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Present Global Female Prison Inmates

In excess of 733,000 women and girls are confined in correctional facilities internationally, according to current analyses. This figure covers both remand prisoners and those who have been found guilty and punished. Analysts suggest the actual total is significantly higher due to unavailable statistics from numerous states.

Women consistently represent a limited percentage of correctional system demographics – typically between 2-9% on average. Currently, women and girls represent approximately 6.8% of the global prison population. However, their population is growing at a faster rate than male prisoners.

Over the past two decades, the number of women and girls in prison has increased by almost three-fifths – nearly thrice the growth observed in the male inmate numbers. The global female prison population rose by over 100,000 individuals during the ten-year period ending in 2020.

Main Causes Behind the Growth

Women's lawbreaking are frequently linked to poverty and usually serve as a method of sustenance to support their children and relatives.

Detailed analysis has established that laws often criminalize basic sustenance activities and that women are unfairly targeted because they are disproportionately represented among the poorest sectors of society. In many countries, laws prohibiting abortion, adultery, sexual misconduct and prostitution disproportionately target women. The chance of being given a prison sentence is often also related to poverty and the inability to pay fines for petty offenses or to obtain release.

States with the Largest Incarcerated Women Statistics

The United States has the greatest quantity of female prisoners with 174,607. China follows with 145,000, plus an undetermined count of women and girls in remand imprisonment and "bureaucratic confinement. Additional major sources include Brazil (50,441), Russia (39,153), Thailand (33,057), India (23,772), the Philippines (17,121), Turkey (16,581), Vietnam (15,152), Mexico (13,841) and Indonesia (13,044).

In the UK, there are 3,566 women in prison – representing 4% of the total prison population. Estimates suggest these numbers are anticipated to grow to 4,200 by 2027. Across Europe, 94,472 women are presently incarcerated, while Australia reports 3,473 women in prison, constituting approximately 8% of its total prison population.

Countries with Substantial Rises in Incarcerated Women Statistics

Despite considering normal population growth over the previous two-and-a-half decades, the increase in the number of female prisoners per 100,000 people still shows a substantial rise. El Salvador and Cambodia have experienced increases exceeding 600%, while these countries have seen increases over five times.

Female Capital Punishment Cases

Recent estimates indicate there are between 500 and 1,000 women on death row in at least 42 countries worldwide.

The states that carry out executions on the most women are similarly the nations that carry out the most capital punishments in general, specifically China, Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia. Based on current records, an undetermined count of women were given capital punishment in China, while two received death sentences in Egypt, 30 in Iran, one in Iraq, nine in Saudi Arabia and two in Yemen.

Unreliable information is available for states with most frequent capital punishment or for nations like North Korea, Vietnam and Qatar. Nonetheless, analysis is accessible regarding 15 other countries with the most women on death row.

The two primary crimes for which women are sentenced to death are murder and drug trafficking. Countries with required execution sentences for murder, or that do not recognize gender-based violence as mitigating circumstances, are inclined to display increased quantities of women on death row and more executions.

Furthermore, countries that severely criminalize drug trafficking, such as those in the Arabian Peninsula and Oriental southeast, have a high proportion of women on death row.

Fitness of Prison for Women

Numerous specialists and advocates contend that prison is unsuitable sanction for a large number of women who commit crimes. The majority are imprisoned for non-violent crimes; in England and Wales, for example, 72% of female prison admissions in 2020 belonged to this group. Women commonly face a "cyclical pattern of brief incarceration periods – inadequate duration to take part in meaningful education, training or work opportunities.

As many as 80% of women in prison worldwide have an identifiable mental illness. In Europe, self-destruction numbers for women in prison are nine times higher than for the wider community, as reported by the WHO.

In reaction to rising numbers of jailed women and a absence of guidelines reflecting their needs, the UN Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners (known as the Bangkok Rules) were adopted by the UN General Assembly in December 2010. These rules require nations to develop non-custodial sanctions and to ensure gender-sensitive treatment in prisons.

Offspring of Incarcerated Women

An estimated 19,000 children reside in correctional facilities with a parent, most often their mother, while a much larger quantity are separated from them. Approximately 1.45 million children worldwide have a mother in prison.

Besides the obvious separation and associated suffering that a prison sentence can cause, it is not uncommon for a woman to lose custody of her children after just a limited duration in prison.

Various states permit babies and young children to live in incarceration centers with their mothers up to a certain age. Nonetheless, a youth experienced in incarceration can negatively affect a minor both bodily and psychologically.