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“When you imprison a woman, you imprison a family,” an adolescent woman in Sierra Leone told me, cradling her small baby in a damp cell. These words recalls a private recollection from adolescence, hearing my mother cry after learning my father had been detained for his political stance in Zambia.

My experience has taught me how children become the unintended victims of imprisonment. Through twenty years as a attorney, I have seen that this is particularly accurate when women – often the primary caregivers – are the ones arrested.

I have witnessed the destructive consequences of incarceration on countless females and their young ones. Furthermore, I have seen how their stories are overlooked, even within discussions on female empowerment.

Debunking the ‘Bad Girl’ Stereotype

The public often brands women in prison as “wrongdoers.” But what if this tag is a misconception? Most of women behind bars are imprisoned for non-violent crimes. Comprehensive studies conducted over the past two years demonstrates that in the majority of instances, women are prosecuted due to destitution, psychological disorders, violence or discrimination.

50% of the female prison population behind bars, in contrast with less than a third of men, report a substance dependency in the twelve months prior to incarceration.

In a South African correctional facility, a woman recounted her arrest for shoplifting, an act of desperation to provide for her children. In Sierra Leone, many women were found to be arrested for owing money. In Kenya, stories abound of women detained because of “informal selling” – vending goods without a permit – simply to survive.

Women from Mexico detailed how the international drug enforcement policies is contributing to an increase in the number of women in prison, notably throughout Latin America and Asia. A significant number sell drugs due to poverty and coercion; while not key figures in the drug trade, they are easier to apprehend by police aiming to fulfill arrest targets.

Violence as a Consequence, Not a Cause

The minority of women who commit violent crimes are often victims of abuse themselves. Take the case of, 21-year-old Chisomo from Malawi, arrested for the death of her former partner. He had attacked her and made death threats if she left. Chisomo finally fled after he tried to attack her with a knife. Yet, he subsequently assaulted her, cutting her. In self-defence, she took hold of the blade and retaliated.

I have worked alongside lawyers across the globe who advocate for legal processes to account for a woman’s history of poverty and abuse. Yet, even with this work, a legal system created with a male perspective continues to let women down through inherent biases. Those who do not fulfil societal norms of the virtuous and nurturing female are often punished more harshly.

Correctional facilities are rarely protective places for women. At-risk females are imprisoned and come out with deeper psychological wounds.

Cases show instances where women have experienced abuse and where methods including humiliating bodily searches and segregation inflict additional trauma to women with histories of assault or mental health challenges. Imprisoned women’s rates of self-injury are often exceed those in prisons for men.

In spite of international standards stipulating that prison should be a final option, notably for pregnant women and women with infants, devastating reports persist of women who lose their babies and of infants who perish in prison.

The Hidden Sufferers – Children

Children – both inside and outside prison – are the overlooked casualties. Reports indicate there are at least 19,000 children living behind bars with their mothers, while a astonishing 1.4 million children are separated from a mother in prison.

The cycle of trauma of a parent's incarceration on children are thoroughly studied. One cannot forget trying to trace the children of a hopeless woman in Sierra Leone, who had not a clue what had transpired after her arrest. Someone nearby had taken them in but the nine-year-old girl went to trade on the street to make money and was lost forever.

An Overlooked Issue Worldwide

A significant primary disappointments is how women’s incarceration remains a blind spot. Major conferences on female empowerment, where agendas and budgets are set, continue to overlook this critical issue. Notably, there was no mention of imprisoned females in the key document at the UN Commission on the Status of Women this year.

Research indicates that organisations supporting and advocating for female prisoners are critically underfunded, even by contributors to advocacy for justice and equity. For too long, negative labeling, a preference for highlighting only “sympathetic victims” and the exclusion of those who do not fit straightforward profiles has meant that marginalised women and their children are neglected, even with promises to “include everyone.”

Foundations for a New Justice

However, alongside observing pain, one can find hope. Internationally, women are redesigning what fairness might entail, from both inside and outside correctional facilities. In Colombia, campaigners helped pass an progressive legislation allowing women to undertake rehabilitative work rather than go to jail in particular situations.

In Sierra Leone, feminist legal groups successfully contested outdated vagrancy statutes. In the UK, female-focused rehabilitation hubs offer a blueprint of social assistance that is superior in outcomes and lower in expense than prison.

Two years ago, at the first convening of a global network of female ex-inmates, I was moved to tears hearing stories of women turning years of pain into something powerful, building collective strength and joining forces to change the institutions that govern their existence.

As the number of women in prison keeps increasing at an worrisome pace – growing more rapidly than that of men – and we near the sobering milestone of over a million women behind bars internationally, this serves as a urgent alarm.

The Need for Responsibility and Movement

The year ahead offers key advocacy opportunities to correct this oversight – from global conferences to prominent gender equality summits.

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