Women, Grief, and Loss
Dealing with loss under any circumstances can be challenging. However, these challenges can be exceptionally difficult for incarcerated women. Nearly half of all women in prison will experience the death of a significant other or a loved one (Harner, Hentz, & Evangelista, 2011). Lack of support, or counseling services, and fear of punishment for outwardly expressing feelings create barriers for incarcerated women in grief.
Even though women who are incarcerated have committed crimes, some which are quite serious, victims of crimes undoubtedly suffer significant loss. Almost two-thirds of women incarcerated for property, drug, and public offenses will commit additional crimes and rearrested within three years of being release from prison (Scroggins & Malley, 2010).
Recidivism rates are decreased by addressing perpetrators' mental health needs (Ferszt, Sagado, Defedele, & Leveillee, 2009; Scroggins & Malley, 2010, restorative justice programs, and services that focus on incarcerated women acknowledging victims' harm (Ferszt et al., 2009).
Incarcerated women's inability to grieve to have their loss validated and to participate in bereavement rituals can exacerbate mental health issues (Ferszt, et al., 2009; Ferezt, 2002; Harner et al., 2011). Attention to grief and loss-related mental health issues are necessary for women's successful reentry into society (Anderson, Vlach, Cole, Ellison, & Southern, 2015; Ferszt et al., 2009; Ferszt, 2002).
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