The ACLU of Maryland works to secure gender equality and to ensure that all women and girls are able to lead lives of dignity, free from violence and discrimination. This means working towards a state where all women and girls have equal access to quality education, employment, housing, health, and reproductive freedom.
This is a time of reckoning. It’s a time for policymakers and workers and employers and unions and all other stakeholders to be looking hard at what makes harassment flourish. There are some legislative solutions that we are closely watching – some on Capitol Hill, some in the state legislatures. All of these measures in combination with public education, media, the messages we get through movies and TV and, of course, litigation when rights have been violated -- all of these are important pieces of overcoming the challenges that sexual harassment poses to women in the workplace.
This is Danielle's story of being shackled during her labor and delivery while a prisoner in Maryland.
WHAT'S WRONG WITH THE PRACTICE?
- Shackling pregnant women is dangerous and inhumane.
- Major national correctional and medical associations oppose shackling pregnant women because it is unnecessary and harmful to a woman and her pregnancy.
- The vast majority of female prisoners are non-violent offenders who pose a low security risk - particularly during labor and post-partum recovery.