The challenges facing women when they return home from jail and prison are complex and long lasting. An event sponsored recently by the Women’s Justice Initiative explored the reasons women find themselves behind bars and what can be done to help them start over.  Much is known about the differences between incarcerated men and women — nearly all women have suffered some form of sexual or physical abuse –but what can be done to deflect them from the pathway to prison is an ongoing challenge. Work by Deanne Benos and Alyssa Benedict, co-founders of the WJI, has educated players in the criminal justice system, women at risk of going to jail and the public about the root causes of the criminal activity that divides families and cripples a woman’s chance to succeed. Here’s a link to a story I authored for WGLT on the meeting:

Disrupting the pathway to prison