Advancing Safety, Dignity, and Equitable Correctional Reform for Incarcerated Women

A significant percentage of incarcerated women are charged with nonviolent offenses—many connected to substance use, economic instability, or their own histories as victims of trauma or abuse. Data further indicate that a majority are mothers and often the primary caregivers of minor children.

However, the prevailing correctional environment does not adequately serve these populations. In many institutions, women are:

• Denied access to gender-specific physical and behavioral health care;
• Housed in facilities that lack legal and rehabilitative services oriented toward reentry and family reunification;
• Placed in conditions that pose heightened risks of harassment, trauma, and abuse, contrary to the Eighth Amendment protections against cruel and unusual punishment.

These systemic deficiencies fail not only the individuals incarcerated but also their children, communities, and the broader goals of our justice system.

We assert that pregnant women—particularly those who are first-time or nonviolent defendants—should not be subject to incarceration in general population prison settings absent a clear and compelling risk to public safety.
To ensure lawful, humane treatment, we support legislative action that would:

• Establish specialized residential or community-based facilities for pregnant defendants awaiting trial or sentencing, ensuring continuity of medical care and minimizing pretrial detention’s collateral consequences;
• Implement mother-infant units within correctional environments that allow postpartum mothers to remain with their newborns, subject to public safety assessments, while participating in structured parenting and rehabilitative programs;
• Prohibit the shackling or restraint of pregnant individuals during labor, delivery, or postnatal recovery, except in narrowly defined circumstances consistent with constitutional and international human rights standards.

Research shows that enabling mother-child bonding during the earliest stages of life significantly reduces recidivism, improves developmental outcomes, and promotes family stability—advancing long-term public interest.

To promote lawful, safe, and rehabilitative correctional environments for female inmates, we advocate for the following policy objectives:

• Enhanced statutory protections against sexual abuse and misconduct in custody, including mandatory reporting structures, third-party oversight mechanisms, and staff accountability measures consistent with the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA);
• Expansion of trauma-informed, gender-responsive, and faith-based rehabilitation programs, tailored to the psychosocial and relational needs of incarcerated women;
• Improved access to prenatal, postnatal, and mental health care in accordance with prevailing clinical and ethical standards;
• Alternative sentencing models and diversionary programs for nonviolent women offenders, particularly those with dependent children, grounded in restorative justice principles;
• Comprehensive reentry planning and services, including access to legal support, education, job training, and transitional housing—key to reducing recidivism and ensuring long-term reintegration.

A correctional system that fails to address the gender-specific realities of its population cannot fulfill its constitutional and rehabilitative mandate. Protecting the rights and safety of incarcerated women is not ancillary to justice—it is foundational to it.

When we uphold the rights of the most vulnerable, we reinforce public safety. When we reduce institutional harm, we reduce future criminal behavior. And when we pursue reform grounded in law, accountability, and compassion, we strengthen the legitimacy of our justice system.