Nearly 200,000 women and girls are incarcerated in the United States. New research shows why we need to look at the whole picture.
This morning, the Prison Policy Initiative released Women’s Mass Incarceration: The Whole Pie 2026, a comprehensive look at where women and girls are confined across the United States, why they are there, and what makes their experiences with the criminal legal system unique.
The findings underscore the scale of women’s confinement and the need to look beyond individual convictions to understand the systems, circumstances, and policies that shape women’s experiences.
Here are the key findings:
198,800 women and girls are confined nationwide. The report examines confinement across state and federal prisons, local jails, juvenile facilities, immigration detention, and other settings, including psychiatric hospitals and civil commitment facilities.
Jails play a major role in women’s incarceration. Approximately 87,000 women are held in local jails. Of women held under local jurisdiction, 61% have not been convicted and are awaiting trial. Women often struggle to afford money bail, and pretrial detention can disrupt employment, housing, and family relationships before a case is resolved.
Probation and parole affect far more women than incarceration alone. An estimated 819,400 women are on probation or parole. The report explains how supervision requirements, fees, transportation, and caregiving responsibilities can create unique barriers to compliance. Even technical violations, such as failing to pay supervision fees, can lead to incarceration.
Incarceration affects families, too. The report finds that 80% of women in local jails are mothers, most of whom are primary caregivers for their children. Separation, limited communication, and the financial and emotional burdens of incarceration can have consequences for entire families.
Survivors of gender-based violence can be left out of reform efforts. The report highlights that many survivors of domestic and sexual abuse have been incarcerated for violent crimes committed in response to gender-based violence and abuse. When opportunities for reform exclude entire categories of offenses, these survivors may be overlooked.
What this means for Montana
At the Montana Innocence Project, our work extends beyond wrongful convictions to address unjust incarceration: cases in which people may not be claiming innocence but are incarcerated under unjust circumstances.
Women and survivors are a priority population in our 2026–2029 Strategic Plan. This research reinforces why that work matters. A fair criminal legal system must account for the circumstances that bring women into contact with it, the barriers they face while incarcerated, and the challenges they encounter when seeking a path home.
For survivors, these questions are especially important. Experiences of trauma, abuse, and exploitation can intersect with criminal legal system involvement, yet the circumstances surrounding a person’s conviction or sentence may not fully reflect their experiences. A conviction alone does not tell the whole story of a person’s life.
Addressing unjust incarceration means examining individual cases, recognizing the full context of a person’s life, and pursuing legal pathways to release or a more appropriate sentence.
We believe public safety matters. Our commitment to justice does not mean dismissing harm or ignoring society’s need to hold people accountable. Incarceration is one way society responds to behavior that causes harm, and we recognize the importance of protecting our communities.
But the conversation cannot end there. We must also be willing to ask who we are incarcerating, why, and whether continued incarceration is a just and necessary response.
Nearly 200,000 women and girls are confined across the country. Many are mothers, caregivers, and people who have experienced significant trauma. Some survivors have been incarcerated for offenses committed in response to abuse. Understanding these circumstances does not erase harm or eliminate accountability. It allows us to ask more meaningful questions about whether a different outcome could better serve both individuals and public safety.
Addressing the unjust incarceration of women and survivors is a major priority for our organization. As Montana’s next legislative session approaches, we are exploring opportunities to advance this work through policy advocacy. Stay tuned as we share more about these efforts and how we hope to move this important conversation forward.