Vera Women in Prison

The number of women in jail – most of them mothers – is growing faster than any other correctional population, according to a report released by the Vera Institute of Justice and MacArthur’s Safety and Justice Challenge. The report shows that the number of women in jail in the United States has grown 14-fold since 1970 and continues to rise, even as the number of men in jail has begun to decline. Among women in jails, 32 percent have a serious mental illness, and 86 percent report having experienced sexual violence in their lifetimes. The report notes that several jurisdictions nationwide are leading efforts to develop gender-responsive policies to reduce the over-incarceration of women in jails.