The Criminalisation and imprisonment of Black Women
| Date | 01 September 1989 |
| Published date | 01 September 1989 |
| DOI | 10.1177/026455058903600302 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
The Criminalisation
and imprisonment of
Black Women
Black women
suffer the double disadvantage of being
stereotyped according to race and gender, readily labelled
as deviant in the community and over-represented in
prison. They now represent 18% of the rising female
prison population, yet little is known of their experience.
Ruth Chiqwada, post-graduate
student at LSE and part-time
Lecturer in Criminology,
interviewed ten Black women
ex-prisoners concerning
their treatment in the
penal system and
concludes that they are
criminalised because of
their lifestyle and by
racist, class-biased attitudes.
i
II
lack women are more likely to
suffer social factors which are brought to
bear in sentencing. An example taken from
the Hornsey Journal highlights the
problem. It reported that Broadwater
Farm Estate was occupied by ’problem
families’ and that the sight of
’unmarried West Indian mothers
walking about the estate’ aggravate
racial tensions. Such remarks serve
to criminalise Black women and
contribute to their image as
suspects, the end result being that
tb-y are frequently given custodial
sentences for relatively minor
offences.
Again, an Evening Standard article
stated that young Black men commit a
disproportionately high number of violent
crimes in London because ’most black mothers when young girls... have children
100
out of wedlock and are not supported by the fathers. There appears to be less
stigma attached to single parenthood
’The following morning they said
in the Black community. The only
to me, ’Let’s talk about your marriage.’
hope is that somehow the West Indian
They started asking me questions about
marriage can be encouraged and
my marriage. They asked for my hus-
supported.’
band’s name and everything about him
The implication of the reports is
and many other questions. They ask-
’ ~
that Black women, as single parent
ed me if he was a Black or white man.
mothers, deviate from the norm and
They said to me that because of the fact
are a problem to society. Yet it may be
that my husband is white ’we are
that a society that practices racial and
suspicious’. One of them said, ’It’s one
’
gender discrimination in school and
of- these marriages Black women get in-
the labour market encourages them to
volved in -
isn’t it? -
to get a permit
have children as one way of
to stay in this country. I said,
demonstrating control over at least one
’The
aspect of their lives.
only way to tell an illegal Black
Of the
from a
ten women
I interviewed,
legal one is to suspect the lot.’
eight were born in the UK and 9 had
received only
’But we have been married
one prison sentence.
now for
Eight
three
were single parents, two were un-
years, it’s just that things didn’t
married without children. Eight
work.’
were
of Caribbean origin and two West
’By the second day in police
African. Nine felt that the Criminal
custody I was feeling very weak and
Justice system
depressed about the whole thing. I was
was unjust. Eight felt
worried sick about
that the police had no respect for Black
my daughter who
was 18 months at the time. The police
women and spoke of police harass-
had made arrangements for her to be
ment
and checks on their immigration
taken into care and I was wondering
status.
how she was coping without me as it
Fumi’s Story
was the first time she had ever been
separated from me. I had not had
’One morning at 7 a.m. six policemen
anything to eat from the day before. No
came
to my
flat to arrest my boyfriend.
food was offered to me.
They ransacked the whole place and
’The police officers kept firing
left the place in a big mess. When they
questions at me about my marriage,
did not find anything they turned to
saying that I should agree that it was
me
and...
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