Bill Would Provide Fair Treatment For Incarcerated Women, Advocates Say

Authored by courant.com and submitted by Whey-Men
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Women who have been incarcerated at York Correctional Institution, the only prison for women in Connecticut, spoke Wednesday among other advocates, legislators and the commissioner of the Department of Correction in favor of a bill they say would provide better treatment for jailed women.

“My own personal dignity as a woman was impacted during my incarceration,” said Alexandra Brown, a former York inmate and a member of ACLU of Connecticut Smart Justice. “I was denied feminine hygiene products on more than one occasion. When I asked a male correction officer for feminine products he told me to use my sock,” she said.

Rep. Robyn Porter held a press conference on the bill, S.B.13 An Act Concerning Fair Treatment for Incarcerated Women, Wednesday afternoon. Several legislators, including Senate Republican Leader Len Fasano joined Porter and several advocates, including Brown.

Alexandra Brown, a former York Correctional Institution inmate, speaks of her and other's experience at the only women’s prison in Connecticut during a press conference. (Sandra Gomez-Aceves/Hartford Courant) Alexandra Brown, a former York Correctional Institution inmate, speaks of her and other's experience at the only women’s prison in Connecticut during a press conference. (Sandra Gomez-Aceves/Hartford Courant) SEE MORE VIDEOS

“This is not a partisan issue. This is a human issue,” Porter, a New Haven Democrat said. “This is an issue about dignity and respect for women.”

Currently, incarcerated women are provided feminine products, Tiheba Williams-Bain, a former York prisoner said. However, women often don’t get as many products as they need and are left to purchase their own or do without, she said.

The bill would require the state to provide women with the hygiene products they need free of charge. It would also prohibit the Department of Correction from using leg and waist restraints or shackles on women while they are pregnant or in the postpartum period, and would prohibit all restraints during labor and delivery.

“Restraints are a health risk to mothers and their unborn children,” Porter said. “Regardless of how we feel about these women, these kids didn’t ask to come here … this isn’t just about the mother, it’s about the unborn children.”

Porter said prohibiting the use of restraints does not jeopardize safety. She said the majority of incarcerated women aren’t violent offenders.

“There’s no need for using restraints during labor — you’re not going anywhere,” she said.

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy proposed the measure as part of his budget in early February and the bill was raised in the judiciary committee. It has received the support of all the top Democratic leaders in the General Assembly and has been co-sponsored by a dozen other legislators.

Scott Semple, the commissioner of the Department of Correction applauded the governor for bringing the legislation forward and the women for speaking about their experiences at York.

“I believe dignity and humanity need to exist, not only in our correctional facilities but in our society in general,” Semple said.

The legislation would also create a system in which expecting incarcerated mothers receive prenatal, labor and postpartum services.

Last month, an inmate gave birth in her jail cell at York, located in the Niantic section of East Lyme. It is standard policy that pregnant inmates be taken to an outside hospital when in labor, Department of Correction spokesman Andrius Banevicius said at the time.

Staff at the facility knew of the offender’s pregnancy when she arrived at the prison and she was receiving prenatal care, Banevicius said. All inmates receive a medical evaluation when they come to the prison, he said.

The newborn and the mother were reported in good health but prison officials launched an internal investigation and two UConn Health employees were told not to return to York.

UConn Health, which manages prisoner health care, started its own investigation into the incident. State officials announced in February that responsibility for inmate medical care will be transferred in July from UConn Health to the Department of Correction in response to concerns over the medical treatment inmates were receiving.

smittenkitten97 on March 29th, 2018 at 13:13 UTC »

Prison is punitive but also supposed to be rehabilitative...denying basic human hygiene and putting people at risk for infection and disease isn’t making them reconsider their crimes and sure as fuck isn’t rehabilitative. I’ve read other accounts that women in Arizona were given only 2 pads for their entire period, and unfortunately it seems like this is common.

Lambamham on March 29th, 2018 at 13:03 UTC »

A sock?? That’s so unsanitary. It’s way better just to provide the pads/tampons than to pay for the medical issues that could arise from that.

Obnubliatrix on March 29th, 2018 at 11:24 UTC »

A search for "prisoners denied toilet paper" confirms this type of thing isn't uncommon in prisons. It's also apparently legal.