An Insight to The Mission of RestoreHER, Policy Advocacy Organization

RestoreHER strived to Provide Incarcerated Georgian Women the Right to Basic Hygiene Product & Protection.

The Georgia Dignity Act (House Bill 345) was put into action in October 2019, protecting women in all prison facilities across Georgia due to the dedicated reform movement called the Dignity Campaign.

The bill impacts the lives of over 3000 women in Georgia jails and prisons, providing them the right to access to necessary feminine hygiene products and other necessities. The legislative framework further bans the practice of shackling pregnant women and women giving birth along with limiting the practice of needless strip searches or observation by male correctional officers during showers or OB-GYN visits and makes gender-sensitivity training mandatory for law enforcement officers in Georgia, among other provisions including prohibiting solitary confinement. However, achieving this was not such an issue.

Pamela Winn, globally renowned as “The Face of Dignity For Incarcerated Women”, founder of RestoreHER US.America, and also the Georgia dignity ambassador with #cut50, had to lose her baby to a miscarriage while incarcerated in federal prison to make this impossible happen. “I still tremble, and feel the chills running down my spine, remembering the time I was in solitary confinement trying not to lose my mind over the guilt and sadness I felt for the loss of my baby; I felt hopeless and helpless,” says Winn. However, this sense of remorse made her do something that now serves to save the lives of thousands of women in Georgia.

Pamela Winn was detained for a white-collar crime. Winn suffered through extreme misogyny when she was mistreated and lost her baby to a miscarriage, at the hand of careless treatment by the correctional officers and receiving no medical care. The brave soul was then determined not to let another woman suffer through such a trauma and laid the foundation of RestoreHER, an Atlanta-based non-profit policy advocacy platform.

“By grace, I was able to get home and work on my mission by establishing RestoreHER, that works to restore the lost dignity of the female behind bars,” says Winn. Winn further elucidates that the Dignity Campaign is an opportunity to provide other formerly incarcerated and incarcerated women with a national platform to use their experiences and build leadership. “I really appreciate #cut50 for becoming a partner, sharing their platform, and supporting the leadership of justice impacted women such as myself that are leading this work to break the constant chains that are being used to shackle the pregnant women in jails; honestly, I would never have been able to live my dream without this partnership and platform,” she says.

The Founder of RestoreHER shares that she is incredibly delighted to be able to achieve her utmost desire. “I am super gracious to witness my dream come true. The dream to not let any woman in Georgia endure the dehumanizing and torturous behavior that I experienced. Being the reason why incarcerated women gained back their basic hygiene right is a sense of accomplishment in itself and I could not be any more happier for this,” says Winn.

After bringing forth the incredible act that granted the rights to plenteous incarcerated women in Georgia, RestoreHER is now striving to focus on its mission to voice the issues of these unheard women, making it echo to the world. The organization is currently laser-focused on joining forces with local and state groups to stress the conceptive needs of incarcerated ladies and establish a relationship with policymakers and jail authorities to embrace and actualize better strategies. In a few states, RestoreHER has strived to restrict the shackling of imprisoned ladies who are pregnant.

The organization is now focused on initiating state legislation, Women’s CARE (Childbirth Alternatives, Resources, and Education) Act, to provide alternative solutions for pregnant women in Georgia, along with deferring the prison sentence of pregnant women until 12 weeks postpartum. This legislation is imperative to the welfare and harm reduction of the directly impacted pregnant women by empowering the mother to make decisions regarding her healthcare, maintain proper perinatal care, bond with their babies, and have adequate time to make safe care/custody arrangements for their babies. Equally important, the legislation will save the state funding by eliminating costs and liability from having to care for pregnant women in custody. It will also save state costs for the placement and care of new-born babies and children. More importantly, this legislation will create a safer, healthier environment for all. With all these missions and objectives, RestoreHER is emerging as one leading platform to raise the concerns of incarcerated women.