Women

"ƒ The U.S. imprisonment rate at yearend 2022 was 355 sentenced prisoners per 100,000 U.S. residents of all ages, a 1% increase from yearend 2021 (350 per 100,000) but a 26% decrease from yearend 2012 (480 per 100,000) (table 5).

"ƒ On December 31, 2022, an estimated 666 per 100,000 male U.S. residents were serving sentences of more than 1 year in state or federal prison.

"ƒ Black U.S. residents were imprisoned at a rate of 911 per 100,000 at yearend 2022, a 1% increase from 2021 (901 per 100,000).

"ƒ Imprisonment rates for white (188 per 100,000) and American Indian or Alaska Native (801 per 100,000) U.S. residents increased from 2021 to 2022, but rates for Hispanic (426 per 100,000) and Asian, Native Hawaiian, or Other Pacific Islander (71 per 100,000) residents declined during this period.

"ƒ The rate at which adult U.S. residents were in prison on a sentence of more than 1 year increased almost 4% from 2021 to 2022 for American Indian or Alaska Native persons, 3% for white persons, and 1% for black persons, while it declined 2% each for Hispanic and for Asian and Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander persons (table 6, figure 3).

"ƒ Over the past decade, the adult imprisonment rates for both black persons and Hispanic persons have declined 36%, compared to 33% for Asian, Native Hawaiian, or Other Pacific Islander persons; 23% for white persons; and 18% for American Indian or Alaska Native persons.

"ƒ The imprisonment rate for adult U.S. residents was 453 per 100,000 in 2022, up 1% from 2021 (448 per 100,000) but down 28% from 2012 (627 per 100,000).

"ƒ At yearend 2022, about 857 per 100,000 male and 62 per 100,000 female adult U.S. residents were serving a sentence in state or federal prison.

"ƒ The 2022 imprisonment rate for black persons (1,196 per 100,000 adult U.S. residents) was more than 13 times the rate for Asian, Native Hawaiian, or Other Pacific Islander persons (88 per 100,000); 5 times the rate for white persons (229 per 100,000); almost 2 times the rate for Hispanic persons (603 per 100,000); and 1.1 times the rate for American Indian or Alaska Native persons (1,042 per 100,000)."

"By and large, women with substance use disorders must find a way to support themselves and their children, often with little experience or education and few job skills. They frequently have to overcome feelings of guilt and shame for how they treated their children while abusing substances. When a woman becomes pregnant, her motivation to seek treatment may rise greatly. However, pregnancy itself can be a barrier to treatment because substance abuse treatment programs are not always able to admit pregnant women or to provide the services required, such as medically indicated bed rest, transportation to prenatal care, and nutritious meals (Jessup et al. 2003). Some women fear the negative consequences that will result if their substance abuse becomes known. In many States, pregnant and parenting women can be reported to child protective services, lose custody of their children, or be prosecuted for using drugs. On top of additional healthcare needs, substance use during pregnancy confers stigma and shame, which may create another challenge in treatment.

"A high proportion of women with substance use disorders have histories of trauma, often perpetrated by persons they both knew and trusted. A woman might have experienced sexual or physical abuse or witnessed violence as a child. She may be experiencing domestic violence such as battering by a partner or rape as an adult (Finkelstein 1994; Young and Gardner 1997). These traumas contribute to the treatment needs for women.

"The societal stigma toward women who abuse substances tends to be greater than that toward men, and this stigma can prevent women from seeking or admitting they need help. Women who use alcohol and illicit drugs often have great feelings of shame and guilt, have low levels of self-esteem and self-efficacy, and often are devalued or disliked by other women. These feelings make it difficult for women to seek help or feel that they deserve to be helped— creating yet more treatment needs that must be addressed. Gender role expectations in many cultures result in further stigmatization of substance use; additional challenges face women who are of color, disabled, lesbians, older, and poor."

"• This report shows that more than 740,000 women and girls are held in penal institutions throughout the world, either as pre-trial detainees/remand prisoners or having been convicted and sentenced. Figures for five countries are not available and those for China are incomplete. The actual total is therefore higher still.

