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Post by Big Lin on Mar 8, 2009 21:33:42 GMT
www.alternet.org/healthwellness/99987/rape,_torture_and_humiliation_in_women's_prisons:_a_global_state_of_crisis/ Rape, Torture and Humiliation in Women's Prisons: A Global State of Crisis By Lys Anzia, Women News Network. Posted September 23, 2008. Physical and psychological abuse are rampant in women's prisons from the U.S. to Canada to Pakistan. "The strategy used in women's prisons now is one of humiliation rather than rehabilitation," said Jane Evelyn Atwood in her 2007 Amnesty International video documentary, "Too Much Time." For nine years, Atwood photographed and documented the conditions for women in 40 women's prisons worldwide including the US, Europe and Eastern Europe. In numerous locations around the world the plight of women in prison is going unheeded. Conditions of improper touching by persons of authority, sanctioned sexual harassment, unnecessary strip searches, lack of proper medical attention or proper food exists in numerous global prison locations. In addition to this, psychological coercion and/or threats of sexual assault by persons in authority create a constant, unending and intense universal pressure on many incarcerated women. "Women in prisons all around the world are at risk of rape, sexual assault and torture," said a recent June 2008, Quaker UN Office -- Human Rights and Refugees Publications report. In some of the most grueling prisons in the world, women in Afghanistan are commonly punished for "moral crimes." These crimes of morality are considered crimes against the dignity of the family. Many of the crimes include adultery, running away from a husband after abuse, having a relationship without being married or refusal to marry. Women who have made public charges of rape have also been known to have been placed in detention at the same time only one wing away from their assailant. Elopement with someone else not chosen by the family after a dowry has been paid is another legal reason for arrest. The unheated women's section in the crumbling penal facility known as Pul-e-Charkhi, in the capital city of Kabul, was a place where women were often denied their most common basic needs. Known for its extreme torture and 1970s war atrocities, women and their children whe were housed at Pul-e-Charkhi were kept together in crowded unlit, often unsanitary rooms. Medical treatment and proper nutrition was almost non-existent. Conditions of severe hardship in the prison, including sexual assault with fear of reprisal, has caused numerous women loss of all personal dignity. In many instances the extreme conditions at Pul-e-Charkhi encouraged numerous suicide attempts among women prisoners. In April 2008, women prisoners were moved from Pul-e-Charkhi to a new facility in Kabul. Even though the walls are new, the women are still only given one hour of sunlight each day. Continuing administrative denials in the mismanagement of Afghanistan prisons points to a need for vast improvement. The desire to direct prisons to approve and manage facilities that exist strictly "for punishment only" crushes any future hope for programs that might focus on rehabilitation. Afghan women prisoners, suffering from extreme poverty and lack of education, are trapped along with their children inside Afghanistan's system of criminal jurisprudence. Without fair and equal representation, or any legal recourse to their needs, women flounder as they stay locked up for years under charges that would not stand up one day in most legal courts systems around the world. In Pakistan, "The number of women in prison at any moment...soared from as few as 70 in 1980 to as many as 4,500 in 1990," said Human Rights Watch in a 1999 report. Women in Pakistan are charged under the "Hudood Ordinances," ordinances enacted in Pakistan in 1979 after General Zia-ul-Haq brought a decade of military rule to the country. Under the current Pakistan Penal Code, women can be charged for a variety of crimes relating to extra-marital sex, or "zina." Misrepresentations of rape crimes under the laws of zina have caused women in prison in Pakistan to be charged for numerous crimes they have not instigated or caused. Many women in prison in Pakistan who have alleged they have been raped have been charged themselves under "Tazir" law if the rape cannot be prosecuted. Punishment under Tazir law can include incarceration up to twenty-five years, a fine and 20 lashes with a whip. Human Rights Watch, along with many women's rights activist groups inside Pakistan have been appealing for years for these Hudood Ordinances to be repealed and replaced with just and fair legislation. Lys Anzia is the director of Women News Network, an award-winning playwright, (2007) Pushcart Prize nominee and humanitarian journalist.
