Facts you need to know about women in US prisons:

• Women now make up the fastest growing segment of the prison population. (U.S. Department of Justice; Office of Justice Programs)

• The number of women in federal prison for drug law violations increased 421% between 1986 and 1996. (BJS Sourcebook l997)

• The number of women in state prisons grew 75% from 1986-1991.

• 54% are women of color. Black women are incarcerated at a rate eight times that of white women. (The Sentencing Project)

• At the time of arrest, approximately 75% of these women were the primary or sole caregivers with an average family income of less than $500 per month.

• 80% are mothers. 75% of these women have children under the age of 18. More than half of the women in prison never see their children while incarcerated. Over 60% are incarcerated more than 100 miles from their children, making visitation diffcult, financially prohibitive and often impossible. (Justice Works)

• Nearly 2 million children have a parent who is incarcerated. Children of prisoners suffer an array of problems with truancy, early pregnancy, drug abuse and juvenile delinquency. (Justice Works)

• Youth are the second largest population in the penal system.

• 78% of women in prison report that they have been physically or sexually abused while incarcerated (U S Department of Justice; Bureau of Justice Statistics)

• Women currently convicted of drug offenses were often only couriers of "front" people. (U.S Department of Justice; Office of Justice Programs). Many of these women were unknowingly exploited, coerced or tricked into the drug trade. So-called "drug mules" are trapped by mandatory minimum sentencing structures. (Queens Legal Aid}

• The average sentence for a first time non-violent drug offender is longer than the average sentence for rape, child molestation, bank robbery or manslaughter.