"Gender matters in the forces that propel women into criminal behavior. For this reason, gender must be taken into account in crafting effective responses to their problems." - Charon Schwartz
Women, Poverty, and Criminal Justice
Women and girls are the most rapidly growing population in the criminal justice system.
Women are more likely to live in poverty and more likely to need the service of a public defense attorney if faced with a criminal charge.
24.8 percent of households headed by single women were poor, while 13.5 percent of households headed by single men and 5.5 percent of married couple households live in poverty.
Black and Hispanic female-headed households had poverty rates just under 40 percent.
Families Torn Apart
More than two-thirds of women in prison have children under the age of eighteen, and among them, 75 percent are the sole custodial parent, versus ten percent for men. When breadwinners are in prison, children are often thrown into the state's foster care system.
Public defense reform: An urgent issue for women
Women and girls cannot receive an adequate defense if their public defense attorney is not knowledgeable in the emerging research and case law related to women's issues like victimization, mental health, domestic violence, and self-defense theories.
Women and girls in the criminal justice system have disproportionately suffered from physical and sexual abuse, domestic violence, chemical dependency, and mental illness.
Mandatory domestic violence arrest policies sweep large numbers of women into the criminal justice system.
Women, Poverty, and Criminal Justice