Women In Prison

Nearly 20 years ago, GAO reported that U.S. prison systems had not been aggressive in providing programs and services to female inmates because of their relatively small numbers and because many officials thought that female inmates did not need the same types of training and vocational skills as did male inmates. (See GAO/GGD-81-6, Dec. 1980.) Since then, the number of women in prison has soared more than 500 percent--to nearly 85,000 by the end of 1998. With the rise in the number of female inmates, there has been an increasing awareness that the needs of female inmates differ from those of male inmates, such as child-related responsibilities and gender-specific health care. Although progress has been made, GAO and others have found that U.S. prison systems still face challenges in meeting the unique needs of female inmates.

GAO noted that: (1) in 1980, GAO reported to Congress that U.S. correctional systems had not been aggressive in providing programs and services to female inmates due to their relatively small numbers and because many officials felt that female inmates did not need the same type of training and vocational skills as male inmates; (2) since 1980, the number of women in prison has increased over 500 percent--to about 84,000 at calendar year-end 1998; (3) with the general rise in the number of female inmates, there has been increasing awareness that female inmates have some needs that are different from those of male inmates, such as child-related responsibilities and gender-specific health care; and (4) while progress has been made, GAO's work and other studies indicate that U.S. correctional systems still face challenges in addressing the unique needs of female inmates.