"• More than 200,000 female prisoners are in the United States of America (about 211,375). The countries with the next highest totals are China (145,000 plus an unknown number of women and girls in pre-trial detention and ‘administrative detention’), Brazil (42,694), Russia (39,120), Thailand (32,952), India (22,918), Philippines (16,439), Vietnam (15,152), Indonesia (13,709), Mexico (12,782), Turkey (12,242) and Myanmar (9,807)."

"• The countries with the highest female prison population rate – that is, the number of female prisoners per 100,000 of the national population – are the USA (64), Thailand (47), El Salvador (42), Turkmenistan (38), Brunei Darussalam (36), MacauChina (32), Belarus (30), Uruguay (29), Rwanda (28) and Russia (27).*

"• There are also considerable variations between continents in the female prison population rate. Africa has the lowest rate, at 3 per 100,000 of the national population. In Asia, the rate is 7 (9 excluding China and India); in Europe, 10 (7 excluding Russia); in Oceania 10; and in the Americas, 30 (14 excluding the USA.)."

"Women often suffer serious long-term consequences of incarceration that affect several aspects of their lives. In most instances, on the basis of gender neutral policies and practices, women are subject to the same correctional procedures as are men, despite the fact that correctional services and procedures are designed for men.¹³⁵ Both drug use and incarceration carry stigma for both men and women, but the degree of stigma is much greater for women and may be additive, because of gender-based stereotypes that hold women to different standards.¹³⁶ For example, women using drugs or being involved in criminal activity are seen as contravening the traditional role of mothers and care givers.¹³⁷ Therefore a formerly incarcerated woman may be treated poorly by others, denied access to housing or employment because of her criminal history, or internalize feelings of worthlessness because of the lowered expectations of those around her.

"Women in prison may also have a long history of abuse and mental health issues. For example, women charged with drug-related offences often suffer from substance use disorders, psychiatric disorders and a history of physical and sexual abuse.¹³⁸ Also, research shows that many women arrested for drug-related offences, in particular drug trafficking, have been victims of trafficking in persons or sex trafficking and forced to carry drugs.^{139, 140} However, while in prison, few women are provided with the healthcare services necessary to address their drug use disorders, other co-morbidities or reproductive health issues. In addition, women prisoners may suffer particular emotional and mental health consequences resulting from the disruption of family ties, as they are more likely to be incarcerated a greater distance from home than are men, which has a particularly harmful impact on mothers and their prospects of resettlement.^{141, 142, 143, 144}

"Moreover, incarcerated women do not generally receive sufficient support to prepare for their return to their families, intimate partners and the community. Not only do women have fewer opportunities to access education, work and training programmes in prison than do men, but also the skills they learn in prison are mainly recreational and are based on gender stereotypes and thus often fail to provide women with financial remuneration and do not necessarily provide them with skills that are suitable for the current job market upon their release.^{146, 147} Upon release, women face stigma in the community because of their drug use and incarceration, resulting in an even greater challenge for them to access the health-care and social services that they need, such as housing and employment services. They may therefore end up in a situation of social isolation and social exclusion, leaving them to continue living in circumstances of social and economic disadvantage and inequality. In particular, incarcerated women re-entering the community also need to navigate between both the relationships that put them at risk for either drug use or criminality and the relationships that they will rely on for support after their release. This is complicated by the fact that the only relationships that they may have could have been those contributing, in the first place, to their problems, including drug use, mental health issues or criminality.¹⁴⁸"

"An estimated 684,500 state and federal prisoners were parents of at least one minor child in 2016 (figure 1, table 1). About 626,800 (47%) males and 57,700 (58%) females in state or federal prison were parents with minor children. Prisoners reported having an estimated 1,473,700 minor children."

