Incarceration of women
Within the last decade, the rate of incarceration for women in China has increased by 46%. Women make up only 6% of the total population of individuals in prison within the country. While it is difficult to correctly evaluate the statistic regarding the total number of women incarcerated due to the underreporting of these cases, China is on track to imprison more women than the United States.
Human rights in China
Although China outlawed torture in 1996, human rights groups say brutality and degradation are common in Chinese arbitrary detention centres, Laojiao prisons and black jails. People who are imprisoned for their political views, human rights activities or religious beliefs have a high risk of being tortured. Strategies of torture inside black jail include deprivation of sleep, food, and medication. The strategies are all quite inhumane conditions. In a specific case, a woman named Huang Yan was imprisoned for her political views and included the deprivation of medication. She had diabetes and ovarian cancer which required her to take medication in order to maintain order. Tests have shown that the ovarian cancer have spread throughout her body. While the existence of black jails is acknowledged by at least part of the government, the CPC strongly denies facilitating the operation of such jails and officially cracks down on them, leading to at least one trial.