Our vision is that true justice comes not from punishment, but from care and systemic change. Across the country, grassroots organizations are showing that healing, accountability, and prevention create far more safety and stability for women, families, and communities than incarceration. By funding these efforts, Mary’s Pence supports diverse models of justice with lasting impact and pathways to meaningful change.
In the United States, women’s incarceration has grown by 585% between 1980 and 2022. Many of these women have survived trauma: a study from Mary’s Pence grantee, Idaho Justice Project, found that 86% of women in jail experienced sexual assault and 77% endured domestic violence. For many, involvement in the justice system began not with committing a crime, but with surviving abuse.
“Women’s experiences with the justice system are shaped not only by their choices but also by gender expectations. Traits like authority or anger, often accepted in men, are judged harshly in women—biases that can influence courtroom outcomes,” explains Jennifer Mancuso, co-founder of the Rockland Prison Justice Project, a Mary’s Pence grantee, who serves as the Executive Director of the Interfaith Prison Partnership. Together, these two initiatives work to raise awareness, promote restorative practices, and respond to the needs of incarcerated neighbors and their families.
What Can True Justice Look Like?
For Rockland Prison Justice Project, true justice means showing up with dignity and presence — through care packages, trauma-informed workshops, and family support — recognizing the web of relationships affected by incarceration, especially children. “Women’s imprisonment ripples through families and generations. I have had the privilege, and the heartbreak, of watching children grow up with an incarcerated mother. As they grow, anger, abandonment, and resentment begin to creep in. I have seen this anguish spill over in classrooms, where children act out, seeking belonging in gangs. The struggles faced by the children of incarcerated mothers remain gravely overlooked,” Jennifer Mancuso shares.
ROOT Legal, another Mary’s Pence grantee, focuses on listening and survivor-led accountability. “Justice means asking those impacted what they truly need to heal. It’s a process. One that allows people to tell their truth about what happened, to take accountability, and to be supported in community,” Nessa McCoy, Director of Operations, explained. One of their program participants explained that her partner’s arrest under Florida’s mandatory arrest laws did not feel like safety — it felt like loss, because he helped care for her while she managed a chronic illness. She told ROOT Legal that when he was taken away, she felt like her world had collapsed.
Nessa continues, “When we met, she told us what she wanted: ‘for her voice to be heard. For him to understand the impact of his actions, not just sit in a cell.’ She wanted to heal through support. She hoped they could both get therapy. With the help of one of our community partners, we made that vision possible. Together, they created an accountability plan that included therapy, mediation, and ongoing dialogue. Months later, they were still in therapy, moving toward healing and understanding rather than separation.
The Human Cost of Women’s Incarceration
Meanwhile, in Idaho, advocates are shining a light on the state’s troubling record with women’s incarceration. The Idaho Justice Project’s latest report underscores that Idaho has one of the highest rates of incarcerating women in the nation, showing an increase of 5,084% since 1980 — often for nonviolent offenses tied to trauma or substance use. Nearly 80% of women in jails are mothers, and many are single parents. Their punishments, therefore, extend beyond the prison walls.
Idaho Justice Project concludes, “women’s incarceration destabilizes families and diverts millions of dollars from community-based treatment for trauma, mental health, and substance use disorders,” the report concludes.
Safer Communities Do Not Mean More Prisons
The combined work of these organizations demonstrates that safety and justice are not synonymous with punishment. By focusing on healing, accountability, and prevention, they are building communities where fewer people end up in prison, where harm is addressed at its roots, and where individuals and families can heal, grow, and rebuild their lives. As Nessa from ROOT Legal emphasizes, “changing the questions the justice system asks — from ‘How long should this person be locked up?’ to ‘Why did this happen? What needs to happen to repair the harm? How can we prevent this from happening again?’ — is key. These are the questions that lead to real safety and lasting change.