Piper Kerman, a former inmate in the United States federal-prison system, published a book called Orange Is the New Black: My Year in a Women’s Prison in 2010. Five years later and she is a pop-culture phenomenon and the inspiration behind Netflix’s most popular show to date. However, her story is not just fodder for entertainment and earlier this week, Kerman visited Congress to argue for more federal support for female inmates across the country.

Her statements were part of a hearing called “Oversight of the Bureau of Prisons: First-Hand Accounts of Challenges Facing the Federal Prison System,” which took place on Capitol Hill yesterday (August 4). Kerman was one of five expert witnesses who made arguments for criminal-justice system reform and, as she stated in her testimony, “a significant majority (63%) of women in state prison are there for a nonviolent offense. Many women are incarcerated due to substance abuse and mental health problems, which are overwhelmingly prevalent issues in prisons and jails. For women there is also a staggering, widespread incidence of victimization by sexual abuse or other physical violence before incarceration.” According to Kerman, the federal prison system is not effectively combating these issues and she suggests that “The Bureau of Prisons should adopt gender-specific policies and programs along the lines of best practices in states such as Washington that reduce recidivism rates, and give women opportunities to reintegrate into their communities and succeed post-incarceration.”

Her words and those of other champions for incarcerated women are, for many, very much needed. According to the International Center for Prison Studies, nearly one-third of the global female inmate population is in the United States prison system and it only appears to be growing. According to Gender-Responsive Strategies for Women Offenders, a publication put forth by the U.S. Department of Justice’s National Institute of Corrections, it is important to address the issues of female inmates as inherently different than those facing their male counterparts. Gender-based strategies are part of a larger argument that “involves creating a corrections environment that reflects an understanding of the realities of women’s lives” and “address social and cultural