Since the late twentieth century, Canadian reformers have urged rethinking women’s prisons without modeling them after men’s institutions. Canada was among the first to adopt gender-responsive corrections grounded in feminist and Indigenous research. These reforms aimed to go beyond equal treatment to address women’s unique needs. Yet, rights violations persist . This chapter examines how feminist-informed policies have evolved and how their intentions are frequently bureaucratized and misapplied. Risk-based logic, institutional power, “femocracy,” and race-gender neutrality continue to obstruct meaningful reform. Trauma-informed and strength-based models often reduce systemic inequalities to personal responsibility. Gender-responsive strategies frequently ignore intersectionality and reinforce punitive practices that marginalize those labeled “unempowerable” especially for Indigenous women. These women are often viewed through a lens of risk rather than context, further entrenching inequality. We argue that focusing on women’s lived experiences and prison conditions is essential. While flawed, community-centered models offer the only real alternative to the cycle of institutional reform that ultimately preserves carceral control.