The article uncovers the intersectionality of womanhood and blackness and the detrimental effects incarceration, the result of systemic racism, has on this doubly oppressed group. From high infant mortality rates to sexual abuse within the prison walls, the number of black women incarcerated has grown exponentially within the last two decades. Black women are twice as likely to be imprisoned when compared to white women. The article highlights “86 percent of incarcerated women are survivors of past sexual violence”. With this being the case why are we still subjecting women to involuntary cavity searches and pat downs? Another issue presented is the lack of resources the prison/jail provides in terms of mental health services and menstrual hygiene products — gynecological care too. We treat those imprisoned as second class citizens during their sentence and after. How can we work to a world without prisons?
https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/race/reports/2018/06/05/451647/mass-incarceration-stress-black-infant-mortality/