THE INVISIBILITY OF WOMEN PRISONERS’ RESISTANCE “This is 3 work-in-progress. Contact me with feedback and suggestions Vikki Law PO Box 20388, Tompkias Square Sation New York, NY 10009 vitkim|@yahoo com RESISTERS Both inside and ost, women are tausht That chey ace heipless and inable to Change their circumstasces. Wosen in '+ hiaden history of nd organiing wrich hallenges this presusption. Oat oal 15'to sncourage snd sipport their pouerment, Tesistance and organizing. Ourvision s visibility of women prisone prisen Cpur out “Temacious,” a quarterly zine ¢ uritings and azt by vomen in prisan “provide. resouce 1ists to incarces fora smarguncy response metwork for omen prisonecs, thei Lssues and their cover b Krsten “Hoops” Marihal Coe ek Comecionl Faiey, Ovegon. Inioduciion Within the scant esrch published bost acivism and mstancs of esisance, women are nealy Invsible Altxough women n prson comprise under six pecentof the maions prson ppultion, e umbers arc: ncressing more radly than those of thie il counerparts: between 1990 1d 2000, the e f female ncarcation increased 108% Howeve, the nterest 1 women prsoners rugles agans th priso ndusirial complx remainsmuch Tower than tht of male prsoners “Tnis mvsibility 1 ot new. T he arly 19705, recogniing that prisoners src one of the most marginized and Voiceles popiaon in Ameria, aciiss expanded heir interests 1 include those o prisoners and i ghts: new., crical aalyses of prisonsemesged, prisonrs” ights organizationsand unons were creaed,and there were new comimunicaions among prisoners, academics and communiy Sctivists. Duringthis e, prisoners wrings became reqited e in numerous niversy cowsesand some wivesies began eaching courses inside prisons. Haweve,in 1970, researche and ctivs Karene Faih discovered i, o the mal nmates of Soledad. “female prisoners wee s ivisite 0 hem 35 thy e o the broader publc Faith agues hat his overlooking of women prisonrsoccured because ot oy i they fewer i nmber bat “thy {lso] wee not 5 politcized 1 th men (prisoer] and hey didno g i e kinds o potest actions that oused mediaaenion. Wamen's concens,f ecognizeda al by e prisoncs righs movements. were dismised s persoal, sl cemred and apolical. Simlaly. i was not at women did ot cogage i prtest acions bu hat teseacions were ignocd by outside movements, who chose 10 focus o the et known names of male prisoners. Thus,while male prisoers gaind polical A study by the U.S. [Deparimentof Justce found that over forty.three percent of ‘women prisoners, as opposed 1o twelve percent of male prsoners, bad been physically orsexually abused prior 0 their admission o pison * I als affirmed thal womes's arler socialzaton “had limted their independence and occupational choices." While this study was not directed owards the lack of acuvism among women prisoners, il findings did affirm Bannster's observaton. While mierviewing woren inmates for her ook Inthe Mis, Owen ws tod, " s easie for women o get bulied s hee. If an officer rases hs or er Soice (0 yos, some women ae peiifed. The fear rom past abuse comes back and they ae scared. Very scared ™ A 1999 Depariment of Justce study confims these observations, Gindiog that lmosthalf of women in jas and prisons had been physically orsexually abused prio o hei incarcerator much higher rae than reported or the overal population Thus, women prisoners have to contend notonly with the apathy o inestia ofther fellow inmates andth fesr of Sdminstative tealiaton, bo lso the ssues of past abuse 3nd sociaization of obedience and subservience (ha affect wormen. As 2 woman incarerated n Uinoss put it - “Do you think ‘women wh are conditioned o be subserviest o teir men (and e warld) are going 0 come o prison nd suddenly just grow abackbone. Another explanstion might be that wormen are perceived 35 passive. Faith counters the argument that women prisoners lack selfesicem as a ‘blarming or condescending projection by clas-bissed people who can' imagine that women with so many problems could think well of themselves...Given that mostincarcerated women have had o hustle in some way (o survive many of these women migh wel have a greater sense. of thei resoutcefulness than s the norm among women, even ‘when ther means of survival