"A smaller percentage of female prisoners in 2015 were age 55 or older (7%) compared to males (almost 11%). The percentage of white female prisoners age 55 or older was higher for the other race groups of female prisoners. Twice as many white females (52,700 prisoners) than black females (21,700) were in state and federal prison at yearend 2015. However, the imprisonment rate for black females (103 per 100,000 black female residents) was almost double that for white females (52 per 100,000) (appendix table 4). Among any age group, black females were between 1.5 and 4.0 times more likely to be imprisoned than white females and between 1.1 and 2.0 times more likely than Hispanic females. As with males, females ages 30 to 34 had the highest rates of imprisonment of any age group (184 per 100,000 female residents)."

Table: Women in the US Sentenced and Serving Time in Either State or Federal Jurisdiction: 2000 and 2010-2015

^{Note: The Bureau of Justice Statistics defines Imprisonment Rate as "the number of prisoners under state or federal jurisdiction sentenced to more than 1 year per 100,000 U.S. residents."
a: Includes American Indians and Alaska Natives; Asians, Native Hawaiians, and Other Pacific Islanders; and persons of two or more races.
b: Excludes persons of Hispanic or Latino origin.}
*: Number of women identifying as "other" not provided separately until 2012, so for 2000 and 2010-2011, this figure was derived by subtracting the number of non-Latina Whites, non-Latina Blacks, and Latinas from the total. As a result, the imprisonment rate is not available.

"24 states and the District of Columbia consider substance use during pregnancy to be child abuse under civil child-welfare statutes, and 3 consider it grounds for civil commitment.

"23 states and the District of Columbia require health care professionals to report suspected prenatal drug use, and 7 states require them to test for prenatal drug exposure if they suspect drug use.

"19 states have either created or funded drug treatment programs specifically targeted to pregnant women, and 17 states and the District of Columbia provide pregnant women with priority access to state-funded drug treatment programs.

"10 states prohibit publicly funded drug treatment programs from discriminating against pregnant women."

"In 2015, 73.1 percent of all arrestees were males. Males accounted for 79.7 percent of persons arrested for violent crimes and for 61.7 percent of persons arrested for property crimes.
• Males comprised 88.5 percent of persons arrested for murder and nonnegligent manslaughter in 2015.
• Of the total number of persons arrested for drug abuse violations, 77.4 percent were males.
• Females accounted for 43.2 percent of all persons arrested for larceny-theft offenses in 2015.
• Of persons arrested for aggravated assault in 2015, 23.1 percent were females.
• Of persons arrested for driving under the influence, 24.9 percent were females.

"Qualitative work from Ip and colleagues examined a sample of female AAS users through web-surveys [32]. Their findings demonstrated that women experience AAS use differently to men and, therefore, may have their own unique needs. More recently, Havnes et al. [33] explored the experiences and harms of women who use AAS. Their study utilised a sample of women (n = 16) aged 18 and above who reported current or past AAS use. The authors linked AAS initiation to male partners, friends, and coaches and the participants entrusted this group with decisions about use and regarded them as reliable sources of information. The oral compounds that are reportedly often used by women, such as Oxandrolone (Anavar) and Stanozolol (Winstrol), have toxic effects on the liver, negatively affect cholesterol and lipoproteins, and increase cardiovascular risk [25]. Given the potential for health-related complications, there are some AAS users who will display help-seeking behaviours. For example, Zahnow et al. [34] have suggested that women AAS users are more likely than men AAS users to engage with a general practitioner. More recently, Havnes and colleagues have argued that few women seek information about AAS-related side effects, and that several health risks do not present symptoms, presenting a clear need to understand more about women’s AAS use [33, 35]. The potential for developing irreversible masculinizing effects from AAS is, at times, difficult for women to process and may negatively impact their well-being [33]. Specifically, the masculinizing effects that come from AAS may negatively influence self-esteem, social life, and sexual function [33], and these effects appear to be different from those male users are concerned with [36].

