Women’s primary reasons for involvement with crime are mostly a combination of gender-based trauma and violence, substance use disorders, mental disorders, and poverty. Despite the fact that women’s characteristics, life circumstances, and needs vary significantly from those of men, criminal justice policies and practices are still overwhelmingly based on models geared toward responding to male risks and needs. In addition, women are at greater risk of violence while under arrest and after incarceration. Studies globally emphasize the need for community-based alternatives and solutions designed with gender specificities in mind.
So-called gender-oriented interventions consist of treatment programs designed specifically for incarcerated women that aim primarily to reduce recidivism rates by addressing the physical and psychological health and well-being of those women, and may involve substance abuse treatment programs (including therapeutic communities) and the use of cognitive behavioral therapy approaches.