A new report which examined women’s mass incarceration in the US found that women’s incarceration has grown at twice the pace of men’s incarceration in recent decades whereas in Canada, the rising number of women in prisons can be seen in the increased number of indigenous women in prisons as the percentage of indigenous women in the federal prison population jumped from 10 per cent to 40 per cent. In the UK, an influential group of MPs and peers have argued that prison sentences of less than a year should be abolished for women after an inquiry found that too many women are being sent to prison unnecessarily, and “in spite of overwhelming evidence that prison makes matter worse for them”. To reduce the cost of incarceration and to reduce prison overcrowding, the Egyptian parliament is considering the replacement of prison sentences with community service for inmates convicted of minor offences.

A recent report has shown that in England, women prisoners are giving birth in prison cells without access to proper medical care and in some instances without a midwife. In Zimbabwe, the government has expressed the aim of building more open prisons to accommodate women prisoners who give birth in jail in order to improve the country's justice system.  In Maharashtra, India, women prisoners in open jails can now make video-calls to their family members. However, in the UK, a recent study has shown that prison telephones often leave mothers and children disconnected as the study highlighted the limitations and inadequacies with current phone facilities and operational practices in female prisons. In Brazil, a top court has ruled that pregnant women will no longer serve pre-trial detention in jails. 

In light of the #MeToo movement, women staff working in male prisons in the US spoke about their experiences of harassment from inmates and co-workers. A recent press release from the UK Government revealed that  there will be an increase in funding for rape and sexual abuse victims. A new report alleges that Saudi Arabia has tortured, and sexually harassed women’s rights activists detained in prisons. In Afghanistan, women are still being jailed alongside murderers for 'failing' virginity test despite a public health policy which has outlawed this test.

In the US, a review of the Federal Bureau of Prisons’ management of its female inmate population concluded that the Bureau had ‘failed’ its female inmates and pointed to systemic problems in the way federal prisons treat the women in their custody. A recent report has discussed that in the UK, custodial sentences of less than 12 months should be abolished for women as women are being increasingly sentenced to short sentences. Women in prisons in India comprise four per cent of the total prisoner population, and there has consequently been a concern over the ‘neglect’ of women prisoners in these systems as their specific needs are not addressed. This has prompted calls for laws to be amended to address the plight of women prisoners in India. In Sierra Leone, female inmates will receive financial packages after their jail term and will have bank accounts set up for them.

A recent press release from the UK Ministry of Justice revealed that there will be a funding boost for vulnerable women offenders in the community to facilitate reintegration after release. In the US, a county jail in Los Angeles has created a comprehensive jobs training programme at a women's jail. This is to enable reintegration after release from prison as women face special obstacles to employment after serving their sentences. In St Louis, USA a non-profit organisation conducted a programme to encourage the rehabilitation of women prisoners in which they put on plays with incarcerated women to allow them to have some forms of basic human contact which is not permitted in the prison yard or in the dorms. Women at a maximum-security prison in Kenya are receiving training in coding, IT, web design and computer repair with the aim of equipping them with skills that will facilitate their reintegration after their release.