"Recently, there has been growing interest in the practices of women who use AAS [30, 31, 33, 37]. This development is, in part, due to the increasing recognition of the distinctive challenges and risks faced by women using substances [38, 39], particularly AAS [33, 37]. This study contributes to our understanding of gender-specific experiences of, and outcomes from AAS use. There is also a growing recognition of the need for a gender-sensitive approach to harm reduction, which considers the specific needs and experiences of women from various perspectives [40, 41]. The present study contributes to knowledge by extending our present understanding of women’s use of AAS. Firstly, the study sought to gather perspectives from both men and women on the unique challenges surrounding women’s use of AAS, irrespective of their personal use. Secondly, the study interrogated how women’s AAS practices differ from those of men specifically."

"Among men who use AAS, research has found that a group identity emerges as a result of the common interests, which centre on training, diet, and the co-occurring substance use [8, 10, 56]. Specifically, there is a level of peer-led education and harm reduction occurring within these peer networks—a ‘safe space’ dynamic [36]. These peer networks extend into online forums [57] and may be partly due to the lack of appropriate harm reduction responses and frameworks available for this group. For example, previous research demonstrates that women searching for advice and the experiences of other women regarding AAS use must navigate male contributions on internet forums [58]. For women who use AAS, our data indicate that a harm reduction dynamic does not exist presently. Females who choose to use these drugs are more secretive, and this likely has links to increased stigma as indicated by some participants. Despite the recognised health complications, these findings are indicative of barriers to meeting women’s needs for accurate information about health risks among women who use AAS, as is evidence by research with women who use and inject substances more broadly [38, 59]. More research is required to understand how these challenges are experienced and navigated by AAS-using women to inform gendered approaches to harm reduction. Future research should attempt to explore how to integrate peer-led approaches and harm reduction frameworks more effectively among women using AAS."

"• Rates of inmate-on-inmate sexual victimization among prison inmates were higher among females (6.9%) than males (1.7%), higher among whites (2.9%) or inmates of two or more races (4.0%) than among blacks (1.3%), higher among inmates with a college degree (2.7%) than among inmates who had not completed high school (1.9%), and lower among currently married inmates (1.4%) than among inmates who never married (2.1%) (table 7).

"• Similar patterns of inmate-on-inmate sexual victimization were reported by jail inmates. Female jail inmates (3.6%), whites (2.0%), and inmates with a college degree (3.0%) reported higher rates of victimization than males (1.4%), blacks (1.1%), and inmates who had not completed high school (1.4%).

"• Rates of inmate-on-inmate sexual victimization were unrelated to age among state and federal prisoners, except for slightly lower rates among inmates age 55 or older.

"• Rates were lower among jail inmates in the oldest age categories (ages 35 to 44, 45 to 54, and 55 or older) than among jail inmates ages 20 to 24."

"Violent offenders represented more than half (54%) of the sentenced male state prisoners. More than a third (36%) of female prisoners were violent offenders. Eighteen percent (223,700) of male state prisoners and 28% (26,000) of females were sentenced for property offenses. Twenty-five percent of female state prisoners (23,500 females) and 15% of male state prisoners (182,700 males) were sentenced for drug offenses.
A smaller percentage of whites were serving sentences of more than 1 year in state prison for violent offenses (47% or 210,400 prisoners) than blacks (58% or 263,800) or Hispanics (59% or 152,900). This pattern was consistent across racial and ethnic groups for murder or nonnegligent manslaughter, robbery, and assault. Whites had a higher percentage of sentenced prisoners serving time in state facilities for rape or sexual assault (16%) than blacks (8%) or Hispanics (13%). Whites also had a higher percentage offenders serving a sentence of more than 1 year in state prison for property crimes (25%) than blacks (16%) and Hispanics (14%) at yearend 2014. The proportion of prisoners sentenced to more than 1 year in state prison for drug offenses was roughly equal between whites, blacks, and Hispanics (15.0% or 67,800 white prisoners, 14.9% or 68,000 black prisoners, and 14.6% or 28,800 Hispanic prisoners)."

Table: Number of Sentenced Prisoners Under State Jurisdiction in the US Whose Most Serious Offense Was A Drug Charge, By Gender, 2006-2014.

