As the number of women—especially women of color—in US prisons grows, state departments of corrections (DOCs) face challenges addressing their needs.

Before incarceration, many women experience violent victimization and trauma. State DOCs have both an obligation and a unique opportunity to address these issues for the women in their custody.

Our new study documents several ways correctional institutions provide victim services and trauma-responsive programming to women in prison. One core strategy involves partnering with community-based victim services agencies and other organizations to provide services and programs to women with histories of trauma.

A vast number of women enter prisons and jails with trauma or posttraumatic stress disorder and victimization experiences. Most women entering jails have experienced sexual violence (86 percent), intimate partner violence (77 percent), and caregiver violence (60 percent). Research has also documented how experiencing intimate partner violence and witnessing forms of violence increases women’s risk of engaging in criminalized behaviors. And once incarcerated, women report higher rates of victimization within prisons than men.

Yet correctional administrators and staff are not experts in working with survivors to address their trauma and promote healing. We found that some correctional staff—correctional officers and even some mental health staff—are often not trained to respond to victimization or to help women cope with traumatic experiences. Staff from a victim services agency who worked with one prison had a similar assessment.

By partnering with community-based victim services agencies, women in prison may have the opportunity to receive relevant, impactful help from professionals with specific training and expertise in addressing the harms caused by violent experiences.

Read the full article about women trauma victims in prison at Urban Institute.