The War on Women
by Charla Greene
January 1996
U.S. prisons represent the extreme in the war on women, with the women being on the losing side. All power, all choices, all considerations for women have been wiped out in an intentionally obvious dominance game which blatantly abuses human rights. However, since 1992 three U.N. treaties have been ratified by the U.S. and have become part of "the supreme law of the land". These treaties are now available to be used as tools to fight the abuses perpetrated by prison officials. The treaties are: the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, and the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. With these treaties human rights activists in the U.S. have new weapons to use by reporting, publicizing, and monitoring the U.S. according to international standards.
The challenge now is to take the shroud of secrecy off these weapons and make them available to the U.S. citizens who are under threat and in need of protection from over zealous punitive actions by prison officials. There has been little or no mention of these U.S. ratifications by mainstream media, obviously an uninformed public is preferred. If the public knew they had access to this power of international review of U.S. policies, they might try to protect themselves! In one of the seminars in China during the NGC Conference, an Egyptian doctor said that the monitoring of U.N. treaties was a common technique used by grassroots organizations, but she also said that the U.N. treaties were commonly publicized in Egypt, not hidden, as is happening in the U.S.
A couple of the Articles are particularly important in the protection of human rights for prisoners:
Article 10, the International Covenant on Civil. . . Rights: 1. All persons deprived of their liberty shall be treated with humanity and with respect for the inherent dignity of the human person. 3. The penitentiary system shall comprise treatment of prisoners the essential aim of which shall be their reformation and social rehabilitation.
Article 1, the Convention Against Torture...: For the purposes of the Convention, the term "torture" means any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him_ information or a confession, punishing him for an act he. . . has committed or is suspected of having committed or intimidating or coercing him..., or for any reason based on discrimination of any kind, when such pain or suffering is inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or person acting in an official capacity.
Using these guidelines, I would like to discuss Chowchilla; looking first at the SHU, or Security Housing Unit. Central California Women's Facility is located in a flat, barren area where the trees have been cleared and there is nothing but heat for miles. SHU is located there in a huge steel barn, the cell doors are soled with small holes in them. It has 24 hour lockup with ten hours or less of yard time per week and three five-minute showers per week. the noise level is high volume at all times, caused by shouting through the steel doors by inmates to other inmates or the guards. This bedlam is increased by the guards harassing, kicking the cells, and the screaming of those with mental problems, who are housed with the rest of the women. During the nights the guards often randomly turn on the emergency lights in cells, sometimes three or four times a night. The emergency lights are extremely bright and emit an electric buzz, so there is no way to sleep through this intentional act of sleep deprivation.
The food is served ice cold, making it inedible, with gravy so cold it has formed greasy lumps that are difficult to swallow, and the meat or eggs sitting in this coagulated mess. TJne result if often nausea and food poisoning. The noon meal is a sack lunch distributed at breakfast time. In order to get breakfast, and so lunch, the inmate must respond to the wake up call given at 5:30am over an intercom, and be standing at the door with lights on. If the call isn't heard, or the inmate is too ill to get up, then she misses both breakfast and lunch, and since the Medical Tech comes by at the same time breakfast is brought by, she also misses any medical attention-- if that is the reason she didn't get up. If an inmate is unconscious inside her cell, no one is aware.
The five minute showers are done without privacy, so male guards often hang around and talk, increasing the humiliation. The water is so cold that the soap cannot be rinsed off, which leads to rashes that probably go untreated.
The ten, or less, hours of yard time are done in a small area with no equipment or protective shade from the extreme valley sun. The time is done in 3 1/2 hour blocks; once in the yard a woman must stay the whole time. If a woman has to go to the bathroom while on the yard, the only toilet is an exposed one sitting under the guard tower. Toilet paper is dropped down by the guard on request. Unclothed body searches are performed on all women going in or out of the yard. Although by law they are performed by female guards, male guards stand around and harass and insult.
California's Death Row for women is at Chowchilla and is located in a large cage in the middle of the SHU area. There are eight cells and a walkway in the cage, so the individual cell doors are left open to allow these women with death hanging over their heads to talk to each other at least. However, they are still in the middle of the chaos of the SHU. They stay to themselves, in their caged walkway, by preference. If they were to go outside they would have to endure the conditions of the SHU yard with no shade and the exposed toilet. Recently the eight woman was sent to the Row, and the officials are now concerned because all the cells are occupied. They nave the option of adding to this cage arrangement, but another plan is to build their own SHU-type isolation area, which would then make it impossible for the women to get together in a supportive atmosphere while waiting for their state murder, and would make them nothing more than caged animals waiting to be slaughtered. The condemned men at least have a few hours of yard per day and can go to a visiting room for contact with family and friends. The SHU program has only visits behind glass, with the restraining chains left on to hinder even the smallest movement.
Under these conditions it is hard for even the strongest to stay healthy; however a by the State Legislature now requires all prisoners to pay five dollars for any medical attention. Most prisoners are poor to broke, and although a few prisoners have extremely low paying jobs, on Death Row the prisoners are not allowed to work At Chowchilla there is already a class action suit filed because of the poor medical attention, but the women on the Row who can't work can't get even the poor medical attention.
I think there is no question of violations of the U.N. treaties at Chowchilla. the conditions at the women's SHU are more severe/barbaric than at the men's SHU in Pelican Bay, yet little attention has been paid to this growing abomination (there are now over 5,000 women housed at the two prisons in Chowchilla making it the largest women's prison complex in the world). I think the reason is because it is a continuation of the abusive treatment of women that is common, condoned and ignored on the outside. It is also a clear that the U.S. is an abuser of human rights and should be sanctioned in the sane way that the hypocritical U.S. government sanctions other countries. If you are looking for a place to direct your anger at abusive, oppressive governments, you don't have to go any farther than 2 1/2 hours drive from the Bay Area: Chowchilla.
For more information on the U.N. treaties you can contact:
Meiklejohn Civil Liberties Institute P.C. Box 673 Berkeley, CA 94701-0673
In order for the treaties to be effective, private citizens must take the step to yet involved and monitor the government.