Julia is a writer specializing in women's issues and the criminal justice system. She has an MSc in Criminal Justice and lives in NY. You can reach her here.

In this blog series, Imprisoned: Women Behind Bars, we explore the multitude of challenges confronting incarcerated women in the United States — including the socioeconomic factors driving arrest and detainment, the disparity in sentencing, the devastating effects of family separation, lack of healthcare, sexual abuse behind bars, recidivism, reintegration into civilian life, and more.

Mass Incarceration & ITS Impact on Women

Approximately four percent of the world's female population lives in the United States. Globally, more than 740,000 women are incarcerated. A staggering 33 percent of those women are locked up in US jails and prisons. The mass incarceration of women has become a human rights issue and is widely criticized by global organizations.

Prison is as American as baseball and apple pie. We have the highest incarceration rate in the world. Approximately one million women here are currently involved in the justice system - they are either incarcerated, on probation, or on parole. Many more continue to deal with the impact of incarceration after they have been released.

Over the last four decades, female imprisonment has increased dramatically. In 2020, there were five times as many women incarcerated than in 1980. This incredible increase can be linked to harsher and often draconian drug sentencing laws ushered in during the country's War on Drugs. Although created under President Nixon's leadership, it was during Ronald Reagan's presidency that the initiative took off. Reagan's expansion of the "war" resulted in a tremendous increase in convictions for non-violent drug offenses. Today, more than a quarter of women in state prison are serving time for drug offenses.

This introductory article for Imprisoned: Women Behind Bars provides a brief overview of some of the unique issues and challenges facing incarcerated women.

Trauma without Treatment

The overwhelming majority of female inmates have experienced abuse in their lives. They arrive carrying emotional baggage and signs of unresolved physical and psychological trauma. Intimate strip searches on sexual assault survivors rob them of their dignity. These invasive searches and the loss of privacy and bodily autonomy re-traumatize women who are already psychologically vulnerable. Little is done to address and treat these issues. Once detained, women are subject to further trauma, violence, and even sexual abuse by fellow inmates and staff.

Sexual abuse is rampant in correctional facilities across the country. At the federal level, the sexual abuse of female prisoners has been so pervasive that the Justice Department is considering granting the victims compassionate early release.

Female inmates are all too often assaulted by guards, wardens, and other male staff, including, in at least one facility, a pastor. Briane Moore was subjected to recurring sexual assault by a prison official during her incarceration in a West Virginia facility.

In a shocking case of abuse, cruelty, and corruption, 28 female inmates in Indiana were raped, beaten, and intimidated for hours by two male inmates who had purchased a key to the women's section of the jail from a male guard. Although they had access to live camera feeds, the officers on duty at Indiana jail did nothing to stop the attacks or put an end to what the women described as "a night of terror."

Gender self-identification policies also put women at increased risk of sexual assault, as well as unwanted pregnancy, and emotional distress. In several states, male inmates who "self-identify" as women are housed alongside female inmates in women's facilities. Most of these males have intact male genitalia and a high percentage have been convicted of sexual offenses and/or violent crimes against other people. One female inmate described the situation as "the most malicious way to tell an abused woman what we went through wasn't important. That despite our trauma, we will be forced to live, shower, and coexist with our pain by bringing men into our only way of living safe to be able to rehabilitate."

To learn more about WoLF’s litigation efforts to protect incarcerated women, read about WoLF’s Chandler v. CDCR lawsuit, hear from one of WoLF’s plaintiffs, and learn how male inmates are traumatizing female prisoners.

It's a Man's World… Even Behind Bars

The prison system was designed to house and manage men — from the architecture to social programs and living arrangements. It wasn't until the 19th century that dedicated facilities for women were created. Historically, the needs of female inmates have been overlooked. Resources are earmarked for programs, services, and facilities that serve male — rather than female – inmates. Health systems cater to male issues and ailments; the health and wellness of female inmates is an afterthought. Despite the fact that female inmates are much more likely to experience serious distress and have high rates of chronic health issues, there are far fewer treatment options available to them. They often struggle to receive basic care, and basic necessities like menstrual hygiene products are in short supply. Once released, women have access to far fewer resources and support systems than their male counterparts. They are met with huge challenges to find and retain work and housing.

Prison and MOTHERhood

The criminal justice system is particularly difficult for women with children. Many female inmates are mothers — the majority are single mothers and sole caretakers for their children. Nearly half of all incarcerated women are in jail, a short-term holding facility, as opposed to prison.

