text: Orange Is the New Black: a former female prisoner compares her experiences
  Orange is the New Black is about to return for a fifth season. Adapted from Piper Kerman's book about her […]
  June 1, 2017 11:00 am(Updated September 24, 2020 2:46 pm)
  Orange is the New Black is about to return for a fifth season.
  Adapted from Piper Kerman's book about her experiences in a female prison, season five's storyline will centre around prisoners' rights.
  Though the show is based in America, many of the issues – such as rehabilitation, healthcare and family separation – are universal.
  We spoke to a former female inmate from the UK about the problems women prisoners face, and how these are portrayed in the show.
  Series four ended with a riot (Photo: Jojo Whilden/Netflix)
  'We're treated like prisoners, not people'
  Michaela, a former prisoner and blogger, is a fan of Orange Is The New Black, and regularly writes about her experiences with the prison system – both during incarceration, and after release.
  "The conditions in prison are poor," she says. "I know we are prisoners, but we are still human beings."
  One issue Michaela strongly connects with is rehabilitation.
  In the Netflix drama, when Aleida (Elizabeth Rodriguez) is released from prison she has no accommodation, no job, and money to fall back on.
  Her kids have been taken away, and she has to provide a stable environment in order to get them back. It's an impossible situation.
  Similarly, when Alex (Laura Prepon) is released, she spends her time hiding from the man she testified against. She ends up back inside.
  Women in UK prisons: the facts
  • Women represent around 5% of the overall prison population in the UK
  • Women are held in 12 prisons in England. There is one women's prison in Scotland, where some women are held in units within men's prisons. In Northern Ireland women are held in a unit within a male Young Offenders Institution. There are no women's prisons in Wales.
  • The number of women in prison in England and Wales stood at 3,935 on 13 July 2015.
  • Only 9% of children whose mothers are in prison are cared for by their fathers.
  Source: womeninprison.org
  Michaela, now aged 26, was a single mother at the time of her conviction, aged 19. She was sentenced to four years, and served two years in prison, with two on parole. Her experience taught her a lot, and one incident in particular prompted her to write about it.
  "[The blog] started when I applied for a job via a recruitment agency," she explains.
  "It was an office based role and I was offered the job. But because the recruitment agency were late to disclose the conviction, the job offer was then retracted. It was based on a conviction that happened when I was 19.
  "I missed my daughter's first day at primary school, and that was hard"
  "That's when I realised the struggle that women and men face when trying to move away from a criminal lifestyle."
  Michaela believes she was in a "lucky position", and is concerned about how those who are not so fortunate would fare.
  For the last six months of her sentence, she left prison to work a day shift, then returned at night. It gave her a stable grounding upon her release.
  "I was lucky enough that the company I worked for had a position for me when I left," she says.
  "If I, in full time employment with good work background, can have these things taken off me with no explanation, then I don't know about other women.
  "[Mine was] a single offence – it was never a repeated pattern of behaviour."
  Gloria (Selenis Leyva) struggles with being separated from her children in the show (Photo: JoJo Whilden / Netflix)
  Mothers in prison – and the impact on children
  The issue of mothers in prison (Daya, Gloria and Maria in the show) also strikes a chord with Michaela.
  "The judge sentenced me without having a pre-sentence report," she says. "It's not very often that happens.
  "Most of the women I have spoken to in prison had a pre-sentence report. For offences that I would consider worse than mine, they were getting reduced sentences because they had children.
  "I missed my daughter's first day at primary school, and that was hard."
  One of the things Orange Is the New Black does best is bring issues like this to the fore.
  The show may be over-dramatised, but it has also become a talking point for reforms.
  Orange Is the New Black season 5 starts on 5 June on Netflix. You can read more about Michaela's experience on her blog.