Incarcerated Women

Women now make up 7 percent of inmates in state and federal prisons. That statistic may not seem earth-shattering, but the rate at which women are entering prison is staggering. From 1980 to 2004, the numbers of incarcerated women increased from 12,300 to 105,000, an increase of 854 percent. According to Bureau of Justice statistics, women were incarcerated in 2004 at more than double the rate of men. And the numbers are still rising.

--Kimberley Gegner