Women, economic crisis and fightback

Article here. Excerpt:

'There is a newly built women’s prison in Massachusetts where 40 percent of the women have mental health issues and 85 percent have substance abuse issues. In the wake of severe budget cuts, instead of providing social services like drug treatment programs, mental health programs, jobs, childcare, etc., the state is throwing women in jail.

The Women’s Fightback Network in Boston is demanding that the governor declare an economic state of emergency. WFN brings to the forefront how women have been disproportionately victimized by foreclosures, evictions, job loss and budget cuts. Anita Hill wrote an article last year stating that women were particular targets of subprime predatory lenders, especially elderly women and Black and Latina women. One loan officer talked about how she would add many additional costs to the mortgage loan if the client “appeared uneducated, inarticulate, was a minority or was particularly young or old.”