ARRWIP

Advocacy and Research on Reproductive Wellness of Incarcerated People

ARRWIP is a Group of Researchers out of Johns Hopkins University

Working with key stakeholders, including directly impacted people and policy makers

To champion the reproductive wellbeing of incarcerated women and to create a world where they can thrive in their communities.

In 2020, there were nearly 153,000 women behind bars in the U.S., a 500% increase since 1980.

Most of them are of reproductive age. The majority are mothers and primary caregivers to young children, and they are disproportionately Black women and other people of color. Understanding their reproductive health status, care, and needs is essential for advancing reproductive health equity in our society.

Our research has estimated that there are an estimated 58,000 admissions of pregnant people to U.S. jails and prisons each year.

ARRWIP is a research group at Johns Hopkins University led by Dr. Carolyn Sufrin, an obstetrician-gynecologist, researcher, medical anthropologist, and author of Jailcare: Finding the Safety Net for Women Behind Bars. A national leader and advocate on reproductive health care for incarcerated women, she has been working on reproductive health issues among incarcerated people since 2006.

Our goal is to create opportunities to improve reproductive wellbeing for people affected by the criminal legal system – including making full-scope, compassionate reproductive health care accessible for people experiencing incarceration and advocating for alternatives to incarceration.