appearsself-desiruciive (0 others ™" Thisperception leads to the dismissal of the notion that women can and do contribute o srvggles or change. Just a5 thecivilrights movement o the 1960 and 19705 ownplayed the role of women in favor o highlighting male spokesmen and leaders, the prisoners’rights movement focuses ‘on men to speak for the masses. Such neglect leads 0 the efinition of prison issues as masculine and male-dominated, ismussing prison ssues which ae distincly feminine i the Scarciy of aniary hygiene products, the lack o medical care Specifcaly for women,especialy prenatal care, thieas of Sxual abuse by guseds, e ) and thes any actions which omen take to address ad overcome these concerns. Thas, researchers and scholars do not search out acts of defance ‘among the growing female prison population.” For instance, on 28 August 1974, inmaes at Bedford Hils protesed the besting of a fellow inmate by holding seven staf members hostage for wo-and-a-hall hours. However,“the August Rebellion* is virually unknown today despte th fac tha male state troopers and (male) guards from men's prisons were Called 1 suppeess th upasing,injoring twenty-five women and that twenty-four women were wansferted o Matteawan ‘Complex fo the Crminally Insane without the required commitment bearings.™ Because i lasted only (wo-and ours, no one was klled and the story was relegated 0 2 paragraph buried i the back pages of The New York Times, the “August Rebellon” s seen as less dramatic than the Atica Rebellion. The women at Bedford Hills also did no have the opportunity o contact media, big-name suppories and polticians as the men at Atica did. Thus,the “August Rebellion” i easly overlooked by those seekiag information on prisoner protests and disruptions Similary, women in a Califomia prison held “Chistmas iot n 1975 Protestng the cancellation of family holiday visits and boliday packages, inmates gathered in the yard, broke windows, made noise and burmed Christmas trees ina *solidariy” boafire* Even more recently, following the 1995 rebellionsat Talladega, Allenwood and oer federal male prisons, the Federal Corrctional Insitute at Dublin, y. was placed there had been no " under lockdown. Despte the fact disturbances i theprison, FCI Dublin remained under Tockudown al weekend axd women were forced 0 g0 10 work that Monday under lockdown conditions. To voice their protest, women began saying away from meals and, tha et simulancous trash can fires in all o the unts. Approximatcly seventy women were sen 0 adminisuative Segregation and charged with rson and “engaging in 3 group demonstraion. ™ However, because no one had hreaiened Violence, these actsof disruption is ven more easly overlooked by those researchiog prison disturbances. Juanita Diaz Cotostated tha she was moved o record post-Attica prisoner activism among Latieas in New York State after volunteering ata women's prison: “Just as women in the outside community sruggle daily 1o change conditons we perceive 0 be oppressive, thee have always been groups of ‘women who have organized wihin prson walls o Iy 1o change condiions " However, just s much o the research ‘on women'sisues downplays th role of wormen themselves in challenging f ot changing, oppressive social olicy and practice, most research on women prisoners and theis concemns Y do ot share Diaz-Couo' concern for docamenting women a5 actve agents of social change. Dz Coto argues that social sientists studying women prisoners “hghlight the role played by women's prison (amily Broups and Kinship networks, almost 0 the complet exclusion of other types of prisoner organization.” The emphasis on prison families not nly substituts fo research nto inmale esistance but sl reinforces th sieotype tha womer's sole ‘ concern is to maintain ther tradtional gender roles.” Diaz- ‘ (Couo hasalso observed tht, ate the 1971 Atica Rebellion, ‘ he prevalence and importance of prison familes declined 35 prsoner groups and social servies for female inmaes. emerged.