#iwcj

[vesselvindicate]

animation based on a drawing by @ridgeracaa

[peppidyme]

A study conducted by the Institute on Women and Criminal Justice (IWCJ) in 2006 reports that the female population in prison has risen an astonishing 757 percent from 1977 to 2005.

The United States of America have the biggest rate of incarceration of women under extremely bad conditions.  Why this happens and what changes the future is about to bring remain unknown. Part of the answer surely lies in the cruel, punitive and rigid policies employed by the US criminal justice system. In the US, some states still shackle incarcerated pregnant women before, during and after giving birth. Belly chains, hand cuffs and leg irons are still used in several states across the US to prevent imprisoned pregnant women from escaping!

According to  the Rebecca Project for Human Rights report,  twenty-two states either have no policy at all addressing when restraints can be used on pregnant women or have a policy which allows for the use of dangerous leg irons or waist chains. Twenty-four states do not require training for individuals handling and transporting incarcerated persons needing medical care or those dealing with pregnant women specifically, or have no policy on training, and thirty-one states do not have a policy that holds institutions accountable for shackling pregnant women without adequate justification. (source)