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Original poster

It was like the prison had given the okay for them to rape us

88 replies

SnoopyLights · 20/07/2021 05:48

I saw this on Instagram last night and I seriously haven't been able to stop thinking about these poor women since I read it.

Women incarcerated in California's largest women's prison are describing the conditions as "a nightmare's worst nightmare" after the introduction of new pregnancy resources in the Central California Woman's Facility (CCWF) medical clinics. The new resources are a tacit admission by officials that woman should expect to be raped when housed in prison with men, where all sex is considered non-consensual by default within the system.

New posters recently appeared in medical rooms outlining the options available to "pregnant people" in prison, including prenatal care, abortion, and adoption. The poster also declares that woman have the right to "contraceptive counselling and your choice of birth control methods by a licensed healthcare provider within 60 - 180 days prior to scheduled release date." However the only methods available to incarcerated women to prevent pregnancy are condoms, which appeared shortly after the men, and Plan-B emergency contraceptives.

Prior to the passage of SB 132, pregnancies among incarcerated women were vanishingly rare in California women's prisons. Women who entered the justice system already pregnant are typically held in county jail or separate medical facilities until they give birth.

Women's prisons across the state appear to be making final preparations such as these for a massive wave of transfers after nearly 300 requests were initiated following SB 132 going into effect in January of this year. So far, only about 20 of the transfers have been processed (and exactly zero transfer requests have been denied) - leaving hundreds of men, many of whom are sex offenders, awaiting entry into the women's estate.

Speaking to Amie Ichikawa, founder of Woman II Woman and advocate for incarcerated women, one woman currently housed in CCWF said it was like the prison had "given the okay for them to rape us, cause you have a plan to take care of the aftermath."

At a recent CCWF Captain's meeting, one woman read a statement in which she pleaded for help and accused CO's of ignoring their previous concerns of being housed with a serial rapist.

"How do we feel safe in our community? When we reach out for help we get nothing...There has been an assault on a woman and we still are silenced."

"We have had our hope taken away once again. Does anyone care that we are being forced to house with 6'2, 250+ lbs men with penises that are here for brutally raping women? We have been warned by the officials in this prison, more are coming with worse charges."

"Where is the safety concern for us? If we say we are in fear, we are the ones locked up."

www.womensliberationfront.org/california-sb-132-a-disaster-for-incarcerated-women

It was like the prison had given the okay for them to rape us
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Original poster
SnoopyLights · 20/07/2021 18:40

@EishetChayil

Mark my words, there will be moves to have the resulting babies sold adopted to rich couples, as the conservative right wing religious lobby will outlaw abortions.

The Handmaid's Tale come true.

I'm sure I read that in some States, a rapist can fight for parental access to a child they have fathered through rape.

I hope that's not still the case. And I would hope that the rapists family wouldn't be considered for access or as potential adopters either.

OP posts:
deepwatersolo · 20/07/2021 18:39

I can't believe I just read this. F'ing hell, what male will not self-ID as a woman in order to serve their term under less violent conditions!?!

They won't be able to maintain this system, it will all blow up in their face. But until this is reversed, many women will suffer. This is all so predictable, and yet, they move ahead with it. Because women don't matter, and if you are a woman in a prison or in a mental facility you have no voice at all. You could as well not exist.

BernardBlackMissesLangCleg · 20/07/2021 18:36

just checking to see if any of the visitors who like to come and tell us how to feminist have joined this thread

where are you, you disingenuous bastards?

defend this

334bu · 20/07/2021 18:29

God this is just awful! This is torture and inhuman treatment. How can these legislators look themselves in the mirror when women prisoners are being forced to share cells with male sex offenders?

Redapplewreath · 20/07/2021 18:21

I don’t care what a woman has done. She doesn’t deserve to be locked in a cell with a man.

Why has it become a required right for a male to choose to have access to females in the prison system, and yet not a required right for females to choose to refuse to be accessible to males in the prison system?

