Women in Prison

In 1991, the Bureau of Justice Statistics published a special report in which the U.S. Department of Justice included an inclusive survey of female State prison inmates. This survey collected information regarding the female offenders’ current offenses, criminal histories, family backgrounds, children, drug and alcohol use, prior physical and sexual abuse, and health issues.

A majority of the female inmates in State prisons at the time were over the age of 30, high school graduates or holders of a GED, and considered an ethnic minority. In addition, many of the female offenders were unmarried, mothers of children under the age of 18, and had grown up in homes without both parents present. Nearly 50 percent of these women reported that they had been physically or sexually abused before entering prison. More than half of the female inmates also reported that an immediate family member had also served time. Overall, female inmates largely resembled male inmates in terms of race, ethnic background, and age. In spite of this, women are far more likely than men to be serving time for a drug offense and are less likely to be sentenced for a violent crime. In March of 1994, Lawrence A. Greenfield, Acting Director of the U.S. Department of Justice, stated that this report provided results of the most comprehensive survey of women confined in State prisons ever undertaken.



Rape is a major concern for many state prison systems. In her book, author Cyndi Banks discusses the issue of rape in prison. Of course, female are not the only victims, male prisoners also fall victim to rape and sexual assault in prison. In 2001, the Human Rights Watch conducted a study on male rape in U.S. prisons and found that it far more persistent and widespread than prison authorities are willing to acknowledge. However, studies have shown that women are more likely to be raped by employees of the prison, while men are more likely to be raped by other inmates. Unfortunately, if a woman is raped in prison, she may not see her case reach a criminal trial. The Human Rights Watch, in its investigation into five state prisons, pointed out that criminal prosecution rarely occurred. For women who have been raped in prison, it is virtually impossible to obtain justice from the criminal justice system.






Link to Bureau of Justice Statistics "Women in Prison" survey:

http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/pdf/wopris.pdf