“We will Not be Invisible: Women and Solitary Confinement in the U.S.”

WOMEN AND SOLITARY CONFINEMENT Solitary confinement is a hot topic these days, and human rights activists, prison authorities, and international human rights’ bodies are addressing both its effects and its effectiveness in prison administration. The discussion, however, draws its data from men and responds to the experience of solitary in men’s prisons. Not discussing women’s reality does not make an issue “gender-neutral.” It is very gender specific. Women often find themselves in solitary confinement for far different reasons than men. What happens to women at the hands of guards and the system, as well as the effects on their self-esteem, mental and emotional health is unique to women. Spending time in jail can be a deeply traumatizing experience for women, and often triggers past experiences of trauma and violence. Furthermore, women are sent to solitary confinement for different reasons than men and are impacted by solitary in far different ways. When most female prisoners have suffered violence and trauma in their lives, and solitary confinement can cause irreparable damage even to prisoners with no history of mental illness or trauma, the State neglects its custodial responsibility when it imposes solitary confinement on women prisoners