It's Criminal -- Harassment in Prison

Harassment is lame. Criminals are lame. (For the sake of space, I will leave it at that, but you should know that there will be plenty more lameness for me to rant about in future blog posts...) Anyway, there is some prison in Troy, VA that has spent the last year harassing female prisoners. I do not endorse criminal behavior--which is exactly what some administrators, wardens, and other employees at the Fluvanna Correctional Center for Women have been engaging in.

For reasons beyond my comprehension, this women's prison started consigning certain prisoners to the "butch wing." That's right-- the butch wing. Basically, women who exhibited more masculine characteristics were segregated from the rest of the prisoners, and then subjected to harassment by the guards.

According to the Chicago Sun-Times, this segregated community was often "referred to by prisoners and guards as the 'little boys wing,' 'locker room wing' or 'studs wing'." These women were often verbally harassed by guards who admitted to calling them "little boys" when transporting them to eat meals. Because of their appearances and perceived sexual orientations, these women were subjected to additional punishment... which is totally lame.

Former guard, William Drumheller said, "I heard [the building manager, Timothy Back] say, 'We're going to break up some of these relationships, start a boys wing, and we're going to take all these studs and put them together and see how they like looking at nothing but each other all day instead of their girlfriends."

This harassment only stopped when the Associated Press questioned the practice after prisoners and one employee spoke out about it. I understand that these women committed crimes, and I am sure that some of them are pretty heinous crimes... but I also believe that harassment is pretty heinous, too.

If you have any questions or suggestions, please feel free to contact campusteam@feminist.org.