On this episode of Raising the Bar with Iman, I discuss The Dignity for Incarcerated Women Act, federal legislation aimed at providing women in federal prisons with access to hygiene products and increased communication with loved ones. While this legislation is a great start, it wouldn't impact the majority of incarcerated women in state jails and prison.

I discuss the often ignored fact that the incarceration rates for women are increasing in many states while the incarceration rate for men are decreasing. According to the sentencing project, between 1980 and 2014, the number of incarcerated women increased by more than 700%, rising from a total of 26,378 in 1980 to 222,061 in 2014.

Women are often an afterthought in the mass incarceration conversation. This needs to end today.

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Sources:

https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/incarcerated-women-need-dignity-freedom-more-free-tampons-ncna854631

https://wtop.com/maryland/2018/03/no-tampons-in-prison-metoo-helps-shine-light-on-issue/

https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/senate-bill/1524/text

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/cory-booker-and-elizabeth-warren-want-to-treat-women-in-prison-like-human-beings_us_5964cce5e4b005b0fdc84b00

https://storage.googleapis.com/vera-web-assets/downloads/Publications/overlooked-women-and-jails-report/legacy_downloads/overlooked-women-and-jails-fact-sheet.pdf

https://www.sentencingproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Incarcerated-Women-and-Girls.pdf

https://www.prisonpolicy.org/reports/women_overtime.html