Prison is a feminist issue. Research shows us how harmful prison is for women, who are more likely to self-harm, experience sexual violence and not have their needs met due to lack of gender-responsive services – as prison was created by men for men. But how many women are in prisons around the world? How many are at other stages in the criminal legal system? How many children’s lives are affected by their mothers’ imprisonment? 

There are huge data deserts in the area of women’s imprisonment, including these basic facts, and also how well governments are meeting their human rights obligations to women prisoners under the UN Bangkok Rules and other human rights instruments. 

Women Beyond Walls (WBW) is a global collaborative dedicated to combating the mass incarceration and over-criminalisation of women and girls worldwide. We build collective power and resource resistance to challenge systemic injustices, advocating to end the harm that imprisonment causes to women, their families and our communities. 

In this session WBW partners with the Human Rights Measurement Initiative (HRMI) to map solutions to the data desert. How can we establish the facts and hold governments to account? 

Speakers from WBW and HRMI will be joined by women with lived experience of incarceration. We will tell stories about the harm imprisonment causes, and the need for better data. We will then explore possible solutions and discuss how these crucial issues can be better measured, in order to power advocacy and drive change.

We are keen to learn from people who have innovative solutions to data deserts and holding governments accountable. We don’t want to reinvent the wheel but want to learn, collaborate and form new partnerships. The issue of women’s incarceration intersects with many issues, such as criminalisation of activism and we are keen to grow this movement.