More than 700,000 women and girls are being held in prisons around the world, an increase of 50% since 2000, according to new research from the Institute of Criminal Policy. The analysis indicates there has been a steadier increase in the female prison population than there has in the number of male prisoners.
More precise figures on the male increase are due to be published in January, but Roy Walmsley, who compiled the World Female Imprisonment List, told BuzzFeed News that he would estimate the male prison population to have risen by less than 20%.
America, China, and Russia have the world's highest female prison populations, with over 350,000 imprisoned women between them, although figures show that the overall trend for growth is worldwide. The increase cannot be accounted for in terms of general world population growth, which United Nations figures indicate has risen by only 18% since 2000.
"Female imprisonment has a high financial and social cost and its excessive use does nothing to improve public safety," Walmsley said.
Dr Jessica Jacobson, co-director of the Institute for Criminal Policy Research at Birkbeck, University of London, said that the findings should be of "profound concern" to governments. "These women and girls make up a small but growing minority of the total world prison population; they are an extremely vulnerable and disadvantaged group, and tend to be victims of crime and abuse themselves," she said.
The number of imprisoned women and girls around the world is thought to be even higher than the figures show, as China did not disclose the number of women in pre-trial or administrative detention, and some countries did not supply data.