Editor’s note: This commentary is by state Sen. Becca Balint, D-Windham, and the majority leader in the Vermont Senate. She lives in Brattleboro.
A month before Seven Days broke the story of alleged abuse of incarcerated women at the Chittenden correctional facility, I registered for the national conference of the Association for Justice-Involved Females and Organizations (AJFO) in Atlanta. As the fallout from the story intensified in the days leading up to the conference, I was relieved to be gathering with professionals that could speak directly to these issues and perhaps point a way forward for our state.
This conference brings together those working in the field of women’s corrections and women who’ve been through the system themselves. These voices are absolutely critical; nationwide we have a prison system that was designed exclusively for incarcerated men. As the number of women has increased steadily, there has not been a concomitant commitment to creating facilities and systems that work for women.
According to a 2019 report by the Sentencing Project, over the past 25 years there has been a dramatic increase in the number of girls and women involved in the criminal justice system. Between 1980 and 2017, the number of incarcerated women in the United States increased by more than 750%. There are several reasons for this: more expansive law enforcement efforts; stiffer penalties for drug offenses; and post-conviction barriers that affect women differently than men. The female incarcerated population is now nearly eight times higher than it was in 1980, and more than 60% of women in state prisons have a child under the age of 18. Many of these women are the primary caregiver for their children.
These details are important because rules and protocols in America’s prisons and jails were fundamentally designed to control men, often those with violent histories. Experts in the field agree that a strict system of control doesn’t always work for female prisoners.
One reason for this is that women often enter the criminal justice system for different reasons than do men, and they react differently to their circumstances. Most corrections officers and prison staffers are rarely trained to look for and understand these differences.
One basic and important difference is that women are much more likely to be incarcerated for drug and property crimes and much less likely than men to have violent histories. Women are also much less likely to act out violently once they are imprisoned, but over 80% of incarcerated women have experienced sexual trauma or have been the victim of physical violence. Incarcerated women are also more likely than men to have substance abuse issues or experience mental health problems.
An investigation by National Public Radio and the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University uncovered that incarcerated women are disciplined at higher rates than men — often two to three times more often — for smaller infractions of prison rules. The discrepancies are highest for more infractions — eye rolling, talking back, being sarcastic. In Vermont, incarcerated women are more than three times as likely as men to get in trouble for making “derogatory comments.”
This inequity impacts woman in several significant ways: the ability to bank “good conduct credits” that would shorten their sentences and the loss of privileges like buying food or supplies, including women’s hygiene products. In some states these infractions mean that women are much more likely to end up in solitary confinement for violations tagged as disobedience. As we continue to move towards ending mass incarceration in our nation, we must also understand the particular experiences of women currently incarcerated.
I stand with the Women’s Caucus of the Legislature to say that Vermont needs systemic change and a new commitment to understanding the different needs and circumstances of our female prisoners. I urge the administration, in partnership with the Legislature, to reach out to known national experts in the field in order to get it right. Yes, we need to immediately address the horrific allegations of criminal conduct by so-called “bad actors” within the system, but let’s not kid ourselves that only a few people are responsible for this mess. We have a systemic problem. Let’s use this painful moment to admit that we need outside help to move us towards the best practices that will ensure the safety and wellbeing of our incarcerated population and our workers.
