Although women represent a small percentage of Federal
prisoners, the proportion of women in the Federal system rose from 12.1
percent in fiscal year 2009 to 13.3 percent in fiscal year 2013. Based
on the most recent Sentencing Commission data, 9,400 women were in
Federal prisons as of fiscal year 2013. In 2013, more than two-thirds
of women in Federal prison were behind bars due to nonviolent drug,
fraud, or immigration crimes and over 70 percent of women in Federal
prisons had little or no prior criminal history. An urgent need exists to address the unique challenges women face
while behind bars. Women are often primary caretaker parents, meaning
their incarceration impacts children.
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immigration