From Survival to Sentencing: Gendered Pathways to Crime Among South African Women

Women are the fastest-growing incarcerated population globally, increasing over 50% since 2000. Given the urgent need to identify the structural and socio-cultural factors that influence women’s entanglement with the law, this study explores the gendered pathways that contribute to women’s criminalization and incarceration in South Africa, one of the most aggressive incarcerators in Africa. Using ethnographic fieldwork, in-depth interviews, and arts-based methods with 29 incarcerated women, we identify three interrelated themes shaping women’s trajectories: poverty and financial instability, caregiving burdens, and gender-based violence. These factors intersected with structural inequalities, childhood trauma, and survival-driven pressures to shape women’s criminal trajectories. Beyond describing the challenges that push women to crime, the participants proposed solutions to address these challenges, including safe spaces for survivors of abuse, socioeconomic empowerment initiatives, vocational training, and psychological support. The study advances feminist criminology by centering women’s voices from the Global South and by specifying how intersecting disadvantages channel women into the criminal legal system. Together, the findings shed new light on women’s carceral experiences, as well as incarcerated women’s insights on how to develop gender-responsive policy reform around the world.