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United States

• As of June 2006, 203,100 women were in state of federal prisons or local jails, just under 10% of the total U.S. prison and jail population (more than 2 million).

• Nearly 112,500 women were in state or federal prisons alone, 7.2% of the total U.S. prison population of 1.57 million.

• At yearend 2006, there were more than 1.3 million women inmates, parolees and probationers in the U.S. – about 18% of the total number in the U.S. (more than 7.2 million).

• From 1995 to 2006, the number of women inmates in state and federal prisons nationwide increased by 64%. The growth rate for women in state and federal prisons in 1006 (4.5%) was higher the average annual rate of growth in each of the previous five years (2.9%).

• About 47% of women in state or federal prisons or local jails were white, almost 34% are African American, and just under 16% are Latina. White women, however, have significantly lower incarceration rates among their own racial group than African-American women (3.8 times the rate for white women) and Latina women (1.6 times the rate for white women).

• As of 23000, more than 70% of women inmates were incarcerated for non-violent drug, property or public order offenses.

• Nearly one in three women in state prisons reported committing their offense to support a drug addiction.

• Nationally, more than 65% of women in state prisons and 55% of men in state prisons report being parents of children under 18. About 64% of mothers in state prisons lived with their children before prison, compared to 44% of men.

• Female inmates are more likely than male inmates to have histories of serious physical or sexual abuse.

• A 2004 government study found that 73% of women in state prisons nationwide either had symptoms of a clinical diagnosis of mental illness and/ or were receiving treatment from a mental health professional in the past year, compared to 55% of men.

• About 40% of women in state prisons were employed full-time prior to their arrest, compared with 60% of men.

• Nearly 30% were receiving public assistance before arrest, compared to 8% of men. About 37% had incomes of less then $600 per month prior to arrest, compared to 28% of men.

New York State

• As of January 2008, 2821 women were incarcerated in New York’s prisons – about 4.5% of the state’s total prison population of 62,577

• An additional 26,800 women were on parole (about 3,100) and probation (almost 23,700).

• From 1973 to 2008, the number of women in New York’s prison increased by almost 635%.

• Since 1997, the state female prison population has decreased by about 25% and the male population has decreased by about 10% As of mid-January 2008, women’s facilities in New York State had over 580 empty beds.

• It costs almost $37,000 to incarcerate a person in a New York State prison for one year.

• Roughly 65% of the state’s female inmates are women of color: about 46% are African American, just over 21% are Latina, and nearly 31% are white New York’s general public is 30% women of color and almost 69% white.

• About 84% of women sent to New York’s prisons in 2997 were convicted of non-violent offenses.

• More than 85% of women sent to prison for violent felony offenses in 2997 were first time felony offenders.

• As of January 2008, nearly 33% of women in New York’s prisons were incarcerated for a drug offense Almost 78% of women under custody for a drug offense are women of color.

• More than 88% of women incarcerated in New York State prisons report having an alcohol or substance abuse problem prior to their arrest.

• As estimated 82% of women at New York’s Bedford Hills Correctional Facility have experienced severe abuse as children and over 90% have endured physical or sexual violence in their lifetime.

• As of January 20078, more than 42% of women in New York’s prison have been diagnosed with a serious mental illness, compared to nearly 12% of male inmates. Almost 40% of women inmates have been diagnosed with a major mood disorder (which includes depression, psychotic depression, and bipolar disorder), and 15% have been diagnosed with schizophrenia or another psychotic disorder.

• About 55% of women under state custody are from New York City and its suburbs. Just under 41% are incarcerated at Albion Correctional Facility, about eight hours away from Manhattan.

• The median minimum sentence for women inmates in New York State is 36 months.

• More than 72% of New York’s women inmates report being parents compared to more than 58% of men.

• At least 80,813 children have a parent incarcerated in New York’s prison; more than 5,180 have a mother incarcerated in a New York State prison.

• Nearly 55% of women prisoners lack a high school diploma. Just under 37% read at an 8th grade level or below.

• More than one-third of New York’s female inmates have either never been arrested or convicted of any crime prior to their current offenses. More than 63% are first felony offenders.

• Approximately 12% of women in New York’s prison are HCV positive, a rate of infection double the rate for male inmates and 80 times higher than the rate in the general public (.15%).

