The Disruption of Women’s Imprisonment: Negative Consequences and Non-Carceral Alternatives

Punishment is not a binary process, affecting only victim and offender, nor a transactional process between the state and the punished. Punishment impacts not just those directly involved, but also families, communities, and society more generally. Punishment sets in motion events with long-term consequences, and very little attention is paid at sentencing to the life-changing effects of even short sentences of imprisonment.