Protecting single-sex prisons

Resources, relevant news, and important litigation

INCARCERATED WOMEN ARE OVERWHELMINGLY VICTIMS OF MALE VIOLENCE

Women currently represent the fastest-growing prison population, rising 834% between 1978 and 2015 (more than double the rate for men).

Women’s involvement in the justice system is largely tied to their experiences of male violence. Juvenile girls are more likely to be arrested for less serious crimes than boys, often directly as a result of attempting to leave abusive home situations or relationships. Women are most likely to be convicted of drug or property crimes, and the rates of violent crime committed by women are significantly lower than for men.

Women are most often first introduced to drugs by their partner, and attempts to quit drugs can result in violence from their partner. When women commit violent crimes, it tends to be against an abusive male partner.

Female prisoners are also twice as likely to have experienced childhood abuse than their male counterparts, and eight times more likely to have experienced abuse as an adult. Some estimate that as many as 80 percent of justice-involved women have experienced abuse.

 

chandler v. cdcr

On November 17, 2021, WoLF filed a lawsuit against the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation for civil rights violations.

Read More…

 
 

lawsuit background

In 2020, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 132 into law. This legislation, enacted in January of 2021, allows incarcerated men to be housed in women’s correctional facilities based on self-declared “gender identity.”

This law has caused pervasive, foreseeable, and well-documented physical and psychological damage to incarcerated women. That’s why WoLF is fighting back.

 

incarcerated women speak: tomiekia’s story

Tomiekia Johnson explains to WoLF how her life has been affected by SB132, a law that allows men to be housed in women’s prisons based on their self-proclaimed “gender identity'“.

 

The Latest News on Women’s Prisons

 

Polls Reveal widespread Public Support for Keeping Women’s Prisons Single-Sex

Over three-fourths of American voters (77 percent) agree that male sex offenders or domestic abusers should not be housed in women’s prisons, regardless of how they identify.

(source: WoLF Oct 2020 National Polling)

LETTERS FROM CURRENTLY AND FORMERLY INCARCERATED WOMEN IN CALIFORNIA

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Key WoLF Resources on Women’s Prisons

Download our printable one-pager on women’s prisons.

This document provides a high-level overview of the hardships facing incarcerated women, and the terror they face at the hands of men. Print and share this resource with lawmakers or anyone you’d like to help educate on the issue.

 

Learn More

To learn more about the treatment of women in the justice system and how incarcerated women are harmed by “gender identity” policies, check out these resources and organizations:

 

WoLF has partnered with WomanIIWoman to advocate on behalf of incarcerated women in California.


Keep Prisons Single-Sex
An international campaign to keep all males out of women’s prisons.

A Woman’s Journey Home: Challenges for Female Offenders and Their Children (2001)
This 2001 analysis by the US Department of Health and Human Services offers a comprehensive overview of the challenges facing justice-involved women.