incarcerated in the first place.
According to The Sentencing Project, “Women are more likely to be in prison for drug and property offenses, while men are more likely to be in prison for violent offenses.” Women also are often in relationships with men who commit violent crimes and many times are incarcerated as accomplices.
They are often young, single mothers who ran away from home as children to avoid abuse. Many reject positive relationships while seeking out negative ones. This knowledge should lead security personnel to understand that their interaction with the inmates will be dramatically influenced by previous trauma and psychological harm. This is why it’s so important for officers to be trained properly.
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The first step in bringing a relational approach to the correctional system is to train custody staff in female offenders’ characteristics, so they have a better understanding of who they are dealing with. When staffers know a female offender’s personal history, it explains a lot about how she behaves. Individuals who have been severely traumatized are difficult to deal with on many levels, but when you know that their behavior is a learned response for self-preservation, you can begin to make operational changes.
For example, instead of strip-searching women, prisons can use full-body scans like those used in airports, and prisoner visiting programs could include child-friendly play spaces for mother and child to interact in a developmentally-appropriate manner. In this way, the individual’s humanity is largely kept intact, while the prison’s security needs are met.
At the most basic level, one way to implement the relational method is through conversation. It might sound simple, but if staffers take an interest in the women’s personal lives by asking questions about their children or loved ones, then they can begin to help the healing process. Staffers should demonstrate care and interest, recognizing that when a woman is incarcerated, her whole family is impacted.
Another practical way staffers can contribute to the psychological wellness of inmates is to provide choices for women, where possible. Within the prison system, there are many programs for inmates to participate in. In the relational model, staffers would rephrase “Why aren’t you motivated?” as “What motivates you?” Imagine how empowering that can be when the typical prison environment deprives you of so many freedoms and choices–such as when to get up, what to wear, what to eat, and when to make phone calls.
While the dynamic between correctional officers and inmates can be challenging, feeling respected while inside the prison can go a long way for these women and contribute to their ability to make positive changes on the outside.
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