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Q&A
Women and gender-expansive individuals in the jail population
0:51:46
·
71 sec
Council Member Cabán inquires about the percentage of women and gender-expansive individuals in jail who are survivors of domestic or gender-based violence. The commission estimates that well over three-quarters of this population falls into this category.
- The high percentage highlights the connection between trauma and incarceration.
- Cabán notes that some jurisdictions have successfully decarcerated all of their women.
- The discussion emphasizes the need for alternatives to incarceration for this population.
Tiffany Cabán
0:51:46
I want to just spend a few seconds on the women's population.
0:51:49
We've talked about overall what percentage of the population struggles with a mental health diagnosis.
0:51:57
We also know that the large portion of the population struggle with different forms of disability, which also can be criminalized and inflate that incarceration rate.
0:52:06
But can you tell me about the percentage of women and gender expansive folks who fall under the category of being survivors of domestic or and and gender based violence.
Jonathan Lippman
0:52:18
Do we have the numbers on that, Zach?
Zachary Katznelson
0:52:21
Yeah.
0:52:21
The estimates are are well over three quarters or so
Tiffany Cabán
0:52:24
of Three quarters.
0:52:25
Yeah.
0:52:26
Yeah.
0:52:26
Thank you.
0:52:27
And I think that's also telling about when we talk about, you know, the social harms, the trauma, the conditions that people are experiencing and how they're ending up in a jail rather than in a healthy supportive way.
Jonathan Lippman
0:52:40
We think a a substantial number of the women don't belong there altogether to begin with.
Tiffany Cabán
0:52:46
Yeah.
0:52:47
In fact, other municipalities and jurisdictions have been able to to decarcerate all of their women, which is I think something that we should be striving for.