State: "More than half (53% or 696,900 prisoners) of all state prisoners sentenced to more than 1 year on December 31, 2014 (the most recent year for which state prison offense data are available) were serving sentences for violent offenses on their current term of imprisonment (table 9) (appendix table 5). At yearend 2014, 13% of sentenced prisoners (171,700 prisoners) were serving time in state prison for murder or nonnegligent manslaughter. An additional 162,800 state prisoners (12%) had been sentenced for rape or sexual assault. On December 31, 2015, 249,900 state prisoners (19%) were sentenced to at least 1 year for property offenses. Sixteen percent of state prisoners were serving sentences for drug-related offenses (206,300 prisoners).
"Violent offenders represented more than half (54%) of the sentenced male state prisoners. More than a third (36%) of female prisoners were violent offenders. Eighteen percent (223,700) of male state prisoners and 28% (26,000) of females were sentenced for property offenses. Twenty-five percent of female state prisoners (23,500 females) and 15% of male state prisoners (182,700 males) were sentenced for drug offenses."
Federal: "Almost 50% (92,000 prisoners) of sentenced federal prisoners on September 30, 2015 (the most recent date for which federal offense data are available) were serving time for drug offenses (table 10) (appendix table 6). An additional 36% of federal offenders (67,500 prisoners) were imprisoned for public order offenses, including 30,200 (16% of all federal prisoners) for weapons offenses and 14,900 (8%) for adjudicated immigration crimes. While 53% of sentenced state prisoners were serving time for violent offenses, 7% of federal prisoners (13,700 prisoners) were serving sentences for violent crimes.
"Among female federal prisoners, 59% were serving sentences for drug offenses, compared to 49% of males. A larger proportion of white prisoners in federal prison (42%) were serving time for public order offenses on September 30, 2015 than blacks (32%) or Hispanics (37%). More than half of black (51%) and Hispanic (58%) federal prisoners in 2015 were convicted of drug offenses."

"In 2011, an estimated 56.8 percent of males aged 12 or older were current drinkers, which was higher than the rate for females (47.1 percent). However, among youths aged 12 to 17, the percentage of males who were current drinkers (13.3 percent) was similar to the rate for females (13.3 percent)."

"The desire to achieve a thin physique has stemmed from women’s ideal bodies traditionally being considered ‘thin’ [1]. More recently, the ideal body type for women is changing and social influences (e.g. media) have been promoting athletic female beauty ideals alongside defined and muscular body shapes for women [2, 3]. These current body image ideals for women ascribe more muscular appearances relative to historical ideals [4, 5] and recent studies have documented a shift in the cultural ideal of physical attractiveness, with women subscribing to a visibly toned ideal [6]. Robinson et al. [6] have provided evidence for this cultural shift through women’s exposure to idealised fitness images—termed ‘fitspiration’. Specifically, participants who viewed athletic ideal images (muscular and toned) reported greater body dissatisfaction than participants who viewed traditional thin ideal images [6]. It has been suggested that the process through which this muscular ideal and body sculpting process occurs is not by female’s resisting cultural norms, instead they are hyper-conforming to them through over-identification with a hyper-idealised form of what constitutes ‘acceptable femininity [7].

"To achieve this muscular body ideal men and women engage in a range of behaviours including performance and image engaging drug (PIED)/anabolic–androgenic steroid (AAS) use [8–13]. The use of PIEDs among women is not new however, as evidenced by women historically striving for a thin ideal utilising diet pills [14, 15]. Further, research has reported women also utilise other PIEDs, such as tanning agents, in an effort to modify or enhance their appearance [16]. Given the emerging body ideal of women who are seeking to achieve more muscular physiques, this group may be at risk of engaging in PIED or AAS strategies more similar to those of men. The propensity for women to engage in these strategies has been previously sequestered to women’s bodybuilding [17, 18] and, more recently, figure and bikini competitions [19]. However, overall, little attention has been given to the broader context of women regarding PIED and AAS use."

