Midterm Pt.2 2 and women are considered second class, and this thought pattern has to been the quiet element that women continue to fight (Bloom, Owen & Covington, 2004). The increased incarceration of women has become more about legalities and policies that support more punishment then rehabilitation. Addressing the social perspective or the cause for the behavior has become the least of concerns for the criminal justice system. Ignoring the circumstances however does not make the underlying cause disappear, it actually magnifies it. There are so many criminological theories on male criminality and not enough that correctly addresses female criminality, and for those that have posed their theories, the comparisons are incorrectly based or sexist (Bloom, Owens & Covington, 2004). Women have fought so long for equality that it has apparently worked against us to some degree when it comes to sentencing. Prison should be the last resort when addressing addictions. Secondly, the war on drugs is a war on women because it does not address the help these women need. Although this is somewhat outdates, a survey taken in 1997 from both state and federal level showed that 74% of the female inmates admitted to daily use of drugs, whereas 62% admitted to using drugs before they commission of a crime (Mauer, Potler, & Wolf, 1999). What is not being addressed are the mental state of these women, and the personal demons that are driving them. Many of these women have experienced extreme abuse, either as children or in adulthood. Again, this survey only emphasized this where 57% of women in state prisons experienced physical and sexual abuse, and 33% were raped before their incarcerations (Mauer, Potler & Wolf, 1999). The women who suffered physical and sexual