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COMMENTARY |
Nicholas Freudenberg is with the Program in Urban Public Health, Hunter College, City University of New York.
Correspondence: Requests for reprints should be sent to Nicholas Freudenberg, DrPH, Box 609, Hunter College, 425 East 25th St, New York, NY 10010 (e-mail: nfreuden{at}hunter.cuny.edu).
| ABSTRACT |
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In the past few decades, US policies have led to an unprecedented increase in the number of people behind bars. While more men than women are incarcerated, the rate of increase for women has been higher.
Evidence of the negative impact of incarceration on the health of women of color suggests strategies to reduce these adverse effects. Correctional policies contribute to disparities in health between White women and women of color, providing a public health rationale for policy change.
Specific roles for health professionals include becoming involved in alliances addressing alternatives to incarceration, creating programs that address the needs of women in correctional facilities, and identifying the pathways by which correctional policies damage health.
| INTRODUCTION |
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Equally important and less addressed in the literature, criminal justice policies aimed at men can also harm women. The disproportionate incarceration rates among Black and Latino men affect women by reducing the pool of male partners who can contribute to family income,5 reducing overall employment rates in low-income communities,3 and diminishing mens ability to be consistent and present fathers.6 For some women, the incarceration of an abusive or criminally involved partner can offer safety. However, the vast majority of men return to their homes from jail or prison,7 and thus the failure of correctional facilities to provide most incarcerated men with substance abuse, mental health, or domestic violence services forces many women to make an unpalatable choice. They can either separate from a male partner who returns from jail or prison, thus reducing financial and emotional support, or take back a man with drug, violence, or psychological problems that may jeopardize the familys health and safety.
Here I review evidence of the impact of current incarceration policies on the health of women of color and suggest public health programs, policies, and research to reduce adverse effects. I also argue that current correctional policies contribute to health status disparities between White women and women of color, providing a public health rationale for policy change.
| GROWTH OF THE POPULATION BEHIND BARS |
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Between 1980 and 1997, the number of women in state and federal prisons increased nearly sevenfold.10 In 1998, there were an estimated 3.2 million arrests of women, accounting for 22% of all arrests that year. More than 950 000 women were under correctional supervision in 1998, about 1% of the US female population.9 In the past decade, the numbers and proportions of women have increased in terms of all components of the system: jail, probation, parole, and prison.9 Each component has unique influences on health,11 but the focus here is on the cumulative impact of the correctional system as a whole.
| CORRECTIONAL FACILITIES AND WOMEN OF COLOR |
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Women in the correctional system are typically young, poor, and of limited formal educational attainment.9 The median age of incarcerated women is 35 years; about 70% of these women are mothers of children younger than 18 years, and fewer than 40% have a high school diploma or its equivalent.9 Results derived from a national sample showed that 48% of jailed women reported having been physically or sexually abused before admission, and 27% had been raped.13 Studies conducted in urban jails have shown that rates of recent homelessness among incarcerated women are as high as 40%.4
Women behind bars face an assortment of intersecting health and social problems. In comparison with other low-income women, they have higher rates of (1) recent and chronic substance use problems1416; (2) HIV/AIDS, hepatitis C, and other sexually transmitted diseases1719; and (3) mental health problems.20 In some jails and prisons, there are extraordinary concentrations of women with illnesses. For example, a study conducted among the New York City jail population in 1997 revealed that the rate of early syphilis in women in jail exceeded that years rate among all women in New York City by more than 1000-fold.21 Also, a study of the Chicago jail system showed that more than a third of incarcerated women had been diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder.20 In comparison with the overall population of women residing in the Chicago area, Black and Hispanic women entering the system were about 10 times more likely to have a psychiatric disorder.20
Even though women behind bars have high rates of health and social problems, few receive help while they are incarcerated. It is estimated that no more than 10% of drug-abusing women are offered drug treatment in jail or prison,22 and most jails lack comprehensive discharge planning or aftercare programs.11,23 According to a 1998 national survey, only two fifths of male and female jail inmates with mental health problems received any help while incarcerated,24 and when help was offered it usually involved limited services such as 12-step groups. Although health care is a constitutional right for prisoners, many women behind bars receive inadequate or incompetent care.2527
In addition, most women leaving correctional facilities return to communities that present inadequate educational, housing, and employment opportunities.4,28,29 Despite the recent period of national prosperity, low-income communities of color continue to have the worst schools, the fewest job opportunities, and the least affordable housing.30 All poor families suffer from these conditions, but people of color returning from correctional facilities face the triple jeopardy of poverty, racism, and stigma toward ex-offenders.4,28,31 The incarceration experience often contributes to a downward cycle of economic dependence, social isolation, substance abuse, and other physical and mental health problems. Because they have more parental responsibilities than men leaving correctional facilities, along with lower wages and higher rates of psychiatric symptoms and victimization in the form of violence,4,9,24,32 women ex-offenders face unique reentry challenges.
