OpEd: ' Our collective experiences point to the central importance of treatment and rehabilitation over punishment. We should no longer normalize, nor accept, the stripping of humanity and dignity from incarcerated women as just punishment for a crime.'
people were murdered — my grandmother among them, by my hands. The act was a result of mental illness brought on by my various traumas. My mask had completely shattered.
Women in prison often sit in the dark, trying to salvage the few healthy pieces of themselves they have left. I know because I was one of them. Every day is a fight; for many of us, we have been fighting for much of our lives. Unaddressed trauma and mental illness are their own prisons — special kinds of hell that incarceration exacerbates rather than treats.
The unfair treatment and inhumane conditions that women experience in prison compound our challenges. Prisons lack meaningful mental health and substance use treatment. When I was incarcerated, I knew women who desperately needed mental health treatment but weren't able to be seen by a therapist as often as was required. Friends struggled with addiction and weren't provided with the tools they needed to cope.
While inside, I developed a close friend, someone I considered a sister. Sexually abused, she had fought drug addiction since she was 13. While incarcerated, she gave birth to a daughter, who was soon stripped away from her. Devastated, my friend began using heroin. I watched her continue to fight her addiction in prison. Within a year of her release, she was killed by her addiction, likely exacerbated by trauma.
I believe I received mental health treatment only because I was persistent. I begged and pleaded with my assigned therapist to see me once a week. When I was initially refused, I pointed to my sentencing documents where the judge said I was to receive extensive mental health treatment. It was my tenacity, not prison policy, that began my healing process.
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