Determinants of Racial Disparities in Female Incarceration Rates, 2000–2018

2021 ◽  
pp. 003464462110510
Author(s):  
Samuel L. Myers ◽  
William J. Sabol ◽  
Man Xu
Keyword(s):  
Black Women ◽  
Racial Disparities ◽  
African American Women ◽  
White Women ◽  
National Research Council ◽  
The United States ◽  
White Female ◽  
Opioid Use ◽  
Incarceration Rate ◽  
Women In Prison

In The Growth of Incarceration in the United States, the National Research Council documents the large and persistent racial disparities in imprisonment that accompanied the more than quadrupling of the U.S. incarceration rate since the 1980s. Largely unnoticed by policy makers and opinion leaders in recent years is an unprecedented decrease in the number of African American women incarcerated at the same time that the number of white women in prison has grown to new heights. The result of these recent changes is a near convergence in black-white female incarceration rates from 2000 to 2016. In some states, the changes occurred abruptly and almost instantaneously. In other states, the convergence has been gradual. We find that changes in the population composition—the fraction of the population that is black—was the major contributor to the decline in the disparity among women. We also find that race-specific differences in drug overdose deaths stemming from the recent increases in opioid use lowered the disparity by increasing the white female imprisonment rate and lowering it for black women.

Racial Disparities in Pregnancy-associated Intimate Partner Homicide

2021 ◽  
pp. 088626052199083
Author(s):  
Aaron J. Kivisto ◽  
Samantha Mills ◽  
Lisa S. Elwood
Keyword(s):  
Black Women ◽  
Ethnic Minority ◽  
Racial Disparities ◽  
White Women ◽  
The United States ◽  
Intimate Partner ◽  
Intimate Partner Homicide ◽  
Homicide Victimization ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Racial Ethnic

Pregnancy-associated femicide accounts for a mortality burden at least as high as any of the leading specific obstetric causes of maternal mortality, and intimate partners are the most common perpetrators of these homicides. This study examined pregnancy-associated and non-pregnancy-associated intimate partner homicide (IPH) victimization among racial/ethnic minority women relative to their non-minority counterparts using several sources of state-level data from 2003 through 2017. Data regarding partner homicide victimization came from the National Violent Death Reporting System, natality data were obtained from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics, and relevant sociodemographic information was obtained from the U.S. Census Bureau. Findings indicated that pregnancy and racial/ethnic minority status were each associated with increased risk for partner homicide victimization. Although rates of non-pregnancy-associated IPH victimization were similar between Black and White women, significant differences emerged when limited to pregnancy-associated IPH such that Black women evidenced pregnancy-associated IPH rates more than threefold higher than that observed among White and Hispanic women. Relatedly, the largest intraracial discrepancies between pregnant and non-pregnant women emerged among Black women, who experienced pregnancy-associated IPH victimization at a rate 8.1 times greater than their non-pregnant peers. These findings indicate that the racial disparities in IPH victimization in the United States observed in prior research might be driven primarily by the pronounced differences among the pregnant subset of these populations.

scholarly journals African American Women and Domestic Violence: Addressing their Voice of Silence

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bernice Kennedy ◽  
Chalice Rhodes (Former Jenkins)
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Domestic Violence ◽  
African American ◽  
Black Women ◽  
African American Women ◽  
White Women ◽  
The United States ◽  
Slave Owner ◽  
American Women ◽  
Strong Black Women

