Women, Incarceration, and Violent Crime: A Briefing in Response to Plans for Building a New Women’s Prison in Massachusetts
The population of women incarcerated for crimes labeled as violent has emerged as a sticking point in efforts to balance concerns for public safety with the rights and well-being of women and communities most impacted by pro-incarceration policies of the late 20th and 21st centuries. To explore whether these concerns are grounded in the facts, we prepared a briefing that presents an overview of the scholarly literature on women, violence, and crime as well as stories of real women who have been incarcerated for crimes classified as violent in Massachusetts.
Five Key Points
● Classification of acts into “violent” and “non-violent” is inconsistent in American law and practice, and has problematic racial and gender implications.
● Women have very low rates of arrests and convictions for violent crimes.
● Women are more likely to be victims than perpetrators of violent crimes.
● Women who commit violent crimes usually do so in the context of household or intimate partner abuse.
● Women released from prison after serving time for violent crimes are unlikely to commit a subsequent violent crime.