National Resource Center on Justice Involved Women

A resource for professionals, policymakers, and practitioners who work with adult women involved in the criminal justice system.

Women are one of the fastest growing populations entering the criminal justice system. A growing body of research reveals key issues specific to justice-involved women and highlights the need to implement evidence-based, gender-informed approaches to affect criminal justice outcomes. 

According to Bloom, Owen and Covington (2003) gender-responsiveness means understanding and taking account of the differences in characteristics and life experiences that women and men bring to the criminal justice system, and adjusting strategies and practices in ways that appropriately respond to those conditions. By developing and applying gender-informed strategies, criminal justice professionals can promote law abiding behavior and improve the physical, social, and economic well-being of women and their children – while women are involved in the criminal justice system. 

The National Resource Center on Justice-Involved Women was established to assist practitioners in understanding and applying the lessons learned from research, promising practices, and the insights of justice-involved women themselves, as practitioners strive to transform the criminal justice system into one that is more gender-responsive – and ultimately more effective. 

Because gender matters. 

Read more facts about how women differ from men involved in the criminal justice system