Abstract Historically, during slavery, the international slave trade promoted normalization of violence against African American women. During slavery, African American women endured inhuman conditions because of the majority race views of them as being over-sexualized, physically strong, and immoral. This perception of the African American women as being highly sexual and more sexual than white women results in slave owner justifying their sexual violation and degrading of the African American women. The stereotypical representations of African American women as strong, controlling, dangerous, fearless, and invulnerable may interfere with the African American women receiving the needed services for domestic violence in the community. The Strong Black Women Archetype has been dated back to slavery describing their coping mechanism in dealing with oppression by developing a strong, less traditionally female role. The authors developed a model: The Multidimensional Perspectives of Factors Contributing to Domestic Violence of African American Women in the United States. This model depicts historically, the factors contributing to domestic violence of African American women in the United States. Also, this model addressed the African American women subscribing to the Strong Black Women Archetype to cope with domestic violence. Despite the increase in domestic violence in African American women, they focused more on the issue of racism instead of sexism in America. African American women have experienced the two obstacles of racism and sexism in America. However, African American women and men believe racism is more critical than sexism. Therefore, domestic violence in the African American population may remain silent because of cultural loyalty. However, the voice of silence of African American females is gradually changing with the upcoming generations.

scholarly journals A study of the factors behind the maternal and infantile mortality of black American woman

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sydney Antender
Keyword(s):  
Black Women ◽  
Mortality Rate ◽  
African American Women ◽  
Racial Disparity ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
White Women ◽  
American Woman ◽  
The United States ◽  
Black American ◽  
Mothers And Children

This paper delves into the factors that contribute to the racial disparity of maternal and infantile mortality rate in the United States. According to a study done by the Center for Disease control, black women in the UnitedStates are overall two to three times more likely to die than white women. This paper asks the question “what is causing this disparity and what are the consequences and factors to this increased maternal mortality rate for African American women". This paper uncovers that from the beginning of the creation of allopathic healthcare in the late 1800’s black birthing has become more dangerous for mothers and children. Throughout case studies and interviews, black women feel less respected by health care professionals and are less likely to be listened to. There is also evidence that racial stress of living in an overwhelming racialized white country has decreased the health outlooks for both mother and newborns born in the U.S.

scholarly journals Racial Disparities in Risk of Second Primary Cancers in Patients With Endometrial Cancer: Analysis of SEER Data

2011 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 309-315 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashley Sinclair Felix ◽  
Faina Linkov ◽  
George Larry Maxwell ◽  
Camille Ragin ◽  
Emanuela Taioli
Keyword(s):  
Endometrial Cancer ◽  
Black Women ◽  
General Population ◽  
Racial Disparities ◽  
Racial Differences ◽  
White Women ◽  
Gynecologic Cancer ◽  
The United States ◽  
Second Primary ◽  
Incidence And Mortality

Introduction:Endometrial cancer (EC) is the most common gynecologic cancer in the United States. Racial disparities in the incidence and mortality of this cancer are apparent; black women are less likely to develop this malignancy and yet are more likely to die when diagnosed. Racial differences of second primary cancer (SPC) have not been examined, and the goal of this study was to examine these differences.Methods:With the use of the National Cancer Institute's Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database, SPC risk in white patients and black patients with EC was compared to the general population and to women with other primary cancers. Standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) of SPC (overall and by tumor site) with 95% confidence intervals were calculated. Poisson regression was used to estimate the race-specific risk of SPC in EC cases treated with radiotherapy versus nonirradiated cases.Results:The analysis included 11,047 patients with EC diagnosed between 1973 and 2007 that developed an SPC. Overall risk of SPC in white women with EC was significantly lower than that in the general population (SIR = 0.85; 95% CI, 0.84-0.87) but significantly higher in black women with EC (SIR = 1.19; 95% CI, 1.08-1.31). White women with EC treated with radiotherapy were more likely to develop SPC compared with nonirradiated cases (incidence rate ratio [IRR], 1.18; 95% CI, 1.14-1.23).Conclusions:This is the first analysis of race-specific SPC risk in EC cases, and it suggests differences between white women and black women with EC. Although exploratory, these data provide important clues about the etiology of SPC in patients with EC. This analysis also highlights the need for careful monitoring after diagnosis and treatment of EC.

scholarly journals Racial Variation in Stroke Risk Among Women by Stroke Risk Factors