Whatwouldscullydo · 20/07/2021 18:20

Shuddering at the thought of the resulting quality of life of those babies who will have been basted and grown in trauma and stress chemistry from the moment of conception, and will have to live with the knowledge of being a child born of rape in highly distressing circumstances. Knowing the current total lack of competent resources for children with significant trauma in the adoptive system, the breakdowns in placement, the issues finding foster placements and serial foster placements and funding and providing high level therapeutic residential placements for children too traumatised and disturbed to be in family homes and then finding adult placements for them

And those are just the lucky ones who aren't born mid prison drug problem.

What's going to happen.to those babies Sad adoptive parents usually want healthy babies

Redapplewreath · 20/07/2021 18:17

@EishetChayil

Mark my words, there will be moves to have the resulting babies sold adopted to rich couples, as the conservative right wing religious lobby will outlaw abortions.

The Handmaid's Tale come true.

Shuddering at the thought of the resulting quality of life of those babies who will have been basted and grown in trauma and stress chemistry from the moment of conception, and will have to live with the knowledge of being a child born of rape in highly distressing circumstances. Knowing the current total lack of competent resources for children with significant trauma in the adoptive system, the breakdowns in placement, the issues finding foster placements and serial foster placements and funding and providing high level therapeutic residential placements for children too traumatised and disturbed to be in family homes and then finding adult placements for them -

just put the taxes up now.

EishetChayil · 20/07/2021 17:56

Mark my words, there will be moves to have the resulting babies sold adopted to rich couples, as the conservative right wing religious lobby will outlaw abortions.

The Handmaid's Tale come true.

DdraigGoch · 20/07/2021 17:52

@Whatwouldscullydo

This breaks my heart it realky does. I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy. Rape becoming an acceptable punishment fir a crime , so much fir being being civilised country hey.

Why can't males just be told no. Like ever.

Not only that, if a man commits rape and is caught (not that getting caught happens very often), he only has to say "I am a woman" and his crime is rewarded with captive victims.

Is this constitutional? It's really hard to change the US Constitution so if there is something in there it could be a bombshell.

Anotheruser02 · 20/07/2021 16:53

How do we fight this?

I have no idea, I was speaking to my friend about this today and she was totally in the dark, makes me realise how much I know because of MN.

The information has to get to people.

manatsu · 20/07/2021 15:53

This is one of the most misogynistic things I've ever seen. It's just completely unforgivable and indefensible.

If anyone wants to argue 'but who would go through hormones/surgery just to do this' then (1) rapists can and will go to great lengths to get access to victims and (2) they literally just have to say the women's estate is their preference. Obviously if someone has been a trans woman for half their life and has made changes, there should be a discussion about where they should be kept, but men who suddenly discover they're women at intake? No.

How do we fight this?

It was like the prison had given the okay for them to rape us
MarshmallowSwede · 20/07/2021 15:48

Remember when they said male prisoners wouldn’t fake being trans women just to go to women’s prisons?

The huge jump in the number of trans women (male) prisoners now requesting to be moved to women’s prisons is pure coincidence. It’s not at all because they want access to women who are locked in with them.

I don’t care what a woman has done. She doesn’t deserve to be locked in a cell with a man.

JellySlice · 20/07/2021 15:17

You forget, Redapplewreath, that in the New Utopia women can make women pregnant with their womanly penises.

Redapplewreath · 20/07/2021 10:49

And frankly the evidence of a and b added together there remove any possible justification for this.

There is none.

Redapplewreath · 20/07/2021 10:49

If these preparations have truly been made then

a) all attempt at TWAW has been abandoned: it's only acknowledged within these actions that biological males will be in the estate who are fully expected to behave as biological males no different to any other biological males

b) all attempt at maintaining that TWAW and will therefore be no more harmful to females than any other women has been abandoned - openly - preparations are being made to try and pick up the pieces of that harm rather than avert it.

Therefore this is simply, putting male people into the female estate because the male people wish it. And in full knowledge that female people have no right to consent, escape or refuse what will be forced sexual contact from convicted male offenders, and will suffer harm. Female people in this situation are being treated as subhuman, lesser to the male people.

