HARD HIT: The Growth in the Imprisonment of Women, 1977-2004

Most recent research literature devoted to analysis of women in the criminal justice system presents four distinct themes to describe the etiology of women’s criminal behaviors and their personal and social problems.  First, most women in the criminal justice system come from neighborhoods that are entrenched in poverty and largely lacking in viable systems of social support.  Second, alarmingly large numbers of these women have experienced very serious physical and/or sexual abuse, often commencing when they were young children.  Third, as adults, most of these women are plagued with high levels of physical and mental health problems as well as substance abuse issues.  Often these problems are combined and compounded.  Fourth, the great majority of the women who have suffered from these deprivations, histories of trauma and abuse, and health deficits are mothers—and they are far more likely than men in the criminal justice system to be the sole support and caregivers for their children.

Hard Hit, The Growth in the Imprisonment of Women, 1977-2004

The Institute on Women and Criminal Justice of the Women’s Prison Association released the first volume of The Punitiveness Report, a national study by Dr. Natasha Frost, assistant professor at Northeastern University College of Criminal Justice.  Her report presented the first state-by-state compendium of data charting the dramatic increase in the incarceration of women over the past 27 years in the United States. The second volume looks more deeply at factors that increased the risk of imprisonment for women arrested for felony offenses and increased the amount of time spent behind bars.

Read the full report below and download the file at the link provided.