Stroke ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 50 (4) ◽  
pp. 797-804 ◽  
Author(s):  
Monik C. Jiménez ◽  
JoAnn E. Manson ◽  
Nancy R. Cook ◽  
Ichiro Kawachi ◽  
Sylvia Wassertheil-Smoller ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Black Women ◽  
Racial Disparities ◽  
White Women ◽  
Stroke Risk ◽  
The United States ◽  
Incidence Rates ◽  
Rate Difference ◽  
Stroke Risk Factors ◽  
Causal Pathway

Background and Purpose— In the United States, black Americans exhibit a greater risk of stroke and burden of stroke risk factors than whites; however, it is unclear whether these stroke risk factors influence stroke risk differently across racial groups. Methods— In total, 126 018 participants of the Women’s Health Initiative (11 389 black and 114 629 white women), free of stroke and coronary heart disease at baseline (1994–1998), were followed through 2010. Participants completed baseline clinical exams with standardized measurements of blood pressure and anthropometrics, medication inventory and self-reported questionnaires on sociodemographics, behaviors/lifestyle, and medical history. Incident total, ischemic and hemorrhagic strokes were updated annually through questionnaires with medical record confirmation. Rate differences (per 100 000 person-years) and hazard ratios (HR) based on multivariable Cox models and were estimated. Results— Over a median of 13 years, 4344 stroke events were observed. Absolute incidence rates were higher in black than white women in each age group. In age-adjusted analyses, the risk of stroke was significantly higher among black compared with white women (HR=1.47, 95% CI, 1.33–1.63); adjustment for stroke risk factors, which may be on the causal pathway, attenuated the estimate. Racial disparities were greatest among women 50 to <60 years (HR=3.48; 95% CI, 2.31–5.26; rate difference =99) and diminished with increasing age (60 to <70 HR=1.80; 95% CI, 1.50–2.16; rate difference =107; ≥70 years: HR=1.26; 95% CI, 1.10–1.43; rate difference =87; P interaction <0.001). Black women 50 to <60 years remained at significantly higher risk than white women after adjustment for stroke risk factors (HR=1.76; 95% CI, 1.09–2.83). Conclusions— There was a moderately greater risk of total stroke among black compared with white women; however, racial disparities were greatest among women aged 50 to <60 years. Interventions targeted at younger black women may provide the greatest benefit in reducing disparities.

‘Our Women in Journalism’: African-American Women Journalists and the Circulation of News

2019 ◽  
pp. 528-541
Author(s):  
Caroline Bressey
Keyword(s):  
Black Women ◽  
African American Women ◽  
White Women ◽  
The United States ◽  
Comparative Approach ◽  
Women Journalists ◽  
Political Issues ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
History Of ◽  
British Press

Caroline Bressey’s essay explores how ‘racial prejudice excluded black women from new spaces of expression created by white women’ in the British press (p. 528). It was not until 1900, with the founding of the Pan-African, that there was a British periodical explicitly dedicated to publishing the contributions of black journalists. Thus, the history of black women’s journalism in Britain prior to the turn of the century is largely unknown. This lack of scholarship makes it necessary to take a ‘transatlantic comparative approach’ when surveying an emerging field of inquiry (p. 528). In the United States, there was more explicit discussion of black women’s contributions to the periodical press, as highlighted in I. Garland Penn’s 1891 book, The Afro-American Press and Its Editors. This volume not only highlighted the unequal, sometimes hostile environment in which black journalists worked but also provided a key for discovering the names and achievements of a wide range of women writers, including Victoria Earle and Ida B. Wells. These writers spoke out on key political issues, including racism and sexism, contributing to journals as diverse as Our Women and Children (1888–90) and the more radical Free Speech (1892).