* Simila o the overlooking of pisoner acivsm in favorof utside prisoner ights' movemens,research on women prsoners overwhelmingly f3vors detals of pison family and Kinship networks over the more painsaking (ask of searching out nd documenting the less visible instances of fesisance. This becomes 8 sel-perpetuating cycle: by ighlighing the various family and kinship networks o the exclusion of other forms of organization, scholrs give the impression thatthis i th only form of oganizing witin ‘women's prisons, not only slencing the voice o women prisoner acivits but also paving the way for others t do the same.Such emphasis also overestimates the prevalence and influence of prison families. While Barrile Bannister confiems hat these “familis” sl xis,she states that there Very few here in Orcgon” and that “others kind of frown on it—being [that] everyone sees them stab one another in the back alot of tmes,or they fal out. "™ ‘Bannister also acknowledges that th lack of numbers is als0 3 obstacl to orming 2 women's movement befind bars M prisoners, on te other hand, have mare than suficient nize inmte.led movements withi ther facilies. Women prisoners not only lack a visible moverment, but they e often neglected by their male counterparts: Despite s lage membership,the Missouri rison Labor Union, five thousand member organization of Missour male prisoners and outside supporters which advocaies minimum. wage and decent working conditons for al prisoner workers, s o women inmates as members. Only in 2001, fouryears afer s formation, have its organizers attempted o outreach them and address thir issues ‘Woen prisonersaiso lack a comimon history of esistance. While male prisoners have the example of George Jackson,the Attica uprising and other well-publicized cases of prisoner activism, women remain unaware of precedents reevant 1o them. Both Dawn Amos, imprisoned in Canon City. Colorado, and woman incarcerated in iiois have remarked tha llieracy also plays a ol in women'slack of protest and esistance. Amos noted that mosi o the women around hes“are very llicrate, they don't even have education 10 take a pre.GED tes, et alone read 3 law book or even a ewsleter sboutother prisoners and what they have been subjected 0. They can hardly comprehend the ruls that we have 1o live under It alone a way of comprehending a way to stand up forthe rights." Amos's observaiion echoes tha of an earlie leer fom a prisoner in Wlinois | “1 know illeracy 5 one of the hindrances to pursuing any relet.” she wrote. "We need o educaied women how 10 write grievances and we need Lo have available peopie o help (the] lecate and (the] ety pep rvaces g e Added 0 this s the adminisiative harassmen, dissuading possible participans. One woman staed that the level of harassment i s great that most of your fellow prisoners think that you must be crazy for even atempuing to challenge the prson system wrong doings in anyways > Kebby Warner,a prisonerin Michigan, has encounterd simila rsistance from her fellow inmats: once she started 0 become aware tht her Plght was shared with thousands of other women, she tied to organize and educate those around her sbout the prison- industia complex: -1 was laughed at and they went s0 far a5 accusing me of being a Kian member because of the way Amerikkka was spelled in th zines | passed out. They wouldit even read them.* A woman released from a Texas prison offered this cxplanation s 0 why she chose sience: T once ied (0 gt my morm (@ know that thre was abuse. happeningin the unit. Bt when my leter was proread, it was tumied) in 0 the warden, which in o called me in the offce and saidif wanted 1 remain in population 1 bettr keep my opimons to mysell. And 1did not want 10 be in soltary confinement...so | closed up ™" Similarly, Barilee Banaister, Dawn Amos and a Californa inmate who wished o remain an0nymous have saied tha thy are reluctan t write about certan aspects and instances because thei leter can be and, 5t leastin Bannister's case, ae read by prison offcials. Ths, even for those oteested in women prisoners”organizing and 2t o resistanc, he prison's monitoring of mail makes vinually impossibe o delve decply Even supposcdly non-threaening idess, such a5 iftroducing new medbods of teching eracy, i met with cesistance, suspicion and refusal by prison administrations. As Kathy Boadin, a ormer member of the Weather Underground and prisoner st Bediord Hills. poinied out, "l like many other prisoners, wanied o be productive and o do something. meaningful with my time in prison...Yet prison administrators usually limit the amount of esponsibilty and independence 3 prisoner can have.