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Survey data associated with: The Invisible Women: The Costs of Prison and the Indirect Effects on Women

By Institutional Capacity of the State Division (VPS/IFD/ICS)

This dataset provides survey data from the publication Las mujeres invisibles: Los costos de la prisión y los efectos indirectos en las mujeres (available only in Spanish). It explores how incarceration affects not only those behind bars but also the families—especially women—left behind.

It explores how incarceration affects not only those behind bars but also the families—especially women—left behind.

Overview

The study investigates the economic, social, and health impacts of having a family member detained in the Mexican prison system. It reveals how parental incarceration creates ripple effects that harm women’s well-being and increase social inequality.

By combining socio-demographic data and quantitative parental incarceration statistics, the dataset helps illustrate the hidden costs of imprisonment—providing one of the region’s clearest “invisible women” examples of how punitive justice models can marginalize caregivers and dependents.

What the Data Includes

The survey is divided into two main sections:

  1. Socio-demographic characteristics of individuals visiting Centers for Social Rehabilitation, including data on their education, employment, income, and household composition.
  2. Economic, social, and health consequences of incarceration—covering expenses incurred by families, access to medical care, and emotional distress indicators.

Together, these data reveal how women often bear the financial and emotional burdens of incarceration, despite not being convicted themselves.

Key Insights

  • Visitors to prisons are predominantly women related to the incarcerated, underscoring gendered caregiving roles.
  • Families report significant out-of-pocket costs for transportation, food, and legal support during prison visits.
  • Health impacts include stress-related conditions and limited access to healthcare for caregivers.
  • The dataset provides parental incarceration statistics that highlight intergenerational disadvantages for children of detainees.

Research and Policy Relevance

This dataset is a valuable tool for researchers, journalists, and policymakers interested in: - Gender inequality and the invisible costs of imprisonment
- Quantifying the economic impact of incarceration on families
- Understanding the intersection of justice, poverty, and gender in Latin America

The findings add to a growing body of “invisible women” examples, emphasizing how justice systems can reproduce inequality by ignoring family-level consequences.

Use this dataset to explore how incarceration policies reshape gender roles, household economies, and health outcomes—turning the unseen costs of prison into measurable data.

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Metadata & use

Identifier https://doi.org/10.60966/tedovsi1
License Creative Commons Attribution–NonCommercial–NoDerivs 3.0 IGO
Related Knowledge Product
Citation

Pérez Correa, Catalina (2016). Survey data associated with: The Invisible Women: The Costs of Prison and the Indirect Effects on Women. IDB Open Data. https://doi.org/10.60966/tedovsi1
Published date 2016-05-31
Modified date 2026-08-26
Tags/Keywords Costs · Expenses · Penitentiary System · Prisons · Women
Language
  1. Spanish
Temporal coverage 2014-2014
Country
Mexico
Region Latin America and the Caribbean
Publisher
Inter-American Development Bank
Author
Pérez Correa, Catalina
Inter-American Development Bank
Data collection type Survey Data
Statistical type Cross-sectional Data
Data structure Structured Data
Data notes

What are real-world examples of “invisible women”?

“Invisible women” refers to the ways women’s needs and experiences are excluded from data, policy, and resource design. In this dataset, the invisibility appears in how caregivers—primarily women—shoulder the hidden costs of incarceration, such as food, travel, and medical expenses.

Broader examples include transportation systems that ignore women’s safety needs or health studies that under-sample female participants.

Why are women often excluded from data collection and design?

Data systems have historically centered on men as the “default” subject, which leads to gender data gaps in areas like labor, health, and justice.

Women’s unpaid care work, informal employment, and social roles are often harder to quantify, leaving policymakers without evidence to address inequities.

How does the gender data gap manifest in daily life?

The gender data gap means that many public policies are built on incomplete evidence. For example, a prison visitation schedule might not account for the fact that most visitors are working mothers, or healthcare outreach may miss caregivers who spend much of their day traveling to correctional facilities. These blind spots perpetuate inequality in access, income, and safety.

How many children have incarcerated parents?

The dataset captures quantitative statistics on parental incarceration for visitors to Mexican correctional centers. While numbers vary by facility, the data indicate that a significant portion of visitors care for one or more children affected by a parent’s incarceration—an often overlooked population in social policy.

What are the consequences for children of incarcerated parents?

Children of incarcerated parents face emotional stress, school disruption, and higher risks of poverty. The economic strain from legal fees, travel costs, and lost income compounds long-term disadvantages, reinforcing cycles of inequality.

What do the data show about parental incarceration trends?

The survey focuses on Mexico but aligns with global patterns showing increasing parental incarceration rates over the past two decades. The dataset provides a snapshot that complements regional and international efforts to track the social cost of imprisonment.

Why are parents incarcerated?

Most parental incarceration cases in Mexico involve low-income individuals convicted of minor or non-violent offenses. The study underscores how limited access to legal defense, systemic inequality, and rigid sentencing contribute to unnecessary family separation.

Are there differences between men’s and women’s incarceration experiences?

Yes. Women prisoners are fewer in number but often have greater caregiving responsibilities and lower access to work opportunities both inside and outside prison. The ripple effects on their children and extended families are disproportionately severe.

What forms of support exist for families impacted by parental incarceration?

Family support programs in Latin America remain limited. This dataset helps identify the policy gaps—for example, lack of childcare, transport stipends, and counseling services—that could reduce the burden on caregivers and mitigate intergenerational harm.

How does this dataset contribute to closing the gender data gap?

By documenting the economic, social, and health costs borne by women and families of incarcerated people, the dataset turns invisible experiences into quantifiable evidence. It supports future research on gender inequality, justice reform, and family welfare.

The Invisible Women dataset bridges two blind spots in public data: the unseen labor of women and the intergenerational effects of incarceration. It allows researchers and policymakers to move beyond anecdotes and build evidence-based strategies that make the invisible visible.

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