African American Women in Prison: Abuse and Sexual Assault

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Institution
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African American Women in Prison
The United States is known for its crowded prisons. While the population of the United
States is only about 5% of the world population, it houses more than 20% of the incarcerated
people in the world (Campbell, Michael, Matt and Joshua, 183). The 1980s saw a dramatic
change in the nature of crime laws and the number of people being imprisoned (Kubrin, Charis
and Carroll, 18). At the start of that decade, the number of women in prison was approximately
13000 (Kaeble, 17). This number represented only 4% of the total prison population in the
United States (Stevens and Danelle, 561). In the next two decades that followed, the rate of
imprisonment for women increased. The rate increased to become higher than that of men. By
the year 2010, women in prison represented about 7% of the total prison population in the US
(Travis, Jeremy, Bruce and Stevens, 7).
It is important to note that race is an important factor when it comes to imprisonment
(Omi, Michael and Howard, 14). It is sad to note that at the beginning of the millennium, the rate
of imprisonment for black women was about six times that of the white women (Pratt, 17).
Women are usually arrested for petty crimes and are usually accomplices to men perpetuating the
crimes (Wacquant, 105). Most of the imprisonment cases concerning women revolves around
drugs. The United States has put stringent measures when it comes to the issue of drugs which
may partly explain the situation (Gross, 27). There were two main factors that contributed to the

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rise in the imprisonment of African American women at the time. One of the factors is the law
enforcement policies introduced at the time which targeted the minority communities (Mullings,
14). The other factor was mandatory sentencing laws.
It is interesting to note that changes in policies over time have led to increase in the
number of female prisoners (Kearney, 14). In addition, the policies have contributed to changes
in the racial makeup of the imprisoned women. As noted earlier, African American women were
incarcerated at a rate of about 6 times that of the white women at the beginning of the
millennium. In the contemporary society however, the white women have a higher rate of being
arrested when compared to the African American women (Monteith, 31).
Experiences of Abuse
African American women undergo abuse when in prison (Miller, 29). Although this
happens to the white women too, extensive evidence shows that black women are at a higher risk
of being abused than their white counterparts (Lee, 270). Most of the abuse is usually perpetrated
by the correctional officers who are supposed to protect the women and ensure that they are
provided with food and other necessities. This section is going to analyze the case of Dorothy
(not her real name) to demonstrate the kind of abuse that African American women go through
while in prison.
Dorothy was serving a 9 year sentence. She was accused of selling narcotics. She says
that she was delivering some mail on behalf of her boyfriend oblivious of the fact that the mail
contained some narcotics. It is sad to note that she received such a long sentence despite pleading
with the court that she was not aware of what the envelope contained. She has never suspected

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her boyfriend and was shocked to learn that the envelope contained drugs. It is worth noting that
Dorothy is an African American woman.
While in prison, male correctional officers were allowed to look after the women in the
correctional facilities. She says that the guards would be allowed to monitor them while
showering, eating, sleeping and even using the toilets. In addition, to this, the correctional
officers were responsible for issuing food, toilet papers and other necessities to the incarcerated
women. She recalls of one day when one of the correctional officers asked for sexual favors for
him to continue providing her with food and other necessities. At first, she though that the guard
was joking. However, the officer started reducing the amount of food and other amenities for her.
Dorothy knew that reporting would not yield much fruit but she decided to report the mater any
way. Nothing was done.
The officer continued asking for the favors. When she refused, the officer made her life a
living hell through extreme reduction in the amount of meals and other necessities that she
needed/ was entitled to. She says that the officer did this with total impunity as though he was
sure that no action is going to be taken against him. She recalls that one day when she was alone
in the laundry room, the guard showed up and locked the door from the inside. He used force to
rape her. She reported this matter but nothing was done about it. The abuse affected her greatly
and soon she was almost grappling in to depression. Due to the great psychological torture that
she was going through, she requested for a counselor. Her request was denied. She tried several
other times with the same fate. This case is a clear illustration of the forms of abuse that the
African American women undergo while in prison.