* The premise of prisons lis i obedience a0d control. Inmate-generated programs, projecs and groups challenge tha premise. Thas, even ore liberal prison ‘administrators, such 2 the ones at Bedford Hills, are suspicious. f o hstle, 0 the educational and group work of theirinmates. Women prisoners also fce diffrent circumstances. during theit incarcration and thus have different priortes and iferent ways o challenging theirconditions than their male counterparts ™ Prevaleat ideas of pisoners are masculne. the term “pritoser” usually connores 3 young black man convicted of a vilent crime such as rape or murder. Politicians seeking votes and medi seeking saes play on this reprsenttion, whippiag the public ino hystria o ge tougher on crime snd build mor prisons. However, the imag of the young. black s male felon omits th growing number of women imprisoned under the various mandatory senicncing laws passed within the past few decades ™ Because women do no it the media siereotype, the public chooses 0 overlook then ather than Erapple with e seeming paradoxes isheren in women prisoners, who, by virue ofteir incaceration, have somehow defied the societal norm of femininity * Ths is compounded by theseeming contradiction of pisoners as mothers, a5 eproductive righs or even the ability (0 teproduce), and as women in general. Women prisoners and theie dieing needs and concerns complicae the public perception of prisons and prsoners. However, pson authoruies have been sow o recogniae these diferences and thos accord them the same. if o worse, reament as their male counterpars Mdical Cace ‘One pressing issue for women prisoners i the lack of or oo medicalcare they receive. While sl prisoners face poor medicalcar, prison administrtions often ignore or eglect the paricula heaith care needs of women prisoners. Thit the majority of awsuisfiled by o on behallof women in prison are for madequate medical services tesifies o the importance placed on heakh care and treatment” A 1990 study by the American Conectonal Association ndicated tht ix percent of women eiered rison while pregnant* Even prison wardens agree thatseveral of the particula needs of pregnant women “have yet 1o be dealt with in any of the acilies.” including adequat resources to deal with fase labors, premature births and miscariages, ack of matcnity clothing. he requirement that pregnan inmes wear belly chains whes ransporid (0 the bospita, nd th lack.of a separate area for mather and baby.” Pregaant women are als0 ao provided with the proper dies or vitamin supplements, given the opportunity 10 exercise o ught breathing and birthing techniques. The director of Legal Services for Prisoners with Childen, Ellen Barry, accused th prison sysiem of “shocking disegard of basic humanity that [ saw reflected n the type of treatmest 0 ‘which pregnast women were subjeced.” One homiying. | xample is tha o a wenty-year-old woman who was almost ive months pregrant when incarceraed. Soon after, she began expericncing vagiral bleeding. cramping and severe pain. She requested medica assistance numerous imes over 4 hee. week perod, but there was 1o obstetician on coniract wih the prison. She was fnaly seen by thechief medical offcer, an orthopedis, who diagnosed her without examining ber physically o running any laboratoy tests, and given Flagyl 3 drug thatcan induce labor. The next day, the woman went nio Tabor. Her son ived approximately two hours * Dr. Patica Garcia, an obsttrcian and gynecologist at Northwesier University's Preatice Women's Hospial, has stied that shackling a laboring mother “compromises the abilty 1o manipulae her legs int the proper position for ecessarytreatment. The mother and baby's health could be compromised i there were complications during delvery such a5 haemorhage or decrease in et Despite these dangers. women coatinue 0 be shackied in the name of securty. In an interview with Arnesty Intermational, one woman descrbed giving birth whic an inmate in Chicago. Her legs were shackled together during Iabor and, when she was