Five takeaways from #CSW68 on the criminalisation of women linked to poverty 

One week after International Women’s Day, a coalition of organisations and experts convened to address the rising trend of women’s criminalisation driven by poverty in a side event at the 68th Session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) in New York on 15 March. The event highlighted the intersections of gender, poverty, and punitive legal systems, drawing attention to the urgent need for reform, amid a rising female prison population globally. 

The event was co-organised by Penal Reform International, Women Beyond Walls, both members of the Global Campaign to Decriminalise Poverty and Status, and Pathfinders for Peaceful, Just and Inclusive Societies. The Governments of Canada and the United States, as well as the Permanent Mission of Colombia to the United Nations afforded their support through co-sponsorship. 

These five key takeaways offer a glimpse into the global call for action to address the systemic injustices perpetuated by the criminalisation of poverty, particularly impacting women. 

1. The nexus of gender, poverty and imprisonment

The data presented during the event underscored the alarming reality of women’s imprisonment rates are growing at a faster rate than men globally. Central to this trend is the nexus between poverty and imprisonment. Discriminatory, gender-blind criminal justice systems underpin systemic failures to address the needs of women in vulnerable contexts. This in turns leads to their imprisonment for non-violent, petty offences such as shop lifting or drug-related offences, related to poverty. In short, poverty plays a significant role in driving women into the criminal justice system. 

”Many women across the world are arrested for stealing bread or nappies for their babies.”

Sabrina Mahtani, Women Beyond Walls 

”In many countries, we continue to see […] laws targeting and criminalising poor women, single moms unable to pay hospital bills after childbirth, or those who may be charged with criminal negligence because they couldn’t afford childcare.”

Swati Mehta, Pathfinders for Peaceful, Just and Inclusive Societies 

2. Criminal justice systems place a disproportionate burden on poor women

Claudia Cardona, a woman with lived experience of prison, from Mujeres Libres Colombia, shed light on the harsh realities faced by women pushed into criminal activities as a means of survival due to limited access to education, employment, and economic stability. Annie Hudson-Price, from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office for Access to Justice, highlighted the profound financial burden borne by women, particularly women of colour, due to court-related costs, fines, and fees. She also underscored the ripple effects, including loss of housing, custody of children, and increased vulnerability to poverty and criminalisation. 

The urgent need for holistic approaches to address the root causes of poverty-driven criminalisation of women and provide support services as important steps in breaking the cycle of poverty and imprisonment was made clear. 

”If you are low income, it can mean choosing between paying rent, feeding your family, or having significant court debt. ”

Annie Hudson-Price, Office for Access to Justice, U.S. Department of Justice 

3. Reform is limited by a lack of intersectional analysis

The intersectional analysis provided during the event reveals the multifaceted nature of the challenges faced by women being criminalised, showing how poverty intertwines with gender-based violence, as well as race, ethnicity, disability, and various other grounds of discrimination. To truly address these entrenched disparities and injustices, reform efforts must delve deeper into the structural roots of inequality and violence. As Arlene B. Tickner, Ambassador and Deputy Permanent Representative of Colombia to the United Nations, underscored, tackling the systemic sources of discrimination and inequality is indispensable for fostering a society marked by justice and equality. 

”This double burden of stigma and exclusion also perpetuates a cycle of marginalisation and suffering. We cannot ignore the fact that poverty is closely linked to other forms of oppression such as discrimination and gender-based violence.” 

Claudia Cardona, Mujeres Libres Colombia 

Unfortunately, addressing the intersectional dynamics of criminalisation linked to poverty often remains overlooked in reform efforts towards people-centred justice. This oversight results in some key limitations, impeding the effectiveness of initiatives aimed at rectifying injustices within the criminal justice system. Without an intersectional lens, reform strategies risk neglecting the specific experiences and needs of women in vulnerable contexts, thus perpetuating cycles of poverty, incarceration, and inequality. 

4. Promising practices remain scarce

The event also showcased promising, albeit scarce, practices from various countries. Olivia Rope, Executive Director of Penal Reform International, emphasised the need to dismantle systems of mass imprisonment or targeting specific groups and called for a re-evaluation of the laws contributing to the disproportionate imprisonment of women, such as laws on ‘informal trading’ that particularly impact poor women. 

Diego Olarte, Director of Criminal and Penitentiary Policy, Ministry of Justice of Colombia, shared the results of a promising law passed last year in Colombia that paves the way for non-custodial sentences to be given to women who are heads of household in vulnerable conditions and who have been sentenced for minor crimes (e.g. theft and minor drug-related offences, amongst others, that carry a prison sentence of less than eight years). 

“We need to look at the laws that are causing the global prison population to rise year on year, and at the laws that are causing the women’s incarceration rates to rise much faster than for men.” 

Olivia Rope, Penal Reform International 

5. A global call for reform

While the challenges are many, the event showcased commitment to making change. Calls to repeal laws that criminalise poverty, disproportionately affecting women, were echoed throughout the event. The Global Campaign to Decriminalise Poverty and Status provides a critical vehicle for much-needed advocacy efforts to challenge laws that perpetuate systemic injustices. These efforts underscore the importance of inclusive policymaking and amplifying the voices of affected communities to dismantle systemic barriers and to pave the way to creating gender-sensitive, people-centred criminal justice systems. 

”We believe that dismantling the system of mass incarceration and criminalisation creates pathways to justice rooted in healing, prevention, and accountability.”

Cheryl Wilkins, Co-Director of Columbia University’s Center for Justice 

See the recording of the event below: