propose to document the problems and issues facing the wives and girlfriends
of prison inmates, to examine how these women meet the challenges in their
lives, and to visually investigate community responses to the needs of prisoners'
families. The United States prison population continues to rise. Many of
the men incarcerated in the system have girlfriends or wives and children
who are profoundly affected by the breadwinner's imprisonment. These women
suffer spiritual, emotional and economic violence. They are left to assume the role of head of household and primary wage earner, deal with their community's perception of them as "prisoner's wife," and handle the frequently devastating impact of the man's incarceration on the children. Research shows that maintenance of strong family ties during imprisonment results in a reduced likelihood of recidivism. Since women on the outside arc largely responsible for the maintenance of those ties, it is in society's best interests to examine the lives of prisoners' families and incorporate these families into the overall rehabilitative process for the prisoner.
In this way, the violence done these women can be alleviated, and the convicts' potential to do violence again can be reduced.
I have begun the project by focussing on the experience of one young woman in mid-Missouri. The images from my work with her are in my portfolio submission. Her husband is incarcerated in the Boonville Correctional Center, a medium security prison for first offenders located 30 miles west of Columbia.
I will also explore the experience of a number of other women on the outside, as well as take a look at ways that local communities and government agencies are responding to these women's problems. When the project is completed, I will disseminate it via newspaper (to educate the general public). I will also present and exhibit the work at the National Family and Corrections Network Annual Conference to be held in Kansas. The Network is a non-profit organization that provides information and support to inmate family groups and social service organizations that deal with these families.
I also intend to show the work to the Department of Corrections decision makers in an effort to get them to consider the prisoner's family as a rehabilitation resource.