Women in the Justice System and PTSD

Mental health can affect anyone at any time.Today is  PTSD day, and we want to raise awareness of how PTSD is under-reported in women in the justice system and how, by being part of the justice system it can actually harm women and cause their symptoms to deteriorate. PTSD stands for post traumatic stress disorder and it is a recognised condition that impacts and can impair a sufferer’s daily functioning. Many women diagnosed with borderline personality disorder are in fact suffering from PTSD, the symptoms and behaviour is very similar. 

The lack of proper diagnosis and awareness directly impacts on women in the justice system. Women make for 5% of the prison population yet 80% of women may suffer from mental health conditions. 

PTSD can impact women’s daily functioning with

• Flashbacks
• Disturbed or light sleep
• Night terrors
• Hypervigilance
• Inability to trust
• Poor focus
• Feeling overwhelmed
• Feeling triggered
• Flight or fright response
• Weight gain or loss due to hormones
• Lack of direction, doomed thinking
• Feeling lethargic

PTSD is an illness that is normally caused by different types of trauma. Currently 8 out of 100 people have experienced a form of PTSD in their lives.  A form of PTSD, a fairly new term is Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or C-PTSD, not necessarily a more severe illness, but it can be diagnosed through other symptoms, (mind 2022).

In targeting vulnerable people, diagnosing PTSD can allow a more comprehensive look at the person’s situation and helping them to take steps in finding support that is out there.

Women who are in, or have been incarcerated represent a marginalized group, where compared to 37% of male prisoners 65% of female prisoners suffer from mental health problems. Women count for 23% of self harm incidents , though they represent less than 5% of the prison population, (UHCA, 2018)

PTSD is also prevalent in 40% of female prisoners who are incarcerated and 17% of men in male prisons.

However the total number of sufferers is not certain as it is widely undiagnosed, (PTSD in Prisoners, 2020)

A report based on women’s prison based mental health care shows how gender specific healthcare can affect women’s lives by helping create a supportive environment where reoffending can be reduced, and women can be reintroduced as well as take part in society.

Women prisoners can be supported by more informed and adaptable mental health services in and out of prison.

Current research shows a lack of  reviews and research into the mental health and wellbeing of women prisoners, shows how  more research should be done highlighting gender-specific mental health care, as well as getting information from the lived experiences of women who have experienced CPTSD. 

Along with a humanistic approach  service providers in the justice system should operate from a truly trauma informed position with empathy and “unconditional positive regard.”

CPTSD has no definitive cure, but people can learn to live with it and manage it. The ACE’s study, The Body Keeps Score by Dr. Bessel Van der Kolk and Childhood Disrupted by Donna Jackson Nakazawa. The Child Trauma Institute and the work of Dr. Bruce Perry are also very helpful and hopeful. 

What we know is that trauma does hurt our brain and our bodies on a cellular level but there are many things we can do to heal, because we are living beings created to continually renew ourselves. For instance, reading an article on a self-help subject and then listening to music or making art after reading will stimulate our brain to make a new neural pathway allowing us to build a new skill or insight about the topic we just read. Mindfulness or meditation actually grows grey matter and reduces the size of certain fear receptors in our brain.

Stats from PTSD UK 

Useful Resources:
https://www.ptsduk.org/
https://www.mind.org.uk/
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/episode-307-susan-pease-banitt-wisdom-attachment-love/id899009517?i=1000420340495