According to a new report from the Vera Institute of Justice and the Safety and Justice Challenge, more women are being imprisoned.
While there are still a lot fewer women than men in jails and prisons, the number of number of incarcerated women is almost 14 times higher than what it was in the 1970s.
Forty years ago, there were less than 8,000 women behind bars. In 2014, that number was up to 110,000.
According to the report, nearly 80 percent of the women are mothers and the majority of them are women of color.
Eighty-two percent of women in jail are dependent on drugs or alcohol. Also, 86 percent of incarcerated women have experienced sexual assault.
The vast majority of women behind bars are in jail for nonviolent offenses. The others are incarcerated for property, drug, or public order offenses.
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