Ep 006 | Discussing Incarcerated Women - Can't Have True Criminal Justice Reform Without It

On this episode of Raising the Bar with Iman, I discuss The Dignity for Incarcerated Women Act, federal legislation aimed at providing women in federal prisons with access to hygiene products and increased communication with loved ones. While this legislation is a great start, it wouldn't impact the majority of incarcerated women, the women in state jails and prison.
 
Despite the calls for criminal justice reform, women are being incarcerated at higher rates than men. This is largely due to incarceration rates at the state level.  According to the Sentencing Project, between 1980 and 2014, the number of incarcerated women increased by more than 700%, rising from a total of 26,378 in 1980 to 222,061 in 2014. Women are often an afterthought in the mass incarceration conversation. This needs to end today.  We can’t have true reform without it.