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Post by Big Lin on Mar 8, 2009 22:36:29 GMT
michiganmessenger.com/11301/judge-orders-prison-system-to-negotiate-with-female-prisoners Home Economy Environment Energy State Politics LGBT Media Monitor Blog Links About Us Contact Us/News Tips Judge orders prison system to negotiate with female prisoners Two juries have awarded millions to women assaulted by guards By Eartha Jane Melzer 1/8/09 3:36 PM Michigan Department of Corrections A circuit court judge in Ann Arbor has ordered the state to enter into settlement negotiations with hundreds of women who claim that they were sexually assaulted while serving time in Michigan prisons. In his Jan. 6 order, Judge Timothy Connors noted that the case has been ongoing for 13 years with two juries having already awarded up to $60 million in damages to 18 women. With approximately 482 claimants still to be heard, he wrote, the matter “represents significant future expense.” For 13 years, current and former inmates have sought damages and reforms from the prison system, which they say failed to stop a “culture of abuse” with rampant sexual violation and intimidation. Throughout the case, the attorney general’s office, which is representing the Department of Corrections, has objected to settlement discussions, calling them “an exercise in futility.” “While the Attorney’s Office indicates that they ‘may’ consider participating after a ruling from the Court of Appeals on the first trial,” Connors wrote, “they have also indicated that they may not participate until all State and Federal appellate processes are exhausted. Such a plan insures increased rather than decreased costs. “Over the objection of the Attorney’s office this case is ordered into [Alternative Dispute Resolution]… the parties are ordered to engage in ‘responsible and effective participation’ pursuant to the Court Rule.” Deborah LaBelle, the Ann Arbor attorney who represents the women in the case, expressed satisfaction with the judge’s order. “We always have been interested in settling,“ she said. LaBelle said that further verdicts against the state are likely if the cases continue to go to trial. She cited two recent cases that the state lost to her clients. In February 2008, an Ann Arbor jury awarded $15.4 million plus attorney’s fees and interest to 10 women who gave accounts of sexual abuse at Scott Correctional facility in Plymouth. In November 2008, another Ann Arbor jury ruled in favor of eight women who were assaulted and raped by guards at Crane Correctional facility in Coldwater. After awarding damages in the first trial, the jury took the unusual step of issuing an apology to the women. Its members stated, “We, the members of the jury, as representatives of the citizens of Michigan, would like to express our extreme regret and apologies for what you have been through.” The litigation against the state has resulted in some improvements in prison conditions for women, LaBelle said. Male guards no longer patrol housing units for female prisoners and are no longer permitted to do body searches. But further changes are necessary, she said, because assaults are ongoing in the prison system. LaBelle said that her clients want increased supervision of prison staff and adequate investigation when woman claim harassment or assault. Female inmates also need better access to treatment, she said. “There are a lot of women in there who have been victims of assault who are not getting adequate treatment, and there are women who are released without getting this.” Untreated sexual trauma can contribute to recidivism, she said. The state attorney general’s office did not respond to requests for comment. Department of Corrections spokesman Russ Marlin was unaware of Connor’s order when contacted on Tuesday. Marlin disputed LaBelle’s figures on the cost of the lawsuit to the state — he put the amount ordered paid to the women at $43.4 million rather than more than $60 million — and he said that he is confident that the money will never be paid out. “We are confident that these cases will be turned over in Court of Appeals,” he said. “These judgment are legally invalid.” The state Court of Appeals is scheduled to hear an appeal of the first case settled in favor of the women on Jan. 13. Marlin said that the state should not be held responsible for failing to respond to assaults at the women’s prisons because many of the allegations were never reported to the prison system. Additionally, he said, the statute of limitations has expired for some crimes that took place more than a decade ago. This week the Detroit Free Press is running an indepth series on the case with video of the women’s testimony and a report by Human Rights Watch on sexual assault in the state prison system.
