Since 1980 the number of inmates in the United States has doubled, and the number of female inmates has tripled. Most of these women were arrested for nonviolent, drug-related offenses. Most of those arrested, convicted, jailed, and imprisoned are poor and members of minority groups. A recent Department of Justice survey revealed that women in U.S. jails are usually in their late 20s, close to half of them have never married, and about half have completed high school. Most are unemployed, use illegal drugs, are African-American or Spanish speaking, have children under 18 years of age, and had previously been convicted at least once.
Women are almost twice as likely as men to be imprisoned for drug-related offenses.
Many women are pregnant during their incarceration. There are about 130,000 women in prisons and jails in the United States. Of these, only about 100 have access to intensive in-custody prison and jail nursery programs. In the absence of these programs, mothers and their newborns are separated within hours or days of delivery. The infants typically are returned to the mother's county of commitment, making visitation difficult or impossible.