“Women — an Object and Piece of Meat”
What is Domestic Violence and how does it connect to females in prisons.
Domestic violence is defined as, “Aggressive behavior within homes typically involving violent abuse of a spouse or a partner”. This definition of domestic violence is very similar to the experience that female prisoners go through. We have seen multiple cases of female prisoners getting raped and abused by not only the inmates but the staff as well. Domestic violence can also be viewed as someone who considers themselves to have power, which is demonstrated through aggression, rape, verbal abuse, emotional abuse, etc. This kind of power is also seen in prisons, where staff uses their power against those who are seen weak and vulnerable behind prison walls. In homes, we have seen more females be victims of domestic violence than men. Therefore, in prisons, 15 percent of incarcerated females have been the victims of prison sexual assault. Jurist Twenty’s statistics show that Males are the perpetrators in 98 percent of staff-on-inmate sexual assault. I am not saying that males do not face sexual abuse by women in prisons, but I am confirming with these statistics that it is more common for us to women, to face sexual abuse since there are more male guards in prisons where they have the “opportunity” and “power” to take advantage of us.
The Hierarchy and capital within Prisons.
It is a hierarchy, these female prisoners have no power to defend themselves and if they do they will only get into more trouble. The guards with “power” are the ones who are viewed as the rulers of prisons. They get sex, drugs, and/or money from a prisoner so that they will not get punished or humiliated in front of their inmates. As said by Cristal Harper on RT, “You play their game or get raped”. She continues by saying how, “You train your mind and body to numb it out”, Cristal is letting the viewers know that you let yourself be used as an object to live day by day and not get killed behind the prison walls. In the video you see how Cristal was not the only one who was a victim of sexual abuse in Florida, there were two other women that had the courage to speak up. Having these three women speak up was brave and unusual since many are so scared that they stay quite. As said by Daily Mail, “women being held at Tutwiler prison in central Alabama did not report abuse because they feared retaliation”, the guards showed enough power to scare the women and display them as sex slaves to one another by forcing them to perform sex acts for basic sanitary supplies.
Sexual Abuse or guard duty?
As said in the article “How Gender Structures the Prison System” by Angela Davis she states how women prisoners face sexual abuse right away as they walk in the prison and they are searched. Assata Shakur shares her experience when she was searched by multiple guards. She describes it as “finger fucking”, which means that guards would put their hands in each woman to “search them” and if the women refused then they would get locked up in “the hole” where they do not come out until they consent to be searched internally. Davis points out how there has been “male correctional employees that have had vaginally, anally, and orally raped females prisoners and sexually assaulted and abused them”. These male staff members have threatened physical force upon the women and have used their power to deny goods and privileges to female prisoners to compel them to have sex. There have also been scenarios of guards that take advantage of women as they check their cells. David is making a point here that we are the ones who go through everything everywhere and that because we are “naturally” seen as weak and not able to defend ourselves then we are easy to sexually abuse.
Domestic violence case of Lissette Ochoa:
For Example, the case of Lissette Ochoa was a very popular domestic violence case where abuse from the husband lasted longer than two hours. Lissette and her husband Rafael Dangond went to a wedding where Lissette was asked by a couple of friends to dance. While Lissette was dancing with friends a young man came up to her and danced near her. Dangond was “angry and jealous” this is where they both exit the event and the husband abused her outside the event, two hours in the car, and continued in their home. The case also stated how many people looked at the husband while the wife was dancing with the young man. I analyse this case in a way where the husband had a role for the women, which was to be with him at all times and not dance with anyone because it would be seen as “disrespecting” him and “embarrassing” him in public. Which also triggered the way he reacted. Either way, Rafael felt like he had enough “power” in the relationship to do what he did to Lissette. If it wasn’t for Lissette’s call to her father no one would have helped her because the abuse was so private in the car and in the home. This abuse behind walls is also known in prisons. As said by Davis, “Few people outside the prison walls know what is going on or care if they do know”. Davis is letting us know that women are being abused no matter how “safe” the area seems to be.
Furthermore, with the case of Lissette and the information we have of women in prisons, we can come to a conclusion that they are both the same and that we cannot escape from sexual abuse, especially if we have encountered it already. As said by Angela Davis, “If you are sexually abused, you cannot escape from your abuser.” No matter how safe we feel in an environment or home, something inappropriate will happen (It can be cat calling, strong stares of men, etc.). These bordered locations or gated communities are supposed to help people (women in this case) get better but it makes us worse (emotionally and physically). Whether it is at home or in prison we are seen as the ones with no power. In a way, where men can control us and do whatever they want with us (sexually, emotionally, and physically) we are like a piece of meat to them, an object that is used and thrown away once its value is lost.