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Post by Big Lin on Mar 8, 2009 22:36:47 GMT
www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-23664586.htmlU.S. Prisons Subject Female Prisoners To "Shocking" Abuse Article from:The New York Beacon Article date:March 31, 1999 | Copyright informationProvided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information) New York Beacon, The 03-31-1999 U.S. Prisons Subject Female Prisoners To "Shocking" Abuse Women inmates in U.S. prisons are subject to a "shocking array" of sexual and physical abuse, according to a 125-page report released earlier this month by Amnesty International. Such abuse include rape and other sexual violations by prison guards and male prisoners, the use of shackles during childbirth, and inadequate medical care, according to "Not Part of My Sentence." The new report came just four days before International Women's Day on March 8 and is part of an unprecedented series by the London-based human rights groups on abuses in the United States. Much of the series focus on abuses committed ...
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Post by Big Lin on Mar 8, 2009 22:37:06 GMT
www.thaindian.com/newsportal/entertainment/amnesty-says-sexual-abuse-of-female-inmates-rampant-in-us-prisons_10082479.htmlThaindian News Amnesty says sexual abuse of female inmates rampant in US prisons August 11th, 2008 - 2:16 pm ICT by ANI - Washington , Aug 11 (ANI): In its fresh report, the international human rights body the Amnesty International has said that female inmates in US jails are prone to sexual abuse by male officers. According to the report, sexual abuse is rampant, particularly those who are young or who are incarcerated for the first times. The male officers in the US jails ask the female inmates to return sexual favours in lieu of basic facilities extended to them, and most of such instances go unreported, and if reported the offenders are simply transferred to other wards, said the Amnesty report. Sexual abuse is virtually a fact of life for incarcerated women in the US , said the report the findings if which are reinforced by a study conducted by the US-based Human Rights Watch, which says that being a woman prisoner in American prisons can be a terrifying experience. The Human Rights Watch report found that male correctional employees have vaginally, anally and orally raped female prisoners and sexually assaulted and abused them. It found that in the course of committing such gross misconduct, male officers have not only used actual or threatened physical force, but have also used their near total authority to provide or deny goods and privileges to female prisoners to compel them to have sex or, in other cases, to reward them for having done so. There are often male correctional officers watching women undressing and showering. The women are often afraid to report such incidences. Not only do the guards frequently threaten to take away visitation rights to keep them quiet, they also have complete access to each inmates file, which includes any reports against the guards. If a guard is reported and punished, the punishment usually only consists of his transfer to another facility, the Daily Times quoted the Amnesty report as saying. According to current estimates, more than 50 per cent of all female prisoners in the US have experienced some form of sexual abuse. The number of women incarcerated in the US is ten times more than in Western Europe, whose female population is equal to that of the US . African-American women are eight times more likely to be incarcerated than white women. Besides, the rampant sexual abuse, medical neglect is common for women in US prisons. One such example is the failure to treat seriously ill inmates. This includes treatment for diseases ranging from diabetes to AIDS. Another example is the lack of qualified medical personnel in the prisons. This means that frequently non-medical staff is used in medical situations. In some instances, women have been impregnated as a result of sexual misconduct, and some of these prisoners have faced additional abuse in the form of inappropriate segregation, denial of adequate health care, and/or pressure to seek an abortion, says the Human Rights Watch report. One of the clear contributing factors to sexual misconduct in US prisons for women is that the US allows male correctional employees to hold contact positions over prisoners, that is, positions in which they serve in constant physical proximity to the prisoners of the opposite sex. Under the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (Standard Minimum Rules), which constitute an authoritative guide to international law regarding the treatment of prisoners, male officers are precluded from holding such contact positions. However, since the passage of the US Civil Rights Act of 1964, US employers have been prohibited from denying a person a job solely on the basis of gender unless the persons gender was reasonably necessary to the performance of the specific job. (ANI)
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Post by Deleted on Mar 10, 2009 12:25:18 GMT
www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-23664586.htmlU.S. Prisons Subject Female Prisoners To "Shocking" Abuse Article from:The New York Beacon Article date:March 31, 1999 | Copyright informationProvided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information) New York Beacon, The 03-31-1999 U.S. Prisons Subject Female Prisoners To "Shocking" Abuse Women inmates in U.S. prisons are subject to a "shocking array" of sexual and physical abuse, according to a 125-page report released earlier this month by Amnesty International. Such abuse include rape and other sexual violations by prison guards and male prisoners, the use of shackles during childbirth, and inadequate medical care, according to "Not Part of My Sentence." The new report came just four days before International Women's Day on March 8 and is part of an unprecedented series by the London-based human rights groups on abuses in the United States. Much of the series focus on abuses committed ... If you had been talking about a prison in Afghanistan I would have been shocked. But this is the US! I'm amazed for a start that male prisoners have access to women prisoners. Perhaps there should be no male guards as well, to put an end to rape complaints.