Race, Health Disparities, Incarceration, and Structural Inequality

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laurie Shrage
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
Black Women ◽  
African American Women ◽  
White Women ◽  
Racial Bias ◽  
The United States ◽  
Political Issues ◽  
Aids Epidemic ◽  
Aids Crisis ◽  
Hiv Aids

The HIV/AIDS infection rate today among African American women is twenty times higher than for non-Hispanic white women. Some recent public health studies suggest that the disparities we see in HIV/AIDS between black women and other groups is linked to disproportionately high rates of incarceration for black men in the United States. The connection between the HIV/AIDS epidemic and mass incarceration needs to be examined. Moral and political issues arise insofar as police profiling and racial bias in sentencing are fueling the HIV/AIDS crisis in African American communities.

scholarly journals Womanism and Women in Alice Walker’s The Temple of My Familiar

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Dhavaleswarapu Ratna Hasanthi
Keyword(s):  
Black Women ◽  
African American Women ◽  
White Women ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Alice Walker ◽  
The United States ◽  
Paule Marshall ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Temple

African-American women have been inappropriately and unduly, stereotyped in various contrasting images as slaves post-slavery, wet nurses, super women, domestic helpers, mammies, matriarchs, jezebels, hoochies, welfare recipients, and hot bodies which discloses their repression in the United States of America. They have been showcased by both black men and white women in different ways quite contrary to their being in America. Toni Morrison, Alice Walker, Gloria Naylor, Gayl Jones, Paule Marshall, Sonia Sanchez, Toni Cade Bambara, to name a few writers, have put forth the condition of black women through their works. They have shown the personality of many a black women hidden behind the veils of racism, sexism, classism and systemic oppression of different sorts. Walker coined the term Womanism in her 1984 collection of essays titled In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens: Womanist Prose. Womanism advocates consensus for black women starting with gender and proceeding over to race, ethnicity and class, with a universal outlook. Womanism offers a positive self-definition of the black woman’s self within gendered, historical, geographical, ethnic, racial and cultural contexts too. Walker’s novel The Temple of My Familiar 1989 is a womanist treatise putting forth the importance of womanist consciousness and womanist spirit. The novel is a tribute to the strength, endurance and vitality of black womanhood. The novel revolves around three pairs of characters and their lives to showcase the lives of African Americans and coloured population in America. The three couples namely Suwelo and Fanny, Arveyda and Carlotta, Lissie and Hal showcased in the novel, belong to different age groups and different, mixed ethnicities. Through them, Walker depicts the lives of marginalized population in America, and the umpteen trials they face for being who they are. Furthermore, this paper showcases how Womanism as a theory can really enliven the life of the black community, especially black women when put into practice.

An Application of the Theory of Representative Bureaucracy, Gender Concordance, and Symbolic Representation in the Health Care Context

2021 ◽  
pp. 027507402110493
Author(s):  
Kenicia Wright
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Black Women ◽  
Health Outcomes ◽  
White Women ◽  
The United States ◽  
Symbolic Representation ◽  
Representative Bureaucracy ◽  
Female Physicians ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Gender Concordance

Although the United States spends more on health care than comparable nations, many Americans suffer from poor health. Many factors are emphasized as being important for improved health outcomes, including social and economic indicators, living and working conditions, and individual-level behavior. However, I argue the overwhelming attention to male health outcomes—compared to female health outcomes—and focus on factors that are “traditionally understood” as important in shaping health are two limitations of existing health-related research. I adopt an innovative approach that combines the theory of representative bureaucracy, gender concordance, and symbolic representation to argue that increase in female physicians contribute to improved female health outcomes. Using an originally collected dataset that contains information on female physicians, health outcomes, and state and individual-level factors, I study how female physicians influence the health outcomes of non-Hispanic White women, non-Hispanic Black women, and Latinas in the United States from 2000 to 2012. The findings suggest female physicians contribute to improved health outcomes for non-Hispanic White women and non-Hispanic Black women, but not Latinas. Supplemental Analysis bolsters confidence that the findings are not the result of increased access to health care professionals. This study highlights the importance of applying the theory of representative bureaucracy and symbolic representation to health care, the promise of greater female representation in health, and the insight gleaned from incorporating intersectionality in public administration research.

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