• More than 22% of women in New York State prison have Hepatitis C, a rate nearly double that for male inmates (just under 13%) and more than 14 times higher than the HIV infection rate in the general public (1.6%). .

Women, Incarceration, Reentry and HIV1

• Overview
  

  Planning for a woman’s return home from incarceration should begin the day a woman starts serving her sentence. This planning should include preparing to (1) obtain housing, employment, identification documentation, and physical and mental health coverage; (2) reunify with children and other family members; (3) secure needed support services such as drug treatment and domestic violence counseling; and (4) gather necessary documentation and information to facilitate compliance with parole mandates.2 Many formerly incarcerated women report that even though they have opportunities (both mandatory and voluntary) to obtain HIV testing, counseling and information inside prisons and jails, certain factors keep them from taking advantage of these services, including: !"Being in a state of denial about their HIV status or level of risk for having HIV;
  !"Feeling too overwhelmed in the prison/jail environment to handle HIV status information; !"Harboring concerns about maintaining confidentiality and the stigma associated with being HIV positive; and, !"Being preoccupied with preparing for release from prison or jail. These realities attest to the fact that many women spend their time in prison and jail without accessing HIV information or care in a meaningful way.

  Key Facts !" New York State has the largest number of inmates living with HIV— approximately 5,000 persons in 2003. !" New York State also has the largest number of HIV-positive women inmates of all prison systems in the United States—approximately 430 in 2003.3
  Briefing Paper: Women, Incarceration, Reentry and HIV 2 !" Of female inmates in New York State prisons, 14.6% are HIV positive compared to 7.3% of male inmates.4
  !" HIV disproportionately impacts women inmates of color: rates of AIDS cases are disproportionately higher among African-American and Latina women.5
  !" A 1999 New York City Department of Health sero-prevalence study found that 18% of women entering New York City jails were living with HIV compared to 7.6% of men.6
  !" Approximately 30% of all people living with HIV are co-infected with Hepatitis C (HCV),7 a viral disease that attacks the liver and is a common HIV co-infection. HCV is especially prevalent among women incarcerated for crimes related to the sex trade and/or drugs.8 Health officials and advocates recognize that effective HIV prevention must also include a focus on HCV.
  !" Of the 5,000 inmates estimated to be HIV positive in New York State correctional facilities, 759 are known to be co-infected with HCV.9 People who are co-infected with HIV and HCV sometimes experience an accelerated progression of HCV disease.10
  !" For women in prison, the HCV rate is even higher than among incarcerated men.11 According to New York State Department of Health and Mental Hygiene epidemiological data of 6,194 New York State inmates, 23.6% of female inmates and 13.4% of male inmates were infected with HCV.12
  !" There are eight neighborhoods in New York City with the highest HIV prevalence rates.13 Two-thirds of women incarcerated in New York State come from New York City and will likely return to New York City or its suburbs.14 These neighborhoods are the likely place that women early in their release will begin to connect with HIV prevention, care and services.15
  Why should HIV services and care include a particular focus on currently and formerly incarcerated women? An important indicator of HIV risk for people with criminal justice histories is past trauma associated with poverty and sexual abuse.16 The vast majority of women in prison have experienced physical and sexual abuse17 and most are from low-income communities.18 Many of the Briefing Paper: Women, Incarceration, Reentry and HIV 3 circumstances that lead to women’s incarceration—poverty, physical, emotional, and sexual victimization, involvement in the sex trade, and drug use—are behaviors that also put them at risk for HIV infection. 19 An overwhelming majority of incarcerated women living with HIV and HCV or who are at high risk for HIV and HCV eventually return home and resume their various roles in society. Such women will remain at high risk unless they receive appropriate interventions and services inside correctional facilities and during the reentry process. To lower infection rates among incarcerated women and women in reentry, correctional administrators, elected officials, service providers and community advocates must create targeted strategies and services for HIV prevention among this population of women. ******

  
  Sources
  

  I1This briefing paper is a work in progress and will be expanded to a full briefing paper with policy recommendations for improving HIV prevention and care for women in reentry. Special thanks to Tracie M. Gardner, Director of State Policy and Coordinator of the Women’s Initiative to Stop HIV/AIDS at the Legal Action Center and participants in the Spring 2006 cycle of the Women in Prison Project’s ReConnect program,
  
  

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