Report of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences: Mission to the United States of America on the issue of violence against women in state and federal prisons, Ms. Radhika Coomaraswamy (1999)

Date: 04 January 1999

The present report contains the findings and recommendations of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, on her visit to the United States. In relation to drug-related issues, the Special Rapporteur expresses concerns about:

The disproportionate impact of the drug policies on the poor females of colour (68% of women in federal prisons were charged with drug related offences)
The severity of sentences for drug mules (women charged with drug smuggling were sentenced to life imprisonment under New York’s Rockefeller Drug Laws)
The lack of welfare services for those with substance abuse

Citation: Ms. Radhika Coomaraswamy, 'Report of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences: Mission to the United States of America on the issue of violence against women in state and federal prisons' (1999) E/CN.4/1999/68/Add.2