Part 2, Chapter 15: Women and Children—Summary

Women experienced the same atrocities within the camps as men did, although they additionally had to contend with sexual threats and harassment. Camp commanders did not want women because they were physically weaker, and perhaps because of this the number of women in the camps remained relatively low. However, low numbers meant that women were in low supply, and thus valuable to male prisoners in ways similar to the possession of bread, clothing, and other materials. For a woman sentenced to the camp, her survival depended on her status and position in the camp. Females attached to one of the male professional criminals became possessions to be bartered and traded. Some of the criminal bosses also had young males as their "wives" as well, but Russian society viewed this as taboo and said little...