Law and courts

Russian data removes the need to cite America. A study of five million defendants found that women were less likely to be imprisoned and received shorter sentences. A separate study of homicide sentences also found a female discount.

A man answers as an autonomous adult

A man is more often judged as fully responsible for his choice. A woman’s crime is more often explained by circumstance, relationships, dependence, trauma, or care of children.

Apply one standard of responsibility. If dependence, children, or trauma mitigate punishment, test those circumstances for every defendant.

Inequality written into law

Women cannot receive life imprisonment. For men, the age exemption begins after 65. Russia’s Constitutional Court accepted this difference as humane treatment, but the label does not erase the privilege.

Remove sex from automatic grounds for leniency. Humanize punishment through individual circumstances, not the sex marker in a passport.