Radio: FL justice system punishes women for trauma, new report finds

A new report found Florida’s justice system is failing women at nearly every turn, from when they are victims of crime to when they become defendants.

Researchers said the system often overlooks the trauma and abuse which can lead women to commit crimes.

Sarah Anderson, associate director of criminal justice and civil liberties at the think tank the R Street Institute and the report’s co-author, said the issue is critical for Florida, which has one of the highest populations of incarcerated women in the country.

“The justice system really fails women at both ends because women quite often meet the system first as a victim of crime and then later as defendants themselves,” Anderson explained. “Their trauma, abuse, economic hardship and unique sort of pathways women take into the criminal justice system that differ from men’s, are rarely considered in courtrooms.”

The report noted without policies to consider trauma, women who commit crimes under coercion, such as sex trafficking victims forced into prostitution or fraud, face harsh mandatory sentences. While the report’s findings on the link between victimization and female incarceration are widely supported by research across the political spectrum, some critics warned reforms based on trauma could risk undermining accountability for criminal acts.

Anderson pointed out a promising reform would be for Florida to adopt a law similar to one passed in Georgia, allowing evidence of trauma to be considered in court.

“It was called the Survivor Justice Act,” Anderson noted. “All it simply allows courts to do is allow evidence of coercion or trauma to serve as a defense at trial, a mitigating factor at sentencing and/or a basis for even revisiting lengthy terms of incarceration once a victim of crime has demonstrated rehabilitation.”

Florida has taken some steps, such as banning the shackling of pregnant incarcerated women. However, as the state with the third-largest population of incarcerated women in the U.S., advocates argued more must be done to address the root causes leading women into the system.

Listen to the interview here.