Reform group calls for action to lower growing number of women in prison

Article here. Excerpt:

'More women are ending up in Texas prisons and jails, and a criminal justice reform advocacy group wants policymakers to address the problems that led them there.

The Texas Criminal Justice Coalition released a report Thursday to highlight common issues the more than 12,000 imprisoned women in the state face and propose gender-specific support, treatment and diversion options. The organization said in the report that although the female population is increasing, most programs that aim to help prisoners are geared toward men.

Women only accounted for less than 9 percent of those in the Texas prison system in 2016, but the organization said that their population is increasing while the state lessens the overall number of prisoners. Between 2009 and 2016, the men’s prison system population decreased by more than 8,500 inmates, while the number of women in Texas prisons went up more than 500.

“The vast majority of women in Texas prisons have extensive trauma histories, and most of them are mothers,” Lindsey Linder, a policy attorney for the group and the report’s author, said in a news release. “It is critical that we help these women address the root causes of their criminality through community supports and services, rather than through incarceration."'

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... often trauma victims and fathers?

Plenty of ppl of both sexes are trauma survivors: physical, mental, sexual, etc. And yet, they don't commit crimes. So do we now give a pass to ppl (well, women, anyway) who commit crimes, sometimes very serious ones?

Most reform programs in jail are indeed for men because there are so many more men in jail than women. And yet -- these ppl are complaining about there not being enough for women? On the contrary, women have plenty of Poor Dearism-inspired reform programs in jail. Just most choose to remain criminals. Same thing for male prisoners. But no one seems to care much.

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