Lenses

Women & Girls

Women and girls are a fast-growing demographic in America’s prison and jail populations, with unique entry points into the system and unique needs. The situation is particularly concerning for women of color, immigrants, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) women, and people who are gender nonconforming, who face additional implicit and explicit biases.

Top Things to Know

  1. Voters elect another cohort of prosecutors committed to justice reform.
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  2. Cosby and Nassar held accountable for sexual assault in the era of #MeToo.
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  3. Christine Blasey Ford’s sexual assault accusation against Brett Kavanaugh grips a nation—but fails to derail his Supreme Court nomination.
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  4. Violence Against Women Act expires, a casualty of the government shutdown.
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  5. Congress passes—and President Trump signs—bipartisan prison reform legislation.
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  1. States focus on improving conditions for women in prison.
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  2. California counties end burdensome court fees—and some states limit them.
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  3. Connecticut, South Carolina, and Middlesex County, Massachusetts reimagine incarceration for young people in adult prisons.
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  4. New initiative seeks to end girls’ incarceration.
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On Our Radar

  • Litigation leads the way in bail reform.
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  • Female officers and incarcerated women at Michigan prison sue the state.
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  • New York legislature considers restrictions on the use of solitary confinement.
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  • New initiative seeks to collect data about system-involved LGBT kids.
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  • New campus sexual assault investigation unit opens in New York.
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Best of 2018