Openly. Has the US government collectively lost its mind?

IsItShining · 20/07/2021 10:41

@HighFemme

Saying this as someone who vehemently disagrees with putting transwomen in female prisons: to be taken seriously on this issue, everyone needs to exercise a bit more critical media literacy and stop taking social media stories at face value. I mean come on, does everyone here really think the reason these imprisoned women are offered prenatal services and advice is because of transwomen now? Like no pregnant woman has ever been sent to prison??? Also, note the advice about contraception is mentioned in relation to their release date. I.e it appears contraceptive counselling is being offered as part of a prison's resettlement services, as unwanted pregnancies may compound the issues in a woman's life that have led to her offending.

It's great to see so many people now apparently care about incarcerated women's wellbeing and people are right to be angry at how unjust this is. But please, stop and think before sharing these outrage pieces on social media. They're misleading and it destroys any credibility to the argument.

Prior to the passage of SB 132, pregnancies among incarcerated women were vanishingly rare in California women's prisons. Women who entered the justice system already pregnant are typically held in county jail or separate medical facilities until they give birth.
MondayYogurt · 20/07/2021 10:32

The only time anyone will start paying broader attention is when they start feuding over forcing the trapped women to gestate to term, or if they're allowed to terminate.

And it'll be cased as a liberal left personal freedom to abort vs horrible right wing religious zealots prolife.

Then the headlines will arrive.

OvaHere · 20/07/2021 10:20

It's just horrendous. It makes me sick to the stomach. If these women were prisoners of war the Geneva convention would call this a war crime. Although I would say 'war crime' succinctly covers exactly what it is. Part of the war on women globally.

Original poster
SnoopyLights · 20/07/2021 10:11

@MrsOvertonsWindow

Is this any different to what's happening here? (except for the lack of posters about contraception?) A UK court has agreed that the rights of the numerous male born sex offenders who self identify as women and want to be housed in women's prisons outweighs the rights of women to safety and privacy.
No, you are right, I don't think it is different here.

This is just one prison being discussed, but I imagine the effects of these policies will be the same in all of the them, in the US, in Canada, in the UK, in every country where men are allowed access to women in this way.

OP posts:
Clymene · 20/07/2021 08:49

Here's an article about this state-sanctioned rape programme. It has a link at the bottom to a petition

www.womensliberationfront.org/news/ca-womens-prisons-anticipate-pregnancy-sb123

RufustheBadgeringReindeer · 20/07/2021 08:48

I agree with the poster upthread

This is indefensible and anyone attempting to defend it has something seriously wrong with them

Sophoclesthefox · 20/07/2021 08:47

Fucking hellfire.

Wilful blindness. Wilful. And women bear the brunt.

HighFemme · 20/07/2021 08:46

Saying this as someone who vehemently disagrees with putting transwomen in female prisons: to be taken seriously on this issue, everyone needs to exercise a bit more critical media literacy and stop taking social media stories at face value. I mean come on, does everyone here really think the reason these imprisoned women are offered prenatal services and advice is because of transwomen now? Like no pregnant woman has ever been sent to prison??? Also, note the advice about contraception is mentioned in relation to their release date. I.e it appears contraceptive counselling is being offered as part of a prison's resettlement services, as unwanted pregnancies may compound the issues in a woman's life that have led to her offending.

It's great to see so many people now apparently care about incarcerated women's wellbeing and people are right to be angry at how unjust this is. But please, stop and think before sharing these outrage pieces on social media. They're misleading and it destroys any credibility to the argument.

SilverOak · 20/07/2021 08:42

It’s dreadful but what can we do? It’s already been discussed by British courts who agreed there was nothing they could do about it. We can’t stop it in our own country never mind in the US.

BettyFilous · 20/07/2021 08:42

True. The policies are the same but at least there is fightback underway here and the media are covering it. I recognise that for the women currently imprisoned with violent males and sex offenders the effect is still the same, but at least they know they have wider public support in overturning the policy.