Coalition
for Women Prisoners Upcoming
Meetings
Apply to ReConnect—our leadership training program for women who have recently returned home from prison or jail Schedule an educational workshop at your organization Coalition
Committees The
Coalition for Women Prisoners, coordinated by the
Women in Prison Project of the Correctional Association
of New York, is a statewide alliance of individuals
and organizations dedicated to making the criminal
justice system more responsive to the needs and
rights of women and their families. The Coalition's
goals are to:
- reduce
New York State's use of imprisonment
as a response to the social and economic problems
facing women;
- expand community-based alternatives to incarceration,
including drug treatment programs, that focus
on the specific needs of women;
- strengthen family and community ties both during
women's incarceration and after release;
- improve the conditions inside women's prisons
in New York State;
- expand
the number of programs that help women return
to their communities after being released from
prison;
- enable
formerly incarcerated women to play a leading
role in advocating for changes in criminal
justice policies that directly affect their
lives.
In 1973, about 380 women were incarcerated
in New York State correctional facilities.
Driven by policies like New York's harsh Rockefeller Drug Laws,
today that number has increased by nearly 630%, a
rate of growth significantly higher than the rate
for men. Although New York's female prison
population — along with the total prison population — has
been steadily decreasing since 2000,
there are currently still more than
2,800 women in State custody.
Nearly eight out of ten women who enter the criminal
justice system each year are convicted of non-violent
crimes. The majority of women in New York State incarcerated
for a violent felony offense have no prior violent
felony arrests or convictions. Almost 72% of women
in prison are African-American or Latina, most come
from low-income communities in New York City. The
vast majority of women in prison report having a
substance abuse problem before their arrest and are
survivors of physical and/or sexual abuse. Female
inmates are one of the most mistreated and disenfranchised
populations in our prison system and society. Certain
fundamental beliefs guide the Coalition's
work: a society that truly values healthy, safe,
and productive individuals, families and communities
must prioritize the use of rehabilitative, community-based
correctional alternatives over imprisonment; the
issues facing women offenders at all points along
the criminal justice continuum often differ from
those faced by men offenders, and therefore must
be identified and treated differently; and, formerly
incarcerated women should be in the forefront of
the movement to challenge the criminal justice policies
that directly affect their lives. The
criminal justice system has a strong tendency to
define women offenders solely by their crimes,
ignoring the various set of circumstances that
affect their lives and actions. Ending the systemic
injustices facing currently and formerly incarcerated
women is only half of the Coalition's mission—the
other half is removing the stigma assigned to women
offenders and replacing it with recognition of an
individual's potential to take responsibility
for her actions, to change, and to become a productive
member of society.
For
more information about the Women in Prison Project
and the Coalition for Women Prisoners, contact Project
Director Tamar Kraft-Stolar, 212-254-5700 x306 or
Project Associate Serena Alfieri, x311, or email
the Correctional Association. |
