United States
As of January 1, 2002, an estimated 1,040,000 women were in criminal justice custody (in prison, jail, on parole or probation) in the U.S.
Since 1980, the number of women entering prisons in the United States had risen nearly 500%, double the rate of men.
The majority of women inmates are incarcerated for non-violent crimes such as prostitution, fraud or drug offenses.
29% of women in state prisons nationally are mentally ill, a rate significantly higher than the male inmate population or the general population. Nearly 8 in 10 female mentally ill inmates report having experienced physical or sexual abuse.
Forty percent of women in prison held no job prior to incarceration. Of those who had jobs, two-thirds reported never receiving more than $6.50 an hour.
Two-thirds of women in prison in the U.S. are women of color.
New York State
3,133 women were incarcerated in New York state prisons as of January 1, 2002 - 4.6% of New York State's total prison population.
New York State has one of the largest female prison populations in the nation, exceeded only by Texas, California, and Florida.
80% of the women committed to New York State prisons in 2000 were convicted of non-violent drug or property offenses.
As of January 1, 2001, 53% of women confined in NYS prisons were African-American, 27% were Latina, and 19% were white.
91% of women under custody for a drug offense in January 2001 were women of color: 54% were African-American and 37% were Latina.
In 2000, 76% of New York State women prisoners reported that they are mothers of over 6000 children. 70% of incarcerated mothers lived with and cared for their children prior to their imprisonment.
Women Prisoners and HIV/AIDS
More than one in five women inmates in New York State prison - 21.5% - is known to be HIV-positive, compared to 9.1% of male inmates.
AIDS is the second leading cause of death among prison inmates in the United States and in New York, after all other natural causes combined.
The AIDS death rate among prisoners is five times higher than in the US general population.
New York State has the highest number of prisoners infected with HIV than any other prison system in the country, including the largest number of HIV-positive female inmates.
HIV seropositivity rates are two to three times higher among women than men in almost all correctional systems in the United States.
HIV and AIDS disproportionately affect women of color.
NYS prisoners surveyed said that they could obtain heroine, cocaine, and marijuana in prison. However, because syringes were difficult to find, prisoners almost always shared needles.
Between January 1996 and January 2000 only 12 women were released from New York State prisons as part of the medical-parole program-which permits parole of seriously ill inmates before they have served their minimum sentence.
Between 1993 and 1998, 451 inmates in New York State died waiting for a medical-parole decision.
Domestic Violence Survivors in Prison
A study by the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services found that 93% of women convicted of killing sexual intimates- current or former husbands, boyfriends or girlfriends, -- had been physically or sexually abused by an intimate.
Battering is the number one cause of injury to women in the United States. Attacks made by husbands on wives result in more injuries requiring medical treatment than rapes, muggings and auto accidents combined.
Women of all cultures, races, occupations, income levels and ages are battered.
In 70% of domestic violence cases, a male batterer abuses not only his wife but his children as well.
In a 1999 study at Bedford Hills Correctional Facility, over 80% of women prisoners reported histories of physical or sexual abuse, and more than 90% had experienced physical violence or assault during their lifetime..
Domestic violence survivors who are convicted of murder have a virtually non-existent rate of recidivism.
Domestic violence survivors incarcerated in New York for assaulting or murdering their abuser are denied eligibility in the Temporary Release Program(work release), regardless of the circumstances surrounding their crime or of their performance record while in prison.
Domestic violence survivors incarcerated in New York for assaulting or murdering their abuser are denied eligibility in the medical-parole program, regardless of the circumstances surrounding their crime or their debilitated medical condition.
Women Prisoners and Substance Abuse
Sentences for drug offenders in New York state are among the most punitive in the country. The harshest provisions of the Rockefeller Drug Laws require that a judge impose a prison term of no less than 15 years to life for anyone convicted of selling 2 ounces or possessing 4 ounces of a narcotic substance. The penalties apply without regard for the circumstances of the offense or the individual's character or background.
When New York State enacted the Rockefeller Drug Laws in 1973, there were 400 women in state prisons; and as of January 1, 2002, more than 3,100 women were incarcerated in NYS prisons.
Of the 3,133 women in New York State prison on January 1, 2002, 1423 or over 45% were there for drug offenses. 80% of women who entered NYS prisons in 2000 were convicted of non-violent drug or property offenses.
In December 2000, 82% of women prisoners in New York State reported having a substance abuse problem prior to their arrest.
Almost the entire increase (91%) in women sentenced to prison from 1986 to 1995 was a result of drug offenses.
91% of women under custody for a drug offense in January 2001 were women of color: 54% were African-American and 36% percent were Latina.
The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University reports that women in treatment report "alarming" histories of abuse, most commonly related to repetitive childhood physical or sexual assault. 70% of women in treatment were abused as children compared with 12% of men.
A 1997 study by the RAND Corporation's Drug Policy Research Center found that drug treatment reduces 15 times more drug-related crime than mandatory minimum sentences.
It costs about $32,000 to keep an inmate in NYS prison for a year, and about $64,000 annually to confine a woman in a NYC jail on Rikers Island. In comparison, the cost of most drug free outpatient care runs $2,700-$4,500 per person per year; and the cost of residential drug treatment is $17,000-$21,000 per year.
©Women's Prison Association & Home, Inc., 2000