Worldwide Women Imprisonment Data and Death Row Figures
Present Worldwide Female Prison Population
More than 733,000 women and girls are confined in penal institutions worldwide, based on current research studies. This figure covers both pre-trial detainees and individuals already found guilty and punished. Experts believe the true count is much greater due to missing information from multiple states.
Women consistently represent a small minority of national prison populations – usually between 2-9% on average. As of now, women and girls represent approximately 6.8% of the international inmate count. Nevertheless, their numbers are increasing at a more rapid tempo than incarcerated men.
Since the year 2000, the number of women and girls in prison has expanded by approximately 60 percent – nearly thrice the growth observed in the male inmate numbers. The international incarcerated women statistics increased by more than 100,000 individuals during the ten-year period ending in 2020.
Main Causes Behind the Growth
Women's lawbreaking are frequently linked to poverty and usually serve as a means of survival to support their children and relatives.
Extensive studies has established that laws often criminalize basic sustenance activities and that women are unfairly targeted because they are more commonly found among the most impoverished segments of society. In many countries, laws penalizing abortion, adultery, sexual misconduct and prostitution disproportionately target women. The likelihood of receiving a prison sentence is often also related to poverty and the inability to pay fines for minor crimes or to obtain release.
Countries with the Highest Women Inmate Numbers
The United States has the greatest quantity of female prisoners with 174,607. China follows with 145,000, plus an unknown number of women and girls in pre-trial detention and "procedural custody. Additional major sources include Brazil (50,441), Russia (39,153), Thailand (33,057), India (23,772), the Philippines (17,121), Turkey (16,581), Vietnam (15,152), Mexico (13,841) and Indonesia (13,044).
In England and Wales, there are 3,566 women in prison – representing 4% of the complete incarceration statistics. Projections indicate these numbers are predicted to increase to 4,200 by 2027. Across Europe, 94,472 women are currently detained, while Australia reports 3,473 women in prison, constituting approximately 8% of its overall inmate demographic.
Countries with Substantial Rises in Women Inmate Numbers
Although including normal population growth over the last quarter-century, the rise in the number of female prisoners per 100,000 people still shows a remarkable increase. Cambodia and El Salvador have experienced more than sixfold increases, while Turkey and Indonesia have seen growth exceeding 500%.
Incarcerated Women Facing Execution
Recent estimates indicate there are between 500 and 1,000 women on death row in at least 42 countries worldwide.
The states that carry out executions on the most women are likewise the states that execute the most people in general, specifically China, Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia. According to latest reports, an unknown number of women were executed in China, while two were executed in Egypt, 30 in Iran, one in Iraq, nine in Saudi Arabia and two in Yemen.
Incomplete statistics is available for nations with highest execution rates or for nations like North Korea, Vietnam and Qatar. Nonetheless, analysis is obtainable concerning 15 other countries with the highest numbers of females on death row.
The two primary crimes for which women are sentenced to death are murder and drug trafficking. Countries with mandatory death penalties for murder, or that refuse to consider gender-based violence as reducing factors, are prone to exhibit greater amounts of women on death row and more executions.
Furthermore, countries that strictly prohibit drug trafficking, such as those in the Arabian Peninsula and Asian southeast, have a substantial ratio of women on death row.
Fitness of Imprisonment for Women
Numerous specialists and campaigners contend that prison is inappropriate penalty for a significant portion of women who break the law. Many are jailed for peaceful violations; in the UK, for example, 72% of female prison admissions in 2020 fell into this classification. Women often encounter a "cyclical pattern of brief incarceration periods – too brief to engage in meaningful education, training or work opportunities.
Up to 80% of women in prison worldwide have an identifiable mental illness. In Europe, self-harm statistics for women in prison are nine times higher than for the overall public, according to the global health authority.
In reaction to increasing figures of jailed women and a deficiency of regulations addressing their requirements, the International Women Prisoner Standards (known as the Bangkok Rules) were adopted by the UN General Assembly in December 2010. These rules require nations to develop non-custodial sanctions and to ensure gender-sensitive treatment in prisons.
Offspring of Incarcerated Women
An estimated 19,000 children live in prison with a parent, typically their mother, while many times that number are separated from them. Approximately 1.45 million children worldwide have a mother in prison.
In addition to the clear division and related distress that a prison sentence can cause, it is not uncommon for a woman to lose custody of her children after just a brief period in prison.
Various states permit babies and young children to stay in prison with their mothers up to a certain age. Nonetheless, a childhood spent in prison can negatively affect a minor both in health and mental state.