Overview
By nature, women have very unique needs, different from men. But, because the prison system was designed to house men, it lacks the specialized facilities and resources needed by women. Some of these gender-specific factors include facilities for incarcerated pregnant women and women with young children, resources for women with histories of spousal and sexual abuse, and specially designed medical areas for women. Considering women’s unique needs, they should be treated differently than men. Additionally, pregnant women have even more unique needs; thus, it is important for correctional officers to understand and be able to address these needs. To ensure the needs of female inmates, whether they are pregnant or not, are respected, a thorough re-training of the staff before operating in a female correctional wing or facility is necessary.