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Post by chefmate on Mar 10, 2009 14:43:12 GMT
Then we would have to end female co's in the male prisons wouldn't we?
Many a female co has propositioned inmates and offered their booty......disgusting but true.
There was one co a few months back at San Quentin death row busted INSIDE a inmates cell having sex; another one caught her and locked her in with the inmate until the sgt. arrived...lol
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Post by Deleted on Mar 10, 2009 17:42:11 GMT
i dare say there is a bit of "voluntary" sex going on in women's prisons too. There is an argument for saying that staff of the opposite sex should not work on the wings at all.
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Post by Liberator on Mar 11, 2009 2:48:41 GMT
There's probably some abuse in men's prisons too. But that's men, so who cares? Who ever cared except for a few privileged women who imagined men were getting even more than they expected by right of their sex and then their successors realised how much privilege equality lost them - so call themselves 'feminists' trying to regain their traditional privilege, as long as they don't have to feel degraded by reducing themselves to treating men as they expect men to treat them.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 11, 2009 18:09:59 GMT
ratarsed - I am not, and never have been, someone who has argued that women should be kept out of prison, or that women's prisons are somehow "worse" than men's. Indeed in the UK, women prisoners seem to get some privileges denied to men because they are regarded (rightly or wrongly) as 'different.'
If there is abuse in male prisons let us hear about that too. Highlighting what is going on in female institutions in no way precludes a debate about the very real problems that exist in male institutions. If you or anyone else starts a thread about that, I would be interested.
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Post by Big Lin on Mar 11, 2009 20:53:16 GMT
I'm quite familiar with the appalling abuse that goes on in male prisons as well.
One of my dear friends was raped, brutalised and treated so badly that he attempted suicide during his time in prison.
I'll post some stuff on male inmates to show that I certainly DON'T confuse my feminism with female chauvinism.
I also agree absolutely that women who commit crimes ought to be treated in the same way as men who offend.
If anyone thought I was saying anything different they obviously misunderstood my words.
I'll try to speak more plainly in future.
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Post by riotgrrl on Mar 11, 2009 22:35:06 GMT
There's probably some abuse in men's prisons too. But that's men, so who cares? Who ever cared except for a few privileged women who imagined men were getting even more than they expected by right of their sex and then their successors realised how much privilege equality lost them - so call themselves 'feminists' trying to regain their traditional privilege, as long as they don't have to feel degraded by reducing themselves to treating men as they expect men to treat them. Were you frightened by a so-called feminist as a baby or something?
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Post by Deleted on Mar 18, 2009 6:37:02 GMT
Did anyone see the ITV documentary last night on Holloway Prison? It was much as I spoosed it would be, althogh I suspect more violence goes on there between the inmates than was shown.
Many of the young women seemed to regard the place as a safe haven, dreading release and contriving a way to return as soon as possible.
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