Women and the Criminal Justice System
Our research supports efforts to improve criminal justice system responses to women.
The Problem
Women are largely overlooked and often underserved by the traditional criminal justice system, which was chiefly designed by and for men. But the share of the incarcerated population represented by women grew substantially over the past few decades, with Illinois imprisoning six times the number of women in 2020 as in 1980. Women are also overrepresented as victims of some types of crime, particularly gender-based violence and human trafficking. Whether viewed as offenders or victims or both, women’s needs and challenges are distinctive, and traditional justice policies, programs, and institutions have been slow to adapt to them.
The Project
Loyola’s Center for Criminal Justice provides research support to policymakers, practitioners, and advocates seeking to improve the ways the criminal justice system responds to the needs of women, particularly in Illinois. From 2018 to 2021, the Center led the data and analysis team for the Women’s Justice Task Force of Illinois, a statewide effort formed to explore ways to reduce the incarceration of women and the harms associated with women’s imprisonment. The Center also contributed research to inform the development of the City of Chicago’s Citywide Strategic Plan to Address Gender-Based Violence and Human Trafficking. We regularly work with the Women’s Justice Institute (WJI) on survey design, data analysis, and policy research aimed at understanding and effectively responding to the unique needs of justice-involved women, and serve as data partner to WJI’s Women’s Division Working Group, which brings together system-involved women, advocates, corrections officials, and policymakers to develop solutions to problems facing women living in and coming out of prison in Illinois.
With support from the JB and MK Pritzker Family Foundation, the Center is currently collaborating with WJI and other stakeholders on a comprehensive study of the characteristics of women incarcerated in Illinois, their pathways through the criminal justice system, and the factors driving their justice involvement. Our analyses will be used to inform programs, policies and practices that provide services to system-involved women and their families, and to target trauma-informed and gender-responsive programming for maximum impact.
As part of our evaluation of pretrial reform in Illinois, we assessed the extent to which cases involving allegations of intimate partner violence and violations of orders of protection result in pretrial detention under the Pretrial Fairness Act.
We published analyses of data on arrests and sentencing of women in Illinois, identifying trends and helping to inform efforts to improve criminal justice system responses to women.
Funders
Project Contact
Amanda Ward, PhD
Assistant Research Professor
Phone: 773-508-8532
Email: award1@luc.edu