Add to this an unflinching disregard for treatment, both in terms of the woman's physical and mental health. Security and confidentiality are the first steps to adequate treatment. Such basic concerns are often nonexistent both for women inmates who are victims of abuse and their attending physicians. Even though the number of incarcerated women in the United States has risen dramatically in the past couple of decades, women still comprise a small population, presenting a challenge for gender-specific program development and implementation. Gender equity in programs and services to incarcerated women is lacking.
Past victimization perpetuates the cycle of abuse.
Incarcerated women exist in a system of tremendous power imbalance between the keeper and the kept, and are unable to fend off both systemic and individual abuses. More so than men, health care of incarcerated women requires routine health maintenance and preventative services. Women are at high risk for sexually transmitted infections and other diseases of the reproductive system. Yet, routine gynecologic services are often lacking or are provided only on demand rather than as routine health maintenance. Inadequate prenatal care - A significant fraction of women enter prison pregnant and also with factors that increase the risk of the pregnancy.