So this topic is slightly different than my last
posts, but it is something that has had me thinking, and is also something I touched
on in my papers.
A few days ago I was Facebook (I know, total waste
of time) and came across a post from someone that said something along the
lines of “why are you concerned about women in prison, they are there for a
reason”. I don’t know why it made me
slightly mad, or maybe annoyed is a better word, but it did. I almost
replied to the post but decided not to get in a pointless debate with a
stranger on the internet, because everybody knows nobody wins the internet…
Ok. So my
first problem with the statement “Why are you concerned about women in prison”
is that I think we should all be concerned.
While the number of women in prisons is far less than men, according to
much research I found-and some websites here and here-women have a much higher
rate of mental health disorders, much higher rate of prior physical and/or sexual
abuse, and substance abuse. The women
prison population is also rapidly growing.
Don’t get me wrong.
I am not excusing anybody committing a crime. Unless you are fighting for your life I
cannot think of a reason to commit a crime.
And I get that some people steal food to feed their families, deal
because that’s what they grew up with and they don’t know any better, etc.
etc. These are all just more examples of
how something is not working; people shouldn’t have to steal for their families
to eat, people shouldn’t have to deal to support themselves/families because it’s
how they grew up. Something else should
be done so things are not like that.
But I do have problem with people not getting
treatment for past abuse, substance abuse, and mental illness. For many people in prison, treatment could
help in so many more ways than prison. I
also think men could benefit from treatment.
I also know that treatment will not work unless the person is willing
and ready to try it(and obviously many crimes simply deserve prison). But wouldn’t it be worth it?
I don’t think treatment is going to fix everything,
but it could be a start in the right direction.
I also don’t think looking into someone’s past is taking the blame away
from them; it’s trying to prevent more bad from happening in the future.
What are your
opinions on treatment in place of/along with prison?
I just recently started watching the new netflixs series, Orange is the New Black, and it really shows corruption in the female prison system. I do not know how much of it is actually true but if this interests you, you may like this show. Also, I agree with inmates getting the treatment they need instead of alternatives. I want to be a substance abuse counselor when I graduate and I think that jail should be the last option.
ReplyDeletePeople that are in prison are given counseling. But who knows how well the system works or if only some are given the chance to do so. These people definitely need help because obviously they weren't given the support before they committed their crimes. And counseling could help them change once they're out of prison so they won't commit the same mistakes again.
ReplyDeleteI have little experience or knowledge of women in prison so I feel I can't comment on whether they should be there. I do know however, that for men and women a lot is passed down from generation to generation. Whatever your parents did, good or bad, you are more likely to do. I feel strongly that we should do what we can for criminals, but focus on their children so they are less likely to make the same mistakes.
ReplyDeleteAlthough prison is not the best place to be I do believe it can be beneficial to those who are truly willing to change. Some people are just set in their ways and prison is nothing to them but another chapter in life but then again there are those who need help/want help but prison is the only place that can actually force them to get it. I actually had a family member who was addicted to heroin, she really wanted to stop using but rehab didnt work because she could leave when she wanted and go back to using when it got to hard. She ended up going to prison for a drug related offense and being there forced her to get clean, as painful and hard as it was. In the end, she did it, she got clean and came out of prison to turn her life around and has not used in over 6 years! Prison can be somewhat therapeutic in that sense and therefore I believe that we should NOT "not" care about inmates... there are a lot of them that want to change they just need the full time support.
ReplyDeleteI like the uniqueness of this topic-- I feel like this is something that is not spoken of, at least not very much. In one of the nursing classes I took this semester, we had to study a little bit about the imprisoned population and some of the statistics about how little healthcare they receive is absolutely mind boggling! And then a lot of times the care that is given, is very low quality. I am not too familiar with the way prison systems work but my understanding is that they were once meant to rehabilitate the prisoner to "normal" functioning levels congruent with the rest of society and that is definitely not the case anymore.
ReplyDelete