Pay or Stay: Gendered Disparities in China’s Monetary Sanctions and Early Release Reform

• In Event: Lessons from Sentencing Reforms and Community-Based Court Programs

Abstract

In 2016, the Supreme People’s Court of China introduced a reform linking incarcerated individuals’ compliance with monetary sanctions to their eligibility for early release. While designed as a uniform policy, its implementation has had uneven effects across gender lines. This study draws on survey data from 1,200 incarcerated individuals in three provincial prisons—two male and one female—to assess the gendered impact of this reform. The findings indicate that female inmates face greater structural and economic barriers to fulfilling monetary sanctions, resulting in lower eligibility for early release. Moreover, the reform has led to increased psychological distress and heightened feelings of despair among incarcerated women, exacerbating their vulnerability within the prison system.

These results contribute to the broader criminological discourse on the intersection of gender and punishment, aligning with existing scholarship on the disproportionate impact of monetary sanctions on marginalized populations. The study highlights the need for a more nuanced approach to penal policy that considers gendered economic disparities and ensures equitable access to early release mechanisms.

Author

• Jiaqi Lao, Beijing Normal University