The women’s incarceration rate is growing at a faster pace than that of men. | Photo by Rajesh Rajput on Unsplash
What you probably already know: Women across the United States increasingly face time behind bars. Incarceration rates in general are dropping but are growing at twice the rate of men, according to the Prison Policy Initiative (PPI), which notes that the number of women and girls incarcerated in the U.S. now numbers more than 192,000, a staggering 37% of the number worldwide. About 58,000 women (or 60%) in prison are mothers. Overall, the number of women jailed annually tops 2 million, and the percentage of jailed mothers is more than 80%. PPI is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that works to “expose the broader harm of mass criminalization.”
Why it matters: “The experiences of women, as well as trans and nonbinary people, are too often lost because men comprise the vast majority of the incarcerated population,” the Prison Policy Initiative says, adding that the U.S. incarcerates 614 people for every 100,000 residents, “more than any country in the world.” Women are incarcerated at a rate of 112 per 100,000, higher than any country except El Salvador. “Globally, governments incarcerate women at an alarming rate,” PPI says, adding that the number of imprisoned women has grown by almost 60% since 2000.
What it means: South Dakota holds the dubious distinction as “the world’s leader in women’s incarceration,” with a rate of 338 per every 100,000 women (three-quarters of those are for what the state considers non-violent offenses, particularly crimes involving drugs. Montana ranks No. 2. Every state, in fact, jails women at a higher rate than most of the U.S.’s international allies. Families and kids are hit particularly hard, as many children wind up in foster care or bounce between relatives. Plus, nonviolent offenses are generally tied to poverty, addiction or survival, and many incarcerated women have suffered domestic violence. Incarcerated women also have higher rates of trauma, mental illness and chronic health conditions. Unsurprisingly, incarceration rates for women of color are significantly higher.
What happens next: PPI wants to spark a national conversation on what it calls the “over-incarceration of women,” adding that the disparities should also address LGBTQ+, economic status, race and ethnicity. Lesbian and bisexual women, for instance, are likely to receive longer sentences and are more likely to be placed into solitary confinement. “Prison is no answer for marginalized, traumatized women,” the report says. “By almost any measure, women in prison are worse off than men, both leading up to and during their incarceration.” PPI cites the need for even more data to increase public awareness that could lead to significant policy reforms.