ready to bisth, “he doctor called for the office, but the offcer had gone down the hall. No on clse could unlock the shackles, and my baby was coming but | Couldn't open my legs In addtion 10 medical ignorance/neglect by suff, women who have given birth are not oly immediaely Separated rom theienewborns,but, i the name o secur Sometimes subjecied t vaginal exams despte th risk of infection” Pregnancy is ot the oly specifically female medical concen ignored by prison offcials_Prevention, screeniog. disgosis.care, pai aleviation and rehabltation for breast cancer ar virually non-existent i pisons. In 1998, a stady 3t ‘n unnamed Southenm prison found tha seventy percent of the omen who should have had mammograms under siandard medical protocol had not been ested. Alhough many of the women were t igh isk because of family hstoies, they wese ot provided with a clnica breast exam, information or basic education on sell-examination upon admitance " Not only are the paticalar bealthcare needs of women gnored or dismissed, but health care in gneral is ofien nadequate or lfe-treatening * Dalene Dixon recalled her visit 0 8 privte clinic contraced by the prison: “There was b0 disposable paper o th table 0 create sanitay barri between my body and the examigaton tble. The room basicaly in dsarry, there were spilled liquids on the counter 10ps as well s debrs on the floor.” In the estroom was a sink iled with "soiled and bloody ubes,lds and btles. Even more distrbing were the clean ones locaed o8 (0p of the toilet tank beside i. 1t rapidly became apparen (0 me that these items were bing washed and reused In Februsry 2000, Wisconsin prisoner Michelle Gre ffered an asthma atack and asked 0 g0 0 the Health Services Unit (HSU). When the guard and captain on duty contacted the nurse in charge. he d o ook at Greer's medical file, simply instrcting hs t use her iohaler (which was not working). Hlf a hour lter, Greer's second request 1o 8010 HSU was lio ignored. Afir another haf hour, Greer was told to walk to HSU butcollapsed en oute. When the nurse in charge amved, it was without a medical emergeacy box or oxygen. A second nurse amived with the needed emergency box, but again with o oxygen. Fony.five minutes aiee hr collapse (and ess than two hoursafec her niial plea for medical hep), Greer died In addsion. literacy and poor lracy can be an obstacle to obianing medical care. As Ellen Richardson, an inmate at Valley Ssi Prison for Women (VSPW) in Californa,tesfied: “The medicalstaff riage is]based on how the patent sties her sympioms on paper ~ This procedure ignores the facttha the average leracy level 3t VSPW isless (han ninih grade, tht over seven hundred women have less than a sixth-grade readinglevel and tha approximaely one. hundred are ileraie orspeak English s second language. ‘A woman may have extreme stomach pai and crampig, bet only have the ierscy level to wrt, L have a mmy ache.” “That i not enough for medical staff 1 et her see a docir * However, women have been actve about ying to change their sometimes life hecatening medical neglect. The most Successful and well-known pisoner niiated projet organized around healthcare is the AIDS Counscling aad Education Project (ACE) at Bedford Hills. AIDS i the leadng cause of desth among, U.S. prisoners,being fve 10 ten imes o prevalent inprison than in the owtside socity ”_In 1999, the New York Stte Department of Health ound that the rate of HIV infection among wormen entering the New York State Cormectonal Faclies was nearly twice that ofthix male counterpats ™ In 1987, women atthe maximur-securty Bedford Hills Comectional Facility in New York, motivaed by watching thei rieads die of AIDS and by the socul osiacism and fea of people with AIDS, sared ACE " "ACE founders hoped to educate and counsel theit fellow inmates sbout HIV/AIDS 25 well as help t care for women with AIDS in the prison infirmary. While the prison Superimendent, Elsine Lord, gave the group permission (or the project, ACE continualy faced staf harassment snd Sdminssrative nteference. For nstance, because both Kathy Boudin and Juith Clark, aeged members of the Weather + Underground, were active ACE members, the group was consantly moniored and sometimes prevented