Female Offenders

Women in Bureau custody are offered many of the same educational and treatment programs that are available to male offenders; however, women in prison differ from their male counterparts in significant ways. For example, women are more likely to be primary caregivers for children, experience economic hardship, and employment instability, and have fewer vocational skills as compared with males. They are more likely than men to have a history of trauma and abuse, which poses additional challenges for reentry. Therefore, specialized initiatives and programs are offered at female sites which are trauma-informed and address women's specific gender-based needs.

In meeting the gender-specific needs of women, the Bureau has greatly increased the programming and services which are available to women. These initiatives include additions to the First Step Act (FSA) required Evidence Based Recidivism Reduction (EBRR) Programs and Productive Activities (PAs) available for women. The agency provides more than 15 programs specifically for women. We recently added college programming for women as well. More information on EBBR Programs and PAs can be found in the First Step Act Approved Programs Guide.