RISE, A Modern Guide for the Purpose Driven Woman Summer 2014 | Page 45

The Top 5 Facts About Women
in Our Criminal Justice System

1. The number of women incarcerated has grown by more than 800 percent over the last three decades and
women of color are locked up far more often.
There are now more than 200,000 women behind bars and more than 1 million on probation. Two-thirds are
incarcerated for nonviolent offenses, many of these drug-related crimes. Women of color are disproportionately affected: African American women are three times more likely than white women to be incarcerated,
while Hispanic women are 69 percent more likely than white women to be incarcerated.
2. Many women enter the criminal justice system with a disturbing history of emotional, physical, and sexual
abuse. A reported 85 to 90 percent of women who are either currently incarcerated or under the control of
the justice system in the United States have a history of domestic and sexual abuse. Risk factors contributing to women’s criminal behavior include substance abuse, mental illness, and spousal abuse. It is estimated
that up to 80 percent of women prisoners suffer from substance addiction. While it would be much more
cost effective to treat these women than imprison them or pay for foster placement for their children, they
are refused such rehabilitative measures—measures that could facilitate their integration back into society as
productive members.
3. Many girls also enter the juvenile justice system with a disturbing history of emotional, physical, and
sexual abuse. Girls are disproportionately arrested for running away, accounting for 59 percent of runaways,
though they are often fleeing violent home situations. Instead of receiving counseling and mental health
services, however, they are subject to humiliation and dehumanizing treatment in prisons. Girls are also more
likely than boys to be sexually victimized while serving time in a facility.
4. Pregnant prisoners are often shackled during labor and delivery, risking the health of the mother and child.
While court cases have ruled that shackling women prisoners to their beds during labor and delivery is inhumane and unconstitutional, the practice continues in many state facilities. Women in prison are also routinely
denied basic reproductive health services, such as pregnancy testing, prenatal care, screening and treatment
for sexually transmitted infections, and access to abortion services.
5. Women face further discrimination after release from prison. After being released from prison, many
women face barriers in effectively re-entering society and providing for themselves and their children. Women of color, who are disproportionately poor, find themselves restricted from governmental assistance programs, such as housing, employment, education, and subsistence benefits. Many states even impose statutory
bans on people with certain convictions working in certain industries such as nursing, child care, and home
health care—three fields in which many poor women and women of color happen to be disproportionately
concentrated.
Excert from

The Center for American Progress March 7, 2012