Women’s prisons as sites of resistance: An interview with Victoria Law

October 25, 2015

by Maya Schenwar, Truthout

On July 30, 2013, during the largest prisoner hunger strike in history, when 30,000 prisoners, men and women, starved themselves simultaneously to end solitary confinement, two women, leaders among family supporters of prisoners, Marie Levin, left, whose brother had been held in the Pelican Bay SHU for decades, and Dolores Canales, whose son was also in the Pelican Bay SHU, went to the Governor’s Office in Sacramento. In the photo, Marie is comforting Dolores, co-founder of California Families to Abolish Solitary Confinement (CFASC), who had just gone inside to deliver 60,000 signatures protesting solitary confinement and had not been welcomed.

When we think of protest behind bars, what comes to mind? For many people, that list would include the Attica uprising, the work of George Jackson, the struggles of the Angola 3 activists, the 2013 California prison hunger strike and other crucial instances of resistance – mostly organized by incarcerated men.

Too often, organizing work done by incarcerated women goes wholly unrecognized. In her book, “Resistance Behind Bars: The Struggles of Incarcerated Women,” Victoria Law focuses on the many forms of activism happening inside of women’s prisons, most of which never reach the dominant media.

In the following interview, Law shares stories of little-known actions, insights into what constitutes “activism” and ways in which individual acts of resistance are building toward a transformational new reality.

Maya Schenwar: You discuss in the book how, when you first got interested in resistance within prisons and noticed a dearth of information about women’s organizing, you were often told, “Women don’t organize.” I’ve definitely noticed that the actions that we hear most about – particularly in mass media, but even among outside activist communities – are focused on men. What are some of the factors that create and perpetuate this myth that women behind bars aren’t “politicized” or engaged in resistance?

Victoria Law: We don’t hear very much about what’s happening in women’s prisons. If we hear about what’s going on inside, it’s usually framed as “these are the conditions,” not “these are the conditions, and this is what people inside these jails and prisons are doing about it.”

Even in 2015, prisoner resistance is still largely thought of as male. Part of it is that more attention is paid to men’s jails and prisons – they do, after all, make up approximately 90 percent of those behind bars. Part of it is that support networks for men are different than for women – including trans women – behind bars.

For example, during the Pelican Bay hunger strike, we saw women family members stepping to the forefront to speak about the conditions their loved ones have been enduring. Although we know, barely, that people in California’s women’s prisons had also been fasting in solidarity – and we know that there is also a SHU (Security Housing Unit) at the women’s prison – we’re not seeing – or hearing – outside loved ones amplifying their voices and efforts to the same extent that women like Dolores Canales, Marie Levin and Daletha Hayden are doing for their male loved ones.

In addition, even in this day and age, prison issues are frequently framed as men’s issues – unless it’s an issue like pregnancy, reproductive health or sexual abuse. So when we talk about solitary confinement, even though solitary confinement is used throughout women’s prisons and jails, coverage is often about what happens to men. The people spotlighted are men.

Sometimes, women will speak, like Evie Litwok and Donna Hylton about their experiences in solitary at a NYC hearing. But, unless it’s specifically a story about women in solitary or trans people in solitary, we don’t often see recognition that these conditions affect people of all genders. It’s not just solitary confinement where male becomes the default gender.

Finally, some of the ways women are challenging and resisting aren’t seen as fitting what we might think of as “resistance” or “organizing.” For example, currently and formerly incarcerated women have been involved in challenging policies around parenting – or maintaining their right to parent. It’s an issue that disproportionately affects incarcerated mothers because, when a father goes to prison, he often has a female relative willing to take care of his children.

When a mother goes to prison, she is less likely to have that same network of support and faces a greater chance that her children will end up in foster care. Children of incarcerated mothers are five times more likely to end up in foster care than children of incarcerated fathers, which makes fighting to maintain custody an issue that many incarcerated women face.

Schenwar, Maya, "Women's Prisons as Sites of Resistence: An Interview with Victoria Law." San Fransico BayView. BayView, 25 Oct. 2015. Web. 27 Oct. 2015. 

Response: 

This article written by Maya Schenwar is definitely biased toward women, which is understandable because the writer is female. They are also going to be biased toward the black communities since this newspaper is the National Black Newspaper. But it is interesting to see that most events and conditions are spotlighting men and the things that are happening in the women's prisons aren't being recognized or even mentioned most of the time. Their resistance is not being taken into account seriously enough jut because they are women's prisons. It is also interesting to note that children are 5 times as likely to go into foster care if the mother gets sent to prison then if the father is. Men should not be the default gender anymore.

This cartoon is not only super funny, but is a perfect picture of what debt is really doing to the US. Instead of helping out with the debt situation, its scaring us into spending more, making even more debt. These donkeys are represent the democrats who are the monsters of high taxation.

18 September 2015 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is calling for the laying down of arms and a 24-hour cease-fire on 21 September, which is observed around the world each year as the International Day of Peace.

The United Nations General Assembly established the International Day of Peace in 1981 as an opportunity for people around the world to promote the resolution of conflict and to observe a cessation of hostilities.

“On this day, in the lead-up to the Day of Peace, I am asking all partners to lend their voices to this call for a laying down of arms, and to work non-stop in the days to come to bring about a 24-hour cease-fire on September 21st,” Mr. Ban said in a statement issued on Thursday.

If, for one day, we can live in a world without aggression and hostility, we can imagine how much more is possible.

“Let’s make this International Day of Peace a day without violence, and a day of forgiveness. If, for one day, we can live in a world without aggression and hostility, we can imagine how much more is possible,” he added.

The theme of this year’s commemoration is “Partnerships for Peace – Dignity for All,” which aims to highlight the importance of all segments of society to work together to strive for peace.

The work of the UN would not be possible without the thousands of partnerships each year between governments, civil society, the private sector, faith-based groups and other non-governmental organizations that are needed to support the Organization in achieving its goals.

Celebrations for the International Day of Peace will include a Peace Bell Ceremony at UN Headquarters in New York, featuring senior UN officials and Messengers of Peace, as well as a student video-conference. UN offices worldwide, including peacekeeping operations, will also be holding events with local communities. 

Response: 
It is important to have a day where the world recognizes peace and maybe even makes us realize that we need to strive for it in just more than one day. The soldiers everywhere need a day to recognize that the ultimate goal of war is peace. I think this article is geared toward the people of the UN. 

The Mediterranean Crisis: A child should not have to die to mobilize governments into credible action.
by warka · September 10, 2015

The photograph of three-year-old Aylan Kurdi’s body washed ashore, which has mobilised international responses to the ongoing migration crisis in the Mediterranean over the past week, signals two inter-related tragedies: firstly, that of the human loss and suffering that is ongoing in this context, and secondly, that of the dire shortcomings of global and regional good governance of migration.
As the EU prepares to address this issue at an Extraordinary Justice and Home Affairs Council on 14 September 2015, and in the run-up to the High Level Side Event on Migration planned at the UN on 30 September, there is an urgent need to reflect on how best to swiftly and competently address the mounting crisis in migration to Europe. While Italy and Greece are overwhelmed as receiving points of migration from across the Mediterranean, there is every indication that the numbers of refugees who have entered Europe form only a small proportion of those who are already displaced and making their tortuous ways via Libya, Turkey, Eastern Europe and other routes in search of a safe and dignified life.
There are some important facts that must be taken into account in this context: firstly, a condition for positive dialogue among global leaders is the understanding that migration is a fact as old as the history of humanity itself.
Secondly, the flows coming into Europe today are mixed. It would appear that certain world leaders may favour hosting refugees (if only because there is a certain historical and political kudos to be found in the idea of Europe as a place of shelter) but reject the thought of offering hospitality to ‘economic migrants’ as those coming to take advantage of European wealth. In reality, there are multiple causes that displace populations and trigger migration. Refugees, asylum seekers and economic migrants move shoulder to shoulder along networks and routes to Europe.
Thirdly, the vast and growing underworld of smugglers and traffickers (at times it is hard, if not impossible, to disentangle the one from the other) thrive off existing European border policies and practices. The denial of visas and the building of fences with ever more razor wire foster the business of smugglers and force migrants down unsafe and undignified terrains of illegality. This is not the way forward.
Governments must understand that for as long as vast global inequalities that relate at once to questions of wealth, well-being, freedoms, rights, peace, security and democracy exist between Europe and other parts of the world, there will be both the absolute need and the overwhelming desire to access Europe.
Against this backdrop, global leaders need to respond proactively in the short, medium and longer terms in order to safeguard lives and diminish suffering. As a first step, European leaders must establish a common asylum policy that sets procedures whereby residency and benefits are on offer equally across European states. Perhaps Europe could look back at that other image of a suffering child that once mobilised a similar response – the girl fleeing napalm in Vietnam – and work towards a resettlement plan that is shared and that takes into account not solely those already in Europe, but also the many more on their way. Europe has room for them.
The current burden on Greece and Italy needs urgently to be relieved. It also seems imperative to open legal channels for migrants, so that they do not surrender their safety into the hands of smugglers. A common asylum policy with applications processed along transit routes would enable legal, safe and managed migration into Europe. While this is being implemented, governments need urgently to contribute funds to the many agencies that are currently providing for the basic needs of migrants.
In the medium term, European leaders need to engage with governments in Turkey and the Gulf. While Turkey currently hosts large numbers of Syrian and other refugees, the granting of residence and employment rights via visas would enable them to both contribute positively to local economies and ensure their safety and dignity. The Gulf countries too could engage in settlement programmes – if the political will were present. In the longer term, there is much that remains to be done. The ending of conflicts, greater development, and the ending of political oppression are all necessary for well-being, democracy and dignity. For governance to be credible, what is needed is an approach that is proactive, not responsive, and that acts always within the larger frame of human rights.
With migrants arriving – and dying – every day in Europe, countries like Sweden and Germany have been stepping up and giving a good example to their European neighbours; but sadly this example is not being readily followed. The general lack of coordination at EU level is simply unacceptable and frankly embarrassing for a region that prides itself on upholding principles of human rights.
As EU leaders prevaricate over the 200,000 refugees they have agreed to take over the next five years, countries neighbouring Syria have seen their populations rise by as much as a quarter. Lebanon and Jordan, with populations of 4.5 and 6.5 million, are respectively hosting more than 1.2 million and 650,000 refugees, while Turkey continues to welcome additional refugees after having absorbed 1.6 million.
For too long, Europe has given aid while saying, ‘not in my backyard’; this policy is not only shameful but also completely unrealistic. Camps in neighbouring countries are overflowing and people have few other options than to move on. “The deteriorating conditions in Lebanon and Jordan, particularly the lack of food and healthcare,” writes Harriet Grant in The Guardian newspaper, “have become intolerable for many of the 4 million people who have fled Syria, driving fresh waves of refugees northwest towards Europe and aggravating the current crisis.”
This means we are going to continue to see refugees and asylum seekers knocking on Europe’s door. If Europe really cares about the well-being of these individuals (and human rights principles more generally), then more durable solutions need to be taken at a European level. This starts with accepting more UNHCR resettles so that they do not need to make the dangerous journey to Europe themselves.
European leaders should also change their thinking about the current refugee situation and embrace it as an opportunity instead of a threat. As Prof. Betts of the Refugee Studies Centre at the University of Oxford puts it, we could ‘treat refugees as a development issue‘. He argues that refugees are resilient, hardworking people trying to make a better life for themselves. By doing so, they are able to greatly contribute to the development of the economy and society in their host country. Europe, with an ageing population should see this situation as not only a humanitarian responsibility but also an opportunity to bring capable, resilient new people into their societies.

Warka. " The Mediterranean Crisis: A Child Should Not Have to Die to Mobilise Governments into Credible Action." Mareeg. Mareeg Media. 10 September 2015. Web. 14 September 2015.
http://www.mareeg.com/the-mediterranean-crisis-a-child-should-not-have-to-die-to-mobilise-goverments-into-credible-action/

Response: The migrants that are coming into Europe, according to this article, are being treated unfairly. In the eyes of the author, some of the European countries are considered shelter for the refugees but at the same time don't want 'economic migrants', people who might potentially take advantage of their wealth, taking over. They don't want refugees in their backyard, but at the same time giving aid. But you can't be to sure who you let in because traffickers and smugglers are almost indistinguishable from the refugees. This Somalian website seems to think that Europe needs to change their thinking into an opportunity, instead of a threat; that they need to be responsible and treat the refugees with respect, not just like they are a problem. Interestingly enough, the EU prepares to address this issue at an Extraordinary Justice and Home Affairs Council on 14 September 2015 and in it they state just that: every single person needs to be have fellowship and responsibility to make the European Union function properly and swiftly relocate refugees.