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Depression can have a lasting effect, especially within the confines of the prison system. Often, mental health issues go unnoticed, but prisons are working to help those in need.

Most female offenders in the United States fit Dr. Davis’s profile, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics: • Over 55 percent of female jail inmates used alcohol regularly at the time of their offenses. • Nearly 40 percent of female jail inmates abused drugs at the time of their offenses. • Over half of all jail inmates grew up in single-parent homes. • Over 60 percent of female jail inmates had been physically or sexually abused. • Of these, over 90 percent knew their abusers.

Fast Facts: Female Inmates in The United States

• Women make up 7 percent of all inmates in U.S. jails. • Women make up 14 percent of all violent offenders in the United States. • Twenty-five percent of female prisoners are serving time for drug offenses. • About 49 percent of female inmates are white, and 22 percent are black. • Between 2010 and 2015, the female inmate population has risen by an annual rate of 3.4 percent.

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the prison System