Awaiting trial, most often for petty, non-violent offenses, mothers are needlessly separated from their children because they cannot afford to post bail. The effects on their children are traumatizing and often long-lasting. In addition to the emotional pain of being separated from their offspring, inmates must scramble to find someone willing to act as a surrogate parent in their absence. This often leads to children being placed in living conditions that are less than ideal. Away from their offspring, mothers have no way of ensuring their safety and well-being, a situation that causes inmates significant distress. 

At any given time, close to 60,000 women are pregnant when they are incarcerated. Many states fail to meet even the basic healthcare needs of these women, providing inadequate and sporadic prenatal and pregnancy care. Shackling, the practice of restraining pregnant inmates, once routine, has been denounced by the medical community. Shackling not only causes intense distress for the mother but poses a significant risk to both the mother and the fetus. Most — but not all — states have restricted this inhumane practice. In a dozen states, pregnant inmates are still restrained during transport and during labor and delivery. 

Gender self-identification laws put women at risk of pregnancy. In 2022, a New Jersey prison reported that two female prisoners had been impregnated by a man housed in the women’s facility. WoLF has repeatedly testified against laws allowing men to share such close quarters with female prisoners; learn about our testimony against bills in Washington and Maryland.

Behind Bars but not Forgotten

WoLF is committed to protecting the rights of all women – this includes women locked up in prisons and jails. Incarcerated women are often ignored, neglected, and forgotten by many people – but each one of these women has hopes, dreams, fears, and desires. Their voices deserve to be heard, and they deserve to be kept safe. The issues facing incarcerated women need to be brought to the forefront of the public’s attention. We hope you will join us as we continue to report on the many important but underreported issues facing women in carceral institutions.

Bibliography / Works Cited

Banks, C. (2003). Women in prison: A reference handbook. ABC-CLIO. 

Bertam, W. (2022, March 22). We Can Do Much for Women in Jails. SJC Exchange. Retrieved from https://sjcexchange.org/blogs/wanda-bertram/2022/03/22/we-can-do-much-for-women-in-jails  

Cowan, B. A. (n.d.). Incarcerated women: Poverty, trauma and unmet need. American Psychological Association. Retrieved from https://www.apa.org/pi/ses/resources/indicator/2019/04/incarcerated-women  

Bloom, B., & Covington S. (2008). Addressing the mental health needs of women offenders. In R. Gido and L. Dalley (Eds.). Women’s mental health issues across the criminal justice system. Columbus, OH: Prentice Hall. 

Fleck, A., & Richter, F. (2022, April 12). Infographic: The Rise of Incarcerated Women in the U.S. Statista Infographics. Retrieved from https://www.statista.com/chart/27237/rise-of-incarcerated-women-in-the-us/  

Hauser, C., & Albeck-ripka, L. (2022, July 28). Inmates allege they were raped and assaulted after guard was bribed. The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/28/us/indiana-jail-rape-lawsuit.html  

Institute for Crime & Justice Policy Research. World female prison population up by 60% since 2000. https://idpc.net/news/2022/10/world-female-prison-population-up-by-60-since-2000

Interactive. (2022, November 23). Incarcerated women and girls. The Sentencing Project. Retrieved from https://www.sentencingproject.org/publications/incarcerated-women-and-girls/

Kajstura, A. (n.d.). Women's mass incarceration: The whole pie 2018. Women's Mass Incarceration: The Whole Pie 2018 | Prison Policy Initiative. Retrieved from https://www.prisonpolicy.org/reports/pie2018women.html  

Galov, N. (n.d.). 17 petrifying prison statistics for 2022. WebTribunal. Retrieved from https://webtribunal.net/blog/prison-statistics/#gref  

Pishko, J. (n.d.). A history of women's prisons - JSTOR DAILY. Retrieved from https://daily.jstor.org/history-of-womens-prisons/  

Sawyer, W., & Wagner, P. (n.d.). Mass incarceration: The whole pie 2022. Prison Policy Initiative. Retrieved from https://www.prisonpolicy.org/reports/pie2022.html  

Team, F. P. (2022, May 11). Male vs female incarceration rates. Fair Punishment. Retrieved from https://fairpunishment.org/male-vs-female-incarceration-rates/  

Thrush, G. (2022, December 13). Justice Dept. considers early release for female inmates sexually abused behind bars. The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/13/us/politics/federal-prison-sexual-abuse.html

Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, U.S. Senate (2022, December 13). Staff Report: Sexual Abuse of Female Inmates in Federal Prisons.

Wolff, N., Blitz, C.L., Shi, J., Bachman, R., & Siegel, J.A. (2006).  Sexual Violence Inside Prisons: Rates of Victimization. Journal of Urban Health, 83(5), 835-848.

Women's incarceration rates are skyrocketing. these advocates are... Vera Institute of Justice. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.vera.org/news/womens-voices/womens-incarceration-rates-are-skyrocketing

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