Women in Jail

Through statistics from the US Bureau of Justice Statistics, Feinman highlights the disproportionate imprisonment of women, especially with relation to race and mental health. Women put away disproportionately are people of color, low-income, survivors of trauma, mental illness, and substance abuse. Feinman relies heavily on the need to understand how and why break the law before using prison as a form of punishment. Feinman also notes that combating sexual violence and substance abuse needs a holistic approach (looking at all variables and working to actually improve the perpetrator instead of jailing them as a form of revenge for self medicating).