Mental Health of Women in Corrections

Mental Health of Women in Corrections
By: Lindsey Jane Lombardi

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Being a woman is difficult. Add in a badge, boots and a bold personality, you will have men either running for the streets or annoyingly turned on. However you view women in law enforcement, there is still one thing in common across the board: It’s tough. Women in corrections are subject to sexual harassment both by co-workers and inmates. All of this could become very straining on a female officer’s mind.

I myself am a female corrections officer. I care for both the men and women prisoners in a lockup facility. The career can be challenging and at times rewarding. I find myself searching my sound judgment for errors or glitches, sometimes questioning my career choice asking myself, “What made me want to work in this field?” That is when I have to stop and think about why I started.

I hate singling myself out. I am a FEMALE corrections officer. I am pretty sure anyone can tell from the outward appearance. I am in fact a female in this profession. However, this time, I think that it is important for the nature of this article.

Women in this profession are singled out. We have an army against us before we even open the doors to the jail or prison. We have to combat male officers’ opinions, male inmate views and sexual advances, female officers who are territorial and also fear women can’t do the job which could make her appear unable to do so also. We have to combat so much in such a short period of time during probation that it would make anyone’s head spin.

Some women in law enforcement fall prey to dating other officers, being labeled as weak or sexually promiscuous, always being watched just in case we slip up and sleep with an inmate, and if we fail at anything, anything at all, women as a whole are seen as unable to do the job. How is that fair? It's not. It's not at all fair and it will continue to be unfair until we break the barrier of how women are perceived in law enforcement.

Women are not sex symbols in the uniform. We are not the weaker sex; we are simply an officer. We took an oath to guard a prison or jail and society. We accept the responsibility with pride and we take on the responsibility with respect to the department that we swore in with.

Women officers deal with male prisoners exposing themselves, sexual advances, immoral acts being witnessed, and many other sexual harassing or extremely violent situations from the prisoners. We handle this and don’t complain. It’s part of the job. If female officers try to block the events in their mind, it doesn’t go away. Those thoughts will come back, and sometimes they come back when they are at home with their husband or boyfriend and they shut out and ignore their significant others, withdrawing and self-isolating or drinking to numb the emotion of feeling disgusted. Sometimes the single female officer will turn away from dating because men to them become disgusting. The feeling of being sexually harassed is difficult, and at first seems easy to handle because it’s part of your job and you reprimanded the inmate for it. However, just like a civilian, it’s sexual harassment and it is emotionally scarring and it will linger and come back to mind when you least expect it.

Sure, we could go to therapy and try to mend ourselves, but the next shift might be filled with the same things, worse things, unimaginable situations, and we ignore therapy. The stress starts adding up, and soon it starts to take away a lot more than just peace of mind. It takes away the family, the husband or the boyfriend and it takes away the peace of mind being alone. It leaves you restless and unnerved. It leaves you bitter and broken; yet in denial. It may even take your life.

The thing about corrections is it can be fun, eventful, exciting, bold and powerful- yet if you don’t get help for the bad times that you’ve experienced and let the PTSD add up it could turn your career into a life-altering choice that ends your life. Women are not weak for seeking help. Women and men are both equally able to do the job of a corrections officer. Seek help and get help and find mental clarity again.