Women and Criminal Justice
The ACLU works in courts, legislatures, and communities to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties that the Constitution and the laws of the United States guarantee everyone in this country.
The Latest
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Gonzalez v. Ramirez et al.
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New Report Finds Harassment & Mistreatment Fuels Mistrust Among LGBTQ People Towards Police
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Sex Workers and Legal Advocates File Federal Trade Commission Complaint Against Mastercard
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ACLU Submits Amicus Brief Supporting Constitutionality of Restrictions on Gun Possession by Individuals Subject to Domestic Violence Restraining Orders
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What's at Stake
Over the past 30 years, the number of women and girls caught in the criminal justice system has skyrocketed. Many have been swept up in the War on Drugs and subject to increasingly punitive sentencing policies for nonviolent offenders.聽
Many of these women struggle with substance abuse, mental illness, and histories of physical and sexual abuse. Few get the services they need. The toll on women, girls, and their families is devastating.
Further, the overincarceration and overconviction of women has devastating effects on them and their families because of the barriers women face as a result of their criminal records.聽These barriers include employment discrimination (compounded by the trend among employers of conducting background checks), exclusions from certain occupations (including some traditionally dominated by low-income women, such as home health care and childcare), exclusions from housing, and bans on receiving public assistance.
The ACLU is working to reduce the overincarceration of women and girls, ensure equal rights and dignity while in confinement, and eliminate barriers imposed as a result of having a criminal record.
Over the past 30 years, the number of women and girls caught in the criminal justice system has skyrocketed. Many have been swept up in the War on Drugs and subject to increasingly punitive sentencing policies for nonviolent offenders.聽
Many of these women struggle with substance abuse, mental illness, and histories of physical and sexual abuse. Few get the services they need. The toll on women, girls, and their families is devastating.
Further, the overincarceration and overconviction of women has devastating effects on them and their families because of the barriers women face as a result of their criminal records.聽These barriers include employment discrimination (compounded by the trend among employers of conducting background checks), exclusions from certain occupations (including some traditionally dominated by low-income women, such as home health care and childcare), exclusions from housing, and bans on receiving public assistance.
The ACLU is working to reduce the overincarceration of women and girls, ensure equal rights and dignity while in confinement, and eliminate barriers imposed as a result of having a criminal record.