Women do not face jail term as often as men. However, there is an increasing trend of women facing arrests and imprisonment in the last two decades. According to Worley & Mann (2017) , in the United States, the women's arrest and detainment increased from 10% in 1999 to 27% in 2017. Also, Muessig et al. (2016) discuss that by 2019, women in prison were fourteen times more than the 1970s. The cause of the alarm is the factors that make women fall victim to arrest in the present world. Maybe the life of Piper Kerman and her journey to prison as she writes in her book, Orange Is the New Black , can reveal some details concerning the question. Piper's experiences that land her into prison were more like many other women that suffer the same fate. Luckily, she got an opportunity to share with the public the cause of her imprisonment and her life in prions. From her story, it is evident that her experiences, though slightly different from other women who meet the same fate, are similar to other women inmates.
The Factors That Were behind Piper’s Imprisonment
Piper was arrested and charged for a crime she committed many years ago. She was in prison for thirteen months, having pled guilty for the changes. The main reason that led Piper into prisons was that she was part of the drug and money laundering team. Piper had aided in transporting money and also having taken part in drug business just after her graduation ( Fields, 2020). Drug business and money laundering is a serious crime that has substantial charges in the criminal system. Money laundering and drug business was a product of different factors that shaped Piper’s life and would later lead her into prison. The thirst to get a job and live like her friends was another contributing factor. After her graduation, she overheard how some of her friends had good jobs and were living in New York, Washington, and San Francisco ( Kerman, 2011). The urge to get a job so that she could live like her theatric friends was a factor that made her took any job that was available as long as she was getting money.
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Also, Piper met with wrong friends that led her into a relationship with a wrong person. Relationship is a significant factor that influences thinking and action. According to Muessig et al. (2016) , 76% of people who involve in crime have high chances of influencing their romantic partners. Therefore, when Nora Jansen comes into Piper’s life, she shows her a new way of life. With her flashy lifestyle, Piper could not resist her request to join the drug business. Piper took the chance and became part of the business. It was easy for Nora to convince Piper to be part of the business because she was her sex partner ( Kerman, 2011). Also, Piper was just a junior in the market, but would later be a victim. The money she was currying in her bug belongs to a drug lord in West Africa. Finally, her admiration for a flashy lifestyle could also be part of the reason she joined the drug team, which could later push her into the prison.
Why Women Land In Prison
Like Piper, many women land in prisons because of their romantic lovers. According to Muessig et al. (2016) , about 27% of women who go to jail have partners who are criminals. These women have limited power to control their emotions and find themselves as part of the gang that their lovers are in, just like Piper and Jansen. Also, friendship is another reason that land most women in prison. According to Muessig et al. (2016) , most women cannot control their emotions when their friend invites them to act criminally. Therefore, bad influence from friends results in about 20% of women going to prison. Such women may decide to protect their friends or collude with them to commit a crime. For instance, Piper’s friend contributed a considerable part in her involvement in the drug business and money laundering. Piper, after college, did not get employment immediately. Therefore, she was in a dare need after getting information from her friends on the way they live and the nature of jobs they had. Piper would later join the criminal system to live the way some of her friends were living.
Lack of employment is also another factor that contributes to thousands of women going into prison. Poverty can push any person to do the extreme to get money. According to a study by Worley & Mann (2017) , 65% of women who commit petty crime do so because they have no alternative employment or source of funds. Though this could not have been the main reason that pushed Piper into delinquency, it could have been a problem. After her college, Piper expected a better life and employment. A good job did not come immediately, and it reached appoint she was ready to take any job. Therefore, a good job that could offer her quick money and good life was crime and money laundering.
In conclusion, Piper’sjourney to prison mirrors some of the reasons that push most women to prison. Though other factors such as mental health, trauma, and sexual assault were not part of Piper's life before the crime, factors such as the need for money, influence from friends, and intimate romantic partner pushed her into crime. Many authors agree that these reasons also push many women into crime and land them into prison.
References
Fields, J. (2020). " Where my dreidel at?": Representing Jewish Identity in Orange Is the New Black. Journal of Jewish Identities , 13 (1), 17-41.
Kerman, P. (2011). Orange is the new black: My year in a women's prison . Random House Digital, Inc.
Muessig, K. E., Rosen, D. L., Farel, C. E., White, B. L., Filene, E. J., &Wohl, D. A. (2016). “Inside these fences is our own little world”: prison-based HIV testing and HIV-related stigma among incarcerated men and women. AIDS Education and Prevention , 28 (2), 103-116.
Worley, R. M., & Mann, J. P. (2017). Serving Time Together: Men and Women in Prison. Theory in Action , 10 (3), 79.
