I have written about this subject before but it is coming to the forefront of my activities once again and because it is such a passionate subject with me, I want to write about it again. The Lamplighter Movement has two chapters in two different women\u2019s prisons, one in California and one in Florida. Both chapters are working the Repair program with great success. I had even heard that the warden of one prison was giving special privileges to anyone who joined the Lamplighter Chapter. Despite being very happy that we have these two chapters going, my long- term goal is to have a Lamplighter Movement Chapter in every women\u2019s prison.<\/p>\n
When I was married to my third abuser, his abuse was so sadistic, so utterly cruel that I thought I would lose my mind and in fact many times did. One time in an effort to escape from him, I grabbed a large knife and as he came towards me, I told him I would kill him if he took another step towards me. Fortunately, for me, he packed up his gear and left. Otherwise, I would be one of those women in that women\u2019s prison only walking distance from where I lived where there is now a Lamplighter Chapter with all of the women working the Repair program. Life is filled with ironies. Unfortunately, for me I was not yet finished with my recovery and my addiction to him was so great that I let him come back a few days later. Two years later, I completed my own recovery program, the one I later called Repair, rid myself of my abuser and am now the happiest person I know.<\/p>\n
According to data released by the Bureau of Justice Statistics in 2007, more than 50 percent of the women in jail reported to have been physically or sexually abused before their imprisonment. Although an older study, in 1999 a study by Miller, Browne and Maguin found that 82 percent of women at New York\u2019s Bedford Hills Correctional Facility had a childhood history of severe physical and\/or sexual abuse and that more than 90 percent had suffered physical or sexual violence in their lifetimes.<\/p>\n
Lest we think these figures probably don\u2019t matter anymore, today I spoke with someone who worked for a nonprofit called Justice Now, fighting for the rights of women in prison. I mentioned that I had read that 94% of women in prison for killing their mate had been sexually abused as a child. Her figure? 98%. This is abominable!<\/p>\n
In an article by Jialing Zheng called the Abuse-Incarceration Connection, 47-year-old Elizabeth Leslie said her history of sexual abuse and domestic violence was too shameful to talk about in court. \u201cTo be honest, the judicial system is a cold place,\u201d says Leslie. \u201cI was so ashamed to tell anyone of my abusive life. I thought these things made me disgusting and unworthy.<\/p>\n
Her uncle sexually abused Leslie when she was 4 years old. Throughout her childhood, her mother also subjected her to constant physical and verbal abuse from her mother. She was convicted seven times of criminal possession of controlled substance or narcotic drugs during her almost 30 years of drug addiction.<\/p>\n
When you have that much shame and pain inside of you, doing anything to medicate is not only a need but also the only choice for many women sexually abused as a child. I used alcohol, sex, food, anti-depressants, sleeping pills and incessant talking to drown out the child inside of me who was screaming for help when none was forthcoming.<\/p>\n
We must do something about this problem. Socio-economic reasons exist to back this up. It costs the taxpayer millions of dollars to incarcerate these women; we need more millions of dollars to hospitalize and medically treat those who attempted suicide, and there are many, before they finally wound up in prison. Children of an untreated child sexual abuse victim stand a five times greater chance of being sexually abused themselves. We are talking about a multi-generational problem. They may have gone off to prison for wrongdoing but they left behind children who would be following in their footsteps. These women can be helped, not only before they commit crimes but also while they are in prison.<\/p>\n
If we can start Lamplighter Movement chapters in every prison in the United States, the women who were sexually abused as children will come in droves. If they begin working the Repair program they will be able to turn their lives around and when they leave prison they will be able to make healthy choices and help others make healthy choices.<\/p>\n