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Women’s Rights: Take Action Pack

Published on February 18, 2009

Twelve Months, Twelve Films, Twelve Issues.

Here at MediaRights.org and the Media That Matters Film Festival, we decided to team up and give you a fresh, focused, all-in-one package of brand new short films, background information, resources, tips and activities on each of the topics covered in the eighth annual Media That Matters Film Festival.

The mission of the festival is to take the concept of “audience” a step further and use short-form, big issue media as a tool to educate and inspire activism

This month, our Take Action Pack celebrates Women’s History Month by showcasing the film Perversion of Justice which focuses on Hamedah Hasan, a young mother who was sentenced to two life sentences for her first drug offense. At the end of the pack, we provide helpful links for educators, families and youth leaders who want to take action in their own communities.

The Issue

Image by Norma Desmond via Flickr

Thousands of women are serving extreme federal prison sentences in the United States for their tangential relationships to drug dealers or for non-violent property crimes. In the last two decades, the incarceration rate overall has skyrocketed, with the rate for women growing twice as fast as that for men []. Between 1995 and 2006, the number of women inmates in state and federal prisons increased by 64 percent.

What’s the reason for this explosive growth in the number of women in prison? As part of the war on drugs initiated in the 1980s, harsh new laws were passed requiring mandatory minimum sentences for drug offenses, including sales, use, and conspiracy. The overwhelming percentage of women now in prison is due to their relation to, or association with, someone involved in selling or using drugs - a woman need not have played a central role in a drug transaction. If she delivered a message to a friend or husband involved in a drug deal, or drove him to the bank, the law defines that as conspiracy, and the conspirator in a drug sale can be held liable for the entire amount of drugs sold and sentenced accordingly. Nearly 66 percent of the federal female prisoners are serving drug-related sentences.

Image by Summers via Flickr

Imprisonment is especially hard on women who are separated from young children. Approximately 75 percent of women prisoners are mothers, and 65 percent of women in state prisons have children under 18. The women are usually serving sentences of ten to twenty years or even life for their drug-related crimes, which means they are not seeing their children grow up.

The human impact of draconian drug laws is far reaching and long lasting. If the mother is the primary caregiver, as is often the case, most children go to live with relatives but some are put into foster care. In either case, visiting their mothers can be daunting because of the time and cost involved in traveling to the distant locations of most prisons. The emotional damage resulting from the separation from their mothers can have long-term effects on children’s development and further weaken an already fragile family structure.

Several organizations are actively pursuing drug policy reform that would eliminate mandatory minimum sentences and make sentences for crack cocaine and powder cocaine more equitable. Others are working to provide support to incarcerated mothers and their families. You can also get involved in Taking Action for this cause by way of all the listed organizations throughout this article.

The Film

Perversion of Justice calls attention to the unreasonably long prison sentences being served by women who commit nonviolent crimes. Shot over the course of four years, the film follows Hamedah on an emotional roller coaster as she navigates her many appeals through the court system. We witness her suffering daughters growing up as best they can, separated by hundreds of miles from their incarcerated mother.

This short piece weaves together the story of Hamedah and her daughters with commentary from criminal justice experts who provide context about the misguided U.S. war on drugs. As a description of an American tragedy, the film can serve as a powerful call to action. Filmmaker Melissa Mummert has pursued the issue well beyond the film, and you can read updates on the various work she is doing including screenings, campaigns and articles. Last year we also interviewed her for MediaRights, the article can be found here.

Other strong films from Media That Matters regarding women’s rights include Diana; a strong mother dealing with the effects of HIV, In Transit; a film about women in the DRC, Africa who are documenting vesico-vaginal fistula (VVF) and Slip of the Tongue; a young girls answer to the incessant pop-culture pressures put on women.

If you are interested in other issue-focused DVDs for your collection or screening, please email us for more information.

The Action!

Educators

Girl Scouts Beyond Bars provides girls an opportunity to visit their incarcerated mothers and take part in regular mother-daughter Girl Scout troop meetings. Find out how you can get involved.
Programs and Services for Incarcerated Parents and Their Children lists organizations with programs in various states. Locate an organization in your state and contact them about volunteer opportunities.
Looking for other opportunities to help incarcerated parents and their children? Check out the Family & Corrections Network.

For Families

The WPA is a service and advocacy organization committed to helping women with criminal justice histories realize new possibilities for themselves and their families. See how you can get involved.
In many states a lifetime ban on welfare payments is imposed for drug offenses. Learn whether this is the law in your state, and write to your legislator to change the law in order to protect poor women and families.
Be a supportive adult and role model for a child. Find out about mentoring children of prisoners.

For Youth Leaders

How does mandatory sentencing work? How do we change the situation? FAMM works to change mandatory sentencing laws. Read on to find out how.
Volunteer at Community Alternatives and help pave the way to re-integrative justice and a reduced reliance on incarceration.
Want to get active on drug policy issues? Common Sense for Drug Policy lists dozens of ways you can help.

And remember—you can host a screening of the Media That Matters films by visiting our site for more information.

In Conclusion

We hope that these resources will supplement your use of film in the classroom and community. Beyond Media That Matters, we invite you to search around MediaRights to find others films, organizations and to read about other important women’s issues.

Good luck, and let us know what you are doing to encourage awareness or change on these issues. Publish an announcement on MediaRights to encourage others to join you, or send us an email with any feedback!

This article is available for noncommercial use under a Creative Commons license. It was originally published on MediaRights.org, a project of Arts Engine, Inc. This notice must accompany the article at all times.

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