"• In 2013, as in prior years, the rate of current illicit drug use among persons aged 12 or older was higher for males (11.5 percent) than for females (7.3 percent). Males were more likely than females to be current users of several different illicit drugs, including marijuana (9.7 vs. 5.6 percent), cocaine (0.8 vs. 0.4 percent), and hallucinogens (0.7 vs. 0.3 percent).
"• In 2013, the rate of current illicit drug use was higher for males than females aged 12 to 17 (9.6 vs. 8.0 percent). This represents a change from 2012, when the rates of current illicit drug use were similar among males and females aged 12 to 17 (9.6 and 9.5 percent, respectively), and reflects a decrease in the rate of current illicit drug use among females from 2012 to 2013. Likewise, in 2013, the rate of current marijuana use was higher for males than females aged 12 to 17 (7.9 vs. 6.2 percent), which is a change from 2012 when the rates of current marijuana use for males and females were similar (7.5 and 7.0 percent).
"• The rate of current marijuana use among males aged 12 to 17 declined from 9.1 percent in 2002 to 6.9 percent in 2006, then increased between 2006 and 2011 (9.0 percent) (Figure 2.11). The rate decreased from 2011 to 2012 (7.5 percent) and remained stable in 2013 (7.9 percent). Among females aged 12 to 17, the rate of current marijuana use decreased from 7.2 percent in 2002 and 2003 to 6.2 percent in 2013."

"As was the case from 2002 through 2010, the rate of substance dependence or abuse for males aged 12 or older in 2011 was about twice as high as the rate for females. For males in 2011, the rate was 10.4 percent, which decreased from 11.7 percent in 2010 (Figure 7.6). For females, it was 5.7 percent in 2011, which did not differ from the rate of 6.0 percent in 2010. Among youths aged 12 to 17, the rate of substance dependence or abuse among males was not different from the rate among females in 2011 (6.9 percent for each)."

"Almost half (48%) of all mothers held in the nation’s prisons at midyear 2007 were white, 28% were black, and 17% were Hispanic. Of the estimated 147,400 children with a mother in prison, about 45% had a white mother. A smaller percentage of the children had a black (30%) or Hispanic (19%) mother."

"Many economic, psychosocial, behavioral, biological, and health services factors have been implicated in these adverse perinatal outcomes.^14,15 Among them are two that seem to be inextricably associated, namely low levels of PNC [Prenatal Care] utilization and exposure to IDU [Illicit Drug Use] in pregnancy.^16–21 The overlap between these factors is evident in the population we studied, with a prevalence of 4.2% IDU in mothers with adequate PNC, 26.2% in women with inadequate PNC, and 55.2% in mothers with no PNC."

"Since 1995 the total number of male prisoners has grown 34%; the number of female prisoners, 57%. At yearend 2005, 1 in every 1,538 women and 1 in every 108 men were incarcerated in a State or Federal prison."

"The nation’s prisons held approximately 744,200 fathers and 65,600 mothers at midyear 2007 (appendix table 1). Fathers in prison reported having 1,559,200 children; mothers reported 147,400."

"The reported use or threat of physical force to engage in sexual activity with staff was generally low among all prison and jail inmates (0.8%); however, at least 5% of the inmates in three state prisons and one high-rate jail facility reported they had been physically forced or threatened with force. (See appendix tables 3 and 7.) The Clements Unit (Texas) had the highest percentage of inmates reporting sexual victimization involving physical force or threat of force by staff (8.1%), followed by Denver Women’s Correctional Facility (Colorado) (7.3%), and Idaho Maximum Security Institution (6.0%). Wilson County Jail (Kansas) led all surveyed jails, with 5.6% of inmates reporting that staff used physical force or threat of force to have sex or sexual contact.
"While 0.8% of prison and jail inmates reported the use or threat of physical force, an estimated 1.4% of prison inmates and 1.2% of jail inmates reported being coerced by facility staff without any use or threat of force, including being pressured or made to feel they had to have sex or sexual contact. In 8 of the 24 facilities with high rates of staff sexual misconduct, at least 5% of the inmates reported such pressure by staff. Among state prisoners, the highest rates were reported by female inmates in the Denver Women’s Correctional Facility (Colorado) (8.8%) and by male inmates in the Clements Unit (Texas) (8.7%). Among jail inmates, the highest rates were reported by inmates in the Rose M. Singer Center (New York) (5.6%) and the Contra Costa County Martinez Detention Facility (California) (5.2%)."

