In this article we analyze the situation of incarcerated women in Chile and their intervention needs, based on a combination of quantitative data with qualitative interviews conducted in a women's prison in Santiago. Most of them were mothers (89%); and many had faced traumatic situations such as domestic violence (47%) or sexual abuse in childhood or adolescence (26%). They declared to have more problems of coexistence with other inmates than their male counterparts, though fewer conflicts with authorities; less access to work and sports programs; greater access to psychosocial, cultural and school leveling programs. The interviews tell stories of exclusion and accumulated disadvantage, abuse of substances and self-destructive behaviors. We conclude that there is limited capacity of the penitentiary system to accommodate the specific needs of imprisoned women.