from offcally ‘nceing. The fea that the one-to-one peer counseling sessions. ould lead 0 inmate organizing and the saffs own ignorance and fear of HIVIAIDS led o taff harassmest and nteriercoce. ‘Educatorsfrom the Montefiore Hospital holding raining Sessions were baned from the acility for suggestng thal the Depariment of Corectional Services lft s ban on denial s and condoms ' A year afer it formation, ACE members were rohibied from meeting at s regular e, 1 use s meeting Toom, give cducationsl peseatations o o ffer o themseives s ~counselors."" ‘Despue these setbacks, the mermbers of ACE oot only managed 0 implement and continuc theit program, but also received agrant fo & quarter millon dollars rom the AIDS Insitute and wrote and published a book detailing the gr0uy's history and s positive impact on women with AIDS 3 a guide for other prison AIDS programs. One interesting aspect s hat despite ACE success, male prisoners llempting 0 5 up Simlar programs at theie facilies conunue o meet with sdminsiratve resistance and ttalation. “Other women palitica prsoners have also focused on the AIDS crisis behind bars. Marilyn Buck. for example. sarted sn AIDS education and prevetion program in Califormia ™ In 1994, three HIV-posiive inmates a Cental Califoria Women's Facility began a per-ducation program comgassing not only HIV and AIDS, but also oher sexualy namited discases, whercalosis and Hepatis C* However, ‘with the exception of ACE at Bedford Hils esearchers and Seholars havecithr largly ignored these programs ox overlooked the diffculies and adminisirative harassment faced by those organizing around HIV/AIDS issues i prson. ‘Woen have also worked individually and without the suspies of admiistcauve approva o change their heallh cre I October 2000, women at VSPW tstfed sbout the inadequacy o the (acidy's medicalcare s leglative heinngs ® Unil hr recentceah, Charse Shomate worked it he ellow emates withsckie-cell anemi 0 undersand {he diseaseand he necesary esments St also dvocaicd e rightlo compassonat release or any prisoner wib ess han +year o live and was th lead plai in the clas-acton Iawsi Shomate v. Wison Unfortuntely. Shumat herell. éied 3t COWF, away from family and friends,because the Bosrdof Prson Terms ecommended clemency ather than compassionat relesse. Govemor Gray Davs refused o Spprove the Board recommendation. Four yearsbefore b eaih. Shumate wioe " look n e bule] knowing the sk could mesn my e n more ways than one...And yes. | would o't all over agun, 11 an save one life fom the medical nighmare of CCWE Medica Deparumens hen ' well worth 45 Her work did ot cesse with et desth. Women who had \worked with hr continse the sk of teaching hers how 1> nderstand thei ibwork and how o charthei resuls, keep a medical sy, ho bese peopl” sccountable 10 what they 5oy 40 oo hemn " Sherie Chapma, one of the twenty-six omtes who estied in Shumatc v Wilson, became the primary plantf . clas-acion st over medical condiions 2 wel 35 iling civi it chargin the CDC with cruel and unuaal panishmcat afe waiing over a decade fo cancer ueamen* o 33 scholasand researchers have ignored women's orgaizing sound HIV/AIDS snd hr healih conceas n he outde, they have aisosgnored the sirgglesof individual women for sdequate health sevics and support. The works of 'ACE. Marilyn Buck, Chrisse Shumate 0d otber women may ot b 35 dramaic 2 2 wrk srke or 3 boyco, but they Roneeles addrescrocial s (cing women in prson and Contadic the noton tht women 6o ot and canaot nework nd rganie 10 change tei conditions. Childeen Sepacation rom chiden is snoher major isue for ‘women inmates. In 1998, more than quarte milion childien nder the age of cighteen had s motber behind bars' Wher 1990 Amercan Comectional Assocaion survey asked womea pisoners o ame “he most imporiant persons) i your e fify.two perent dentfed thee chidren.” These numbers Should warrant that ll women's prisens have family and purcntng progras available Howeve,suc i ot e case Inmate moters, many of hom weresngle heads of Bousehold o o ncarceraton ar e on their own 1 navigte the rocky path of maitainin conact and cusody of b chldrn. Fash argaes tht i ack s due 1 he ea hat a0 woman who has uieddrus, worked 8 3 prostinie o olherwise