According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, at midyear 2010, the incarceration rate for women was 126 per 100,000 population. The rate for non-Hispanic white females was 91, for non-Hispanic black females the rate was 260, and for Hispanic women the rate was 133.

"Recent research stresses the multiple determinants of poor birth outcomes, with important factors including maternal poverty, poor nutrition, homelessness, a history of domestic violence, and lack of prenatal care.³ Because it is difficult to untangle the complex causal relationships between maternal drug use and other contributors to poor birth outcomes,²⁴ it is both simplistic and short-sighted to focus solely on drugs as the source of fetal and childhood harm."

"Under international law, rape of an inmate by staff is considered to be torture. Other forms of sexual abuse violate the internationally recognized prohibition on cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. Rape and sexual assault violate US federal and state criminal laws. In addition, 36 states, the District of Columbia and the federal government have laws specifically prohibiting sexual relations between staff and inmates. A number of the laws prohibit staff-inmate sexual contact regardless of inmate consent, recognizing that such sexual relations cannot be truly consensual because of the power that staff have over inmates. Fourteen states do not have laws criminalizing sexual relations between staff and inmates.(7)"

"During 2005 the number of females under the jurisdiction of State or Federal prison authorities increased by 2.6% (table 5). The number of males in prison rose 1.9%. At yearend 2005, 107,518 females and 1,418,406 males were in prison. Since 1995 the annual rate of growth in female prisoners averaged 4.6%, which was higher than the 3.0% increase in male prisoners. By yearend 2005 females accounted for 7.0% of all prisoners, up from 6.1% in 1995 and 5.7% in 1990."

"Female state prison population growth has far outpaced male growth in the past quarter-century. The number of women serving sentences of more than a year grew by 757 percent between 1977 and 2004 – nearly twice the 388 percent increase in the male prison population."

"Federal and state laws prohibit rape and sexual assault and the policies of jail and prison authorities generally prohibit sexual conduct that is not part of the duties of staff. However, the duties of male guards include conduct that is not prohibited by law but which greatly distresses female inmates, in particular searches for contraband which require guards to touch their bodies, and guards' surveillance of them when they are undressed.
"Under anti-discrimination employment laws in the USA, prisons and jails cannot refuse to employ men to supervise female inmates (or women to supervise male inmates) and in many states there are few restrictions on their duties. A 1997 survey of prisons in 40 states found that on average 41 percent of the correctional officers working with female inmates are men.(9)
"The employment of men to guard women is inconsistent with international standards set out in the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners. Rules 53(2) and 53(3) state that female prisoners should be attended and supervised only by female officers and that male staff, such as doctors and teachers who provide professional services in female facilities, should always be accompanied by female officers. The United Nations Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women has called on all countries to "fully implement the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners and ensure that protective measures are guaranteed in all situations of custody."(10) Amnesty International agrees: the nature and extent of sexual abuse of female inmates by male staff in jails and prisons in the USA, and the harm that sexual abuse causes, warrants strong and immediate action by authorities to provide the protection to which incarcerated women are entitled under international standards."

"Facilities were asked about the provision of treatment programs or groups specially designed for specific client types. Overall, 82 percent of facilities offered at least one special program or group to serve a specific client type."

