Sexual Abuse To Prison Pipeline

Mental Health is something that millions of people struggle with daily, but find treatment and coping methods to help them get through it. However, incarcerated people do not have this ‘luxury’ of getting help with their mental illnesses. Mental health in prison is a very broad topic that encompasses many aspects. Because of the immensity of this topic, my group broke it down into treatments, social programs, sexual abuse to prison pipeline, pre-screening, and the effects of solitary confinement. I specifically tackled the sexual abuse to prison pipeline because it feeds many girls and women into the prison system. Having adequate treatment programs in prison is critical in order to help women become mentally stable, and according to Mental

These rights include informed consent, screening, refusal of treatment, confidentiality, transferal, proper medicine, and more (Position 56 1). As these rights seem well stated and protective, they are rarely regarded within the prison walls. Along with treatments, there should be proper social programs in order for inmates to support those struggling. Examples of such programs include substance abuse peer groups, family bonding, faith groups, and educational programs. All of these programs can help instill a more positive outlook on life confined within the walls of prison. Prescreening is one of the rights that inmates should be given, but often do not receive. Prescreening is meant to consist of assessing mental and physical health by looking for substance abuse, illnesses and mental disorders and it is to be administered to each offender prior to entering an institution (Substance Abuse Treatment 1). Having this screening should prevent mentally unstable people from

My understanding of this topic was deepened through reading The Sexual Abuse to Prison Pipeline: The Girls’ Story, as well as conducting an interview with Colleen Schmidt (my mom), who founded the Domestic Violence Unit and was a Domestic Violence Detective. The Girls’ Story discussed how “girls are disproportionately involved in the juvenile justice system for status offenses.” These status offenses are usually symptoms of abuse because they are means of survival and ineffective coping. I never fully understood how detrimental sexual abuse was to someone mentally in regards to PTSD and other mental illnesses. When talking with Ms. Schmidt she told me that as an investigator, her findings typically aligned with the fact that status offenses correlate with abuse. The interview with Ms. Schmidt and The Girls’ Story were parallel in regards to marginalized girls being the most likely to flow through the sexual abuse to prison pipeline and lasting mental