Recent policy changes may have unintentionally made successful community reintegration of inmates even more difficult. For example, as a consequence of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, help is less readily available to many women, especially those with substance abuse or mental health problems. The programs associated with this act often involve punitive behavioral expectationsfor example, abstinence from substance use as a condition for receipt of benefitsand women with drug problems may have troubling meeting such criteria,33 especially when high-quality drug treatment is scarce and few programs address the special needs of women.23,34 Current regulations of the US Department of Housing and Urban Development require public housing projects to evict families with whom a convicted felon resides, forcing some women leaving prison to abandon their children or partners or become homeless.35
Advocates of current criminal justice policies argue that the most important benefit of these policies has been the dramatic reduction in crime and violence in the past decade.36 African American and Latino communities have benefited significantly from these lower rates, both directly (through reduced numbers of deaths and injuries) and indirectly (through the contributions of lower crime rates to improved economic development).37 While many experts question whether higher incarceration rates (rather than national prosperity) lead to reduced crime rates,36,38 elected officials continue to advocate for more prison cells and more aggressive policing to further reduce crime.
African American and Latino communities have borne a disproportionate burden of the adverse effects of aggressive policing and "zero tolerance" policies.39 Moreover, as a result of prison expansion, correctional budgets in many states now equal or exceed those for education and health care.40 This shift of resources has a disproportionate adverse effect on communities of color, which rely on publicly funded health care and education, and on women, who are often responsible for managing family health and education.
| CAN INTERVENTIONS MAKE A DIFFERENCE? |
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These brief examples, and a number of recent reviews,4,11,41,43 illustrate that it is possible to address the health and social needs of incarcerated women and to reduce the adverse health consequences of incarceration. Common characteristics of such interventions include the following: prerelease as well as postrelease services; integration of drug treatment, health care, employment and vocational training, social services, mental health, and housing; activities conducted at the client, community, and policy levels; and strong partnerships among correctional and public health agencies and community organizations.4,11,23,32,4143,45 Unfortunately, few women leaving jail/prison have actually received services that can be expected to make a difference.
| CORRECTIONAL POLICIES AND DISPARITIES IN HEALTH |
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Correctional policies can contribute to adverse health outcomes through various pathways. Incarceration itself can increase the risk of infection, sexual assault, and improper medical care or contribute to posttraumatic stress disorder.11,25,26,28 Reduced income as a result of incarceration-related job loss or employment discrimination compromises a womans ability to provide adequate housing, nutrition, and health care for her family. Stigmatization of returning offenders can lead to social isolation, which has been linked to various physical and mental illnesses.51,52
At the community level, evidence suggests that flooding low-income urban communities with ex-offenders without providing adequate aftercare services can lead to community disruption and higher crime rates, damaging social cohesion and its healthenhancing effects.31 More broadly, the racial dimensions of current criminal justice policies contribute to the growing racial/ethnic and income inequalities in the United States, inequalities that have been associated with poor health outcomes.5254 The gendered character of these policies reinforces womens lower socioeconomic status and fails to address gender-specific needs related to violence, reproduction, and mental health.4,55
If incarceration policies exacerbate health disparities, the Healthy People 2010 goal of eliminating these disparities56 provides public health professionals with a clear rationale for research, practice, and advocacy in the area of alternative programs and policies. Because the health effects of incarceration operate through multiple pathways, no single strategy will reverse these adverse effects. Table 1
summarizes some of the potential goals for policy changes designed to improve the well-being of people involved in the correctional system; all of these changes will benefit both men and women, although each has gender-specific dimensions. Some address "upstream" determinants (e.g., reducing the number of people who enter prison by improving economic opportunities and access to drug treatment); others seek to reduce rearrest rates by emphasizing rehabilitation rather than punishment alone.
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The increasingly vocal critics of the war on drugs are also possible allies. The dissatisfaction with the results of this war, the high costs of incarceration, and the renewed interest in harm reduction approaches to substance abuse6062 may help in efforts to gain public and political support for policy changes. Recent reports on the specific impact of the war on drugs on women suggest areas for collective action.10,14 In the past 5 years, the prisoners rights movement has also grown in strength and sophistication. Its grass roots campaigns aimed at halting prison construction, encouraging dialogue on incarceration policies, and eliminating capital punishment63,64 have created opportunities for public education and mobilization.
Finally, in a potentially important reversal of earlier trends, it appears that local and state political officials may be open to new approaches. For the first time in almost a quarter century, incarceration rates have stabilized or declined in the past 2 years,65 creating opportunities for reconfiguration of services. Because the costs of incarceration have increased over the past decade, and because public revenues targeted toward state governments are now declining, some public officials are looking for new, more effective and economical correctional policies and better links with public health agencies.66
What role can public health professionals play in changing criminal justice policies and reducing their adverse health impact on women? First, we can develop partnerships with correctional agencies and community service providers to strengthen health and social services in jails and prisons and to create community reintegration services that link women to needed services and ease the transition into the "free world." Programs that meet the specific needs of returning female inmates with regard to housing, substance use, mental health, reproductive health, parenting, and employment are especially important.4,14,41,47 Other urgent needs are for systematic evaluation of the many small programs that seem promising and for additional attention to the issue of bringing successful models to scale.11,45
On the research front, investigators need to understand better the specific pathways by which various aspects of correctional policy or practice contribute to adverse health outcomes. For example, do women leaving prison with untreated posttraumatic stress disorder fare worse than other released women? Does participation in correctional literacy or college programs reduce postrelease health problems? Do women returning to communities with high proportions of ex-offenders have higher rates of recidivism or illness than those returning to low-prevalence areas? The goal of such research would be to identify opportunities for intervention.
| CONCLUSIONS |
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| Acknowledgments |
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The comments of Beth E. Richie, Wendy Chavkin, Bea Krauss, and 3 anonymous reviewers are gratefully acknowledged.
| Footnotes |
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Accepted for publication August 21, 2002.
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