^{1: Facilities treating incarcerated persons only were excluded from this report.
2: Persons who have experienced trauma, active duty military, and the military families categories appeared for the first time in the 2012 questionnaire.}

"To be equally represented in treatment, the ratio of males to females in treatment should be similar to the ratio of males to females in problem drug use. Using past-month prevalence as a proxy for problematic use,²⁴ gender-disaggregated data from EMCDDA on past-month prevalence and outpatient clients in treatment suggest that in most countries in Europe females could be underrepresented in treatment for the problematic use of cannabis, cocaine and amphetamines (see figure 5). There are few studies that analyse gender differences in the accessibility of treatment services; however, the ratio of males and females reported in treatment in Europe was 4:1 — higher than the ratio between male and female drug users.²⁵ In many developing countries, there are limited services for the treatment and care of female drug users and the stigma associated with being a female drug user can make accessibility to treatment even more difficult. In Afghanistan, for instance, 10 per cent of all estimated drug users have access to treatment services,²⁶ whereas only 4 per cent of female drug users and their partners have access to treatment services and interventions."

"Our results indicate that this population of sexually active female adolescents and young adults have similar rates of lifetime use of LSD (13%) as reported in other surveys,^1,30 and half of these young women report using LSD one or more times in the last year. Prior data suggests that the use of hallucinogens by African Americans is virtually nonexistent across all ages of adolescents and young adults.^2,9 In fact, we found that none of our African American young women reported using LSD. However, the proportion of African Americans who reported using marijuana was much greater than either caucasian or Mexican American women."

"More than 70 percent of women in prison have children. Even before a mother’s arrest and separation from the family unit, many children will have experienced emotional hardship associated with parental substance abuse and economic instability. While she is incarcerated they suffer additional trauma, anxiety, guilt, shame and fear.³⁰
"More than half of mothers in prison have no visits with their children for the duration of their time behind bars.³¹ Children are generally subject to instability and uncertainly while their mothers are imprisoned."

"Approximately 7 in 10 women under correctional sanction have minor children & children under the age of 18. An estimated 72% of women on probation, 70% of women held in local jails, 65% of women in State prisons, and 59% of women in Federal prisons have young children.
"Women under correctional care, custody, or supervision with minor children reported an average of 2.11 children of this age. Those on probation reported the fewest, 2.07 young children per woman with children while those in State prison reported an average of 2.38 children under age 18.
"These estimates translate into more than 1.3 million minor children who are the offspring of women under correctional sanction; more than a quarter million of these children have mothers who are serving time in prison or jail. About two-thirds of women in State prisons and half of women in Federal prisons who had young children had lived with those children prior to entering prison."

"Forty-four percent of women under correctional authority [including 57% of the women in State prisons], reported that they were physically or sexually assaulted at some time during their lives. Sixty-nine percent of women reporting an assault said that it had occurred before age 18."

Between 1990 and 1996, the number of women convicted of drug felonies increased by 37% (from 43,000 in 1990 to 59,536 in 1996). The number of convictions for simple possession increased 41% over that period, from 18,438 in 1990 to 26,022 in 1996.

"Research and clinical experience teach that when, as here, the personal risks of seeking medical care are raised to intolerably high levels, it is more likely that prenatal care and patient candor - and not drug use - will be what is deterred, often with tragic health consequences."

"Other efforts to explain the sharp increase in women’s imprisonment have focused on the 'war on drugs,' with its emphasis on street-level sweeps of those engaged in the drug trade and harsh mandatory sentencing. The crackdown on drug crime was sold to the American public as the answer to an escalating epidemic of male violence. Yet despite their roles as relatively minor players in the drug trade, women – disproportionate numbers of them African American and Latina – have been 'caught in the net' of increasingly punitive policing, prosecutorial, and sentencing policies.¹⁹ Once in the system, women often have little choice but to accept plea bargains and then face mandatory minimum sentencing laws that restrict judges from mitigating the impact of their sentencing decisions in consideration of their family situations or their obvious need for substance abuse treatment."

"The results of this study are important for the child protection field. They show that, rather than severity of substance use being associated with mothers’ involvement with the child protection system, other factors are of greater importance. Of particular interest was the finding that having greater social support, particularly from parents, significantly reduced the likelihood of being involved with the child protection system."