“I Came to Prison to Do My Time — Not to Get Raped”: Coping Within the Institutional Setting

Rarely is trauma discussed in relation to incarceration — either prison as a site of new trauma, the effect of incarceration on those with trauma histories, or the effect of trauma-related disorders on recidivism. This is particularly troublesome given the relationship between posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and substance use disorders (SUD; see Stewart, Ouimette, & Brown, 2003), and the high prevalence of SUD among women involved in the criminal justice system. Furthermore, substance use and abuse have clearly been key contributing factors to the significant increase in incarceration, particularly among women.