Check out this article from the U.S. Department of Justice on Women and Girls in the Justice System. For women, there is not one single, dominant pathway that leads them to enter the criminal justice system. Rather, there are multiple ways in which their experiences contribute to their illegal behavior. Key factors that have emerged in research on women’s pathways to crime include experiences of abuse or trauma, poverty and marginalization, mental health disorders, substance abuse, and dysfunctional relationships.