This is a documentary that was produced for the Oxygen Network. When a mother is arrest in America, her children are taken away from her--they are either put in foster care or given to relatives. In some countries like India, parts of Australia and Mexico, when a mother is arrested and has children under the age of 5, she has the option of bring her kids to live with her in prison. When I first heard this I was appalled, they’re raising a generation of prison kids,” I thought.
But after spending time in India and Australia, I came to realize that although we are citizens of the richest country of the world, youngest among us are sometimes overlooked. When a child is under the age of 5 and is unable to comprehend his or her surroundings, where is the best place for that child to be? Maybe with their mothers? And these incarcerated mothers have nothing to do be dote on their child for 24 hours a day. An Australian prison official told me that incidences of violence are far fewer when children are around. Contrary to what I thought it might be like for these kids growing up in prison, I actually found it quite civilized.
The U.S. has nearly 2 million people locked up behind bars. It’s a staggering number that is not only the biggest in the western world, but it is a number that is growing wildly. Women make-up the fasting growing segment of incarcerated peoples, and many female inmates have children. One has to wonder what kind impact a mother’s imprisonment has on her children. According to statistics, a child of an incarcerated person is 6 times more likely to end up locked up themselves.
Think of all the pressure girls face in schools today. Think about what it might be like to not have a mom around. Think about what it might be like to have to, in some cases, lie about where mom is. In America prisons are often locked very away from where inmate’s families live. Sometimes it requires more than a day of travel for kids to visit their parents. It’s expensive too. Gas prices are exhorbitant and hotel stays may be necessary. When they get to the prison, they are searched and often made to sit across from their mothers. Few things are as heart breaking as seeing a child unable to have physical contact with the person who gave them life.
One program that is trying to help daughters of incarcerated mothers spend more regular time together is the Girl Scouts Behind Bars program. After leaning of the GSBB program, I felt proud to have been a Girl Scout in middle school. The GSBB provides regular transportation—not to be understated—every two weeks. Girls are taken to visit their mothers in a large cafeteria where they will spend an entire day with their moms. They play games, they sing and most importantly, they hug.
