Experts warn of ‘global crisis’ as number of women in prison nears one million

Number of women incarcerated around the world rising at nearly three times the rate of men, with female prisoners often subjected to sexual violence and forced labour

• Explainer: How many women are in prison and on death row around the world? – in charts

Up to a million women worldwide are facing sexual violence and forced labour in prisons, where they are overlooked and forgotten, in what is being called a growing global crisis.

The number of incarcerated women is rising much faster than men and is expected to surpass one million on current trends. While on average women account for between 2% and 9% of national prison populations, since 2000 the number imprisoned has grown by 57%, compared with a 22% increase in the men’s prison population.