RH Reality Check offers up a special section on the reproductive health issues facing imprisoned women. Two-hundred thousand American women are behind bars, the majority of whom have been convicted of non-violent offenses. Most female prisoners are mothers, and five to six percent are pregnant when they enter prison. While the rape of male prisoners is no less tragic (and has been, at times, a cause celebre in the political blogosphere), it's important to remember that women, who make up just 10 percent of the United States' incarcerated population, are disproportionately the victims of sexual assault behind bars, just as they are in the outside world. Women are the victims in over half of all reported cases of prison sexual abuse. Attorney Nicole Summer writes that in some prisons, as many as a quarter of the female inmates have been sexually assaulted, usually by the guards who control every aspect of their daily experience. Considering the power dynamics, it's no surprise that sexual abuse report rates are low. And sadly, abuse in prison mirrors abuse in the free world for many female inmates; experts estimate that up to 80 percent of female prisoners were the victims of sexual or physical abuse before going to jail. Contraceptives, especially Plan B, can be very difficult to access behind bars. Women who have become pregnant while incarcerated have reported both coercion to undergo abortion and difficulty in accessing and paying for the procedure. Congress acted on prison sexual abuse in 2003 with the Prison Rape Elimination Act, which established a national commission to study the issue and make recommendations. But the legislation didn't address contraceptives. That's no surprise, considering it was sponsored partly by Christian organizations and passed by the Republican Congress. --Dana Goldstein