shown deviant or crminal tendencicscan be 4 006 mother Women pisones e viewed 5 incapabe of eing good mothersand thus donot awtomatically deserve e sme espec and restmen acorded 1o mothersonthe oubide Whi this may b he cas i ome msances,sichas g 7 addiced mashers.such s sweeping generalzation ignores the fact that many inmate mothers were single heads of household, th sole provider for their children and may have been forced 1o rely on llgal means to supporttheir amily. The view of the inmate mother as somehow unfi and caworthy has been used 0 egitmate prison and social services policies egarding e chikdren of mprisoned parents. A 1978 dtctive of the Depariment of Social Services specified that it can rfuse imprisoned parents isits with theirchildren placed 1 fostr careif it believes that visits will hurs the children.* In 1997, the Federal Adoption and Safe Families Act (AFSA) was enacied, educing the time in which children may remain in foser care before pareotal rights are terminated. Under this act if an incarceraed parent does not have contact with his o her child for six monihs, he o she can be charged with “abandonment” and lose parcatalrights. 1 the child i in foste care for fficen of the last twenty-two months, th state an terminate parents! nghts. Once these rights are termnated, parents have no legal elatioship with ther children and ae not permitied to have any contact with them ” Mainiaining family tes, however, is ot an issue. ‘ddressed by many of the male prisoner activists I i1 pison and is inmates reflectthe ouiside world and expectaions. women are expected tobe the eepers o a0d home and, whea a mother i incarcerated,the burden (c maintan ties 0 herchildren falls upon her. In 1998, over two- thirds of all wome prisosers had children under the age of cightcen, and, among them, only twensy-five percent saxdthat heirchidren were iing with th fathr. In contrast, ninety percent of male prisoners with children under the age of eighteen said that thir children were lving with their mathers * Ten percentof inmate motbers in contrast (0 two. percent of nmate fchersstated tht hei children were iving 1 4 fosir home, an agency o an nstution.” Thus, mothers in prson are forced to navigae the legal maze of family law more ofien inorder (0 maintain contact with and reain legal custody of thei children. A 1993 survey of women prisoners n eight sates and Washingion, DC, found tha iftyfour percent of the inmate mothers interviewed were never visited by theirchildren One major factor i thislack of visiation i distance: More than sinty percent of inmate mothers wete incarcerated more than ‘one hundred miles from their child's home. Less than nine. percent were within twenty milesof their child” However,the Counts have reflectd the opinion that inmate mothers have fofeied their ights o see their children. In 1987, it v. Meese determined that prisoners have 1o ight to b in any paricular facity and may be wansferred both within and out of sate according (0 the nstution’s needs.® Such a decision gives prison authortes the power o efectvely sever 3 ‘woman'sabiliy 10 see her child. Not only the distance, but the ravel tme and expenses make frequent visis lss likely. For instance, while Barriec Bannister i imprisoned in Pendieton, Oregon, her eight.year-old daughte lves with Banaisir's relatives in Gloversville, New York " ~Tm lucky 10 see them every six or cight months,” wries Banaiser In almost every leter, she expresses he longing forher daughir: “When | was artested, she was four months shy of becoming thce yearsold. Tve missed the bes years of her life. She'll b thireen and a. half when 1 get out " However, Bannistersull etins [l custody of her daughier a rarity among inmate mthers ‘Another inmat t Eastern Oregon Corrctional Instittion ost custody of hr four children 1o thei sbusive father i Virg She's notseen them i over ive years. She doesn't know what Distncing women from thei familes s ively weakening, ifnot sevenng, s woman's s from her oved ones. Visiation becomes even more important when children are in foster care. One of the exceptions o AFSA's trngent gudelins i that a fosercare Sgency may delay filing fortermisation of parentalrights if there 1t a st parent