Tag Archive for "prison"

Posts Tagged prison

ACLU releases report on women in solitary confinement

Yesterday the ACLU released a new report, Worse Than Second-Class, on women prisoners held in solitary confinement. Through surveys of prison practices and testimony from women who have spent time in solitary, the report presents a picture of institutional violence not only perpetrated against women at skyrocketing rates but which harms them in unique ways. Our understanding of solitary has been based off men’s experiences of it, but expanding the range of narratives is necessary to understand the full extent of the cruelty. As ACLU senior staff attorney Amy Fettig told me, not only is solitary confinement often overlooked by its use against women has been rendered nearly invisible outside of prison walls.

By Chase Strangio • 10 years ago

How the Connecticut Department of Children & Families is failing a trans girl of color

Editor’s note: This is a guest contribution from Chase Strangio. Chase is a Staff Attorney with the LGBT & AIDS Project of the American Civil Liberties Union and the co-founder of the Lorena Borjas Community Fund.

Jessica* is a 16 year-old transgender girl. She has been in and out of the foster care and juvenile justice systems since early childhood, surviving unthinkable trauma and demonstrating resilience and strength. As a ward of the Department of Children and Families (DCF), DCF is her legal parent and guardian, responsible for her care and well-being. Jessica was also in the custody of the juvenile justice side of DCF following a delinquency adjudication; she has never been convicted of a crime or faced ...

By Suzanna Bobadilla • 10 years ago

The Feministing Five: Lovisa Stannow

The next time you are looking forward a wonder woman, look no further than Lovoisa Stannow. An established activist and current executive director of Just Detention International, she upholds an extraordinarily difficult yet vital mission — to help end sexual abuse in prisons. In her words, “its the idea that no one should suffer from sexual abuse, regardless of what they have done. We have to remember that every prisoner is a human being.” Caught at the intersection of the anti-violence and anti-prison movements, Lovoisa Stannow and her organization provide resources to support inmates who survived violence across the world.

And now, without further ado, the Feministing Five with Lovoisa Stannow.

By Juliana Britto Schwartz • 10 years ago

Photo of the Day: Raising Children in Prison

This shot is part of a beautiful photo essay from Deepa Fernandes (reporting) and Mae Ryan (photography) at Southern California Public Radio explores the lives of some women in prison, in particular the lucky few who get to help raise their children while incarcerated.

By Courtney Baxter • 10 years ago

Weekly Feminist Reader

(We haven’t been able to find a transcript for this video. If anyone is able to post one in the comments we’d be very grateful!)

Some mainstream media recognition for Renisha.

Surviving in Numbers: “the silence is the worst part.”

Sarah Palin and the right’s obsession with slavery.

This data on abortion didn’t come from studies…. it came from polls.

Loving these sister portraits.

“It’s easier to be a ‘slut’ than a virgin.”

The Daily Show asks Is it Racist?

And how about how racist is France?

Increasing diversity in Silicon Valley.

Scandal is causing a stir, but these thoughts on the show are worth the read.

2016:

(We haven’t been able to find a transcript for this video. If anyone is able to post one in the comments we’d be very grateful!)

Some mainstream media recognition for Renisha.

Surviving in Numbers: “the ...

By Courtney Baxter • 10 years ago

Weekly Feminist Reader

“Oklahomans brag that theirs has become the reddest state.”

Living with breast cancer at 26.

The difference between Malala and Nabila.

The 5 billion dollar food stamp cut is reverberating across the country.

“A wall is just a wall. It can be broken down.”

“Oklahomans brag that theirs has become the reddest state.”

Living with breast cancer at 26.

The difference between Malala and Nabila.

The 5 billion dollar food stamp cut is reverberating across the country.

“A ...

By Sesali B. • 10 years ago

Summer camp reunites kids with incarcerated fathers

Summer is just about over. And for some kids, that means that their time at camp has come to an end as well. Some of them could have been at band camp, dance camps, day camps, or even fat camp (which I have some serious issues with. But I digress…). But for some kids, camp was a week long trip that allowed them to spend time with their fathers behind bars.

House Hope is a DC based organization that offers multiple programs to not only strengthen the relationships among families in which the father is a DC prisoner, but attempts to build community among the mother and children left behind. According to their site:

“It has been said ...

Summer is just about over. And for some kids, that means that their time at camp has come to an end as well. Some of them could have been at band camp, dance camps, day camps, or ...

By Alexandra Brodsky • 10 years ago

California prisons have been sterilizing women for years

Yesterday the Sacramento Bee published a devastating (if unsurprising) article from the Center for Investigative Reporting revealing that, between 2006 and 2010, 148 female prisoners were illegally sterilized by force. Corey G. Johnson writes:

At least 148 women received tubal ligations in violation of prison rules during those five years – and there are perhaps 100 more dating back to the late 1990s, according to state documents and interviews.

From 1997 to 2010, the state paid doctors $147,460 to perform the procedure, according to a database of contracted medical services for state prisoners.

The women were signed up for the surgery while they were pregnant and housed at either the California Institution for Women in Corona or Valley State Prison for ...

At least ...