While studies have shown the effects of solitary confinement to be detrimental to some inmates, solitary confinement of women has particular consequences for women that may differ from the way it affects men. Solitary confinement rates for women in the United States are roughly comparable to those for men and about 20% of prisoners will be in solitary confinement at some point during their prison career. Incidence According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics’ report from 2011-2012, about 20% of female prison inmates and 17% of female jail inmates spent some time in solitary confinement during that year, numbers which are comparable to rates for men. Solitary confinement is allegedly used to prevent violence within the prison population, and is becoming more common due to the prison industrial complex and the rise in incarceration rates. In most prisons, inmates that are put into solitary confinement fall into one of three categories: disciplinary segregation, voluntary administrative segregation, and involuntary administrative segregation. Disciplinary segregation is used as a punishment, while administrative segregation is a preventative measure intended to protect either the inmate being isolated or the other inmates. While segregation as a disciplinary measure or a precaution that protects other inmates is allegedly reserved for offenders who have committed violent acts while in prison, women in particular are often put into solitary for much smaller offenses, such as throwing things or talking back to guards. It is also often used against women who complain of sexual assault from prison guards or other inmates. Once they are in solitary confinement, women are often monitored more closely and disciplined more harshly than men are. Disciplinary segregation An offender who has committed a “serious disciplinary offense” may be put in solitary confinement as a punitive measure. Inmates put into disciplinary segregation are not required to be given the same privileges as those put into administrative segregation, but the duration of their stay in isolation tends to be shorter. According to a magazine written by inmates in a California prison, the practice operates under a “guilty until proven innocent” protocol, holding prisoners in solitary confinement even before it is clear that they committed the infraction. Inmates who are considered to be politically threatening are sometimes put into isolation; although the United States does not officially hold political prisoners, some inmates in solitary confinement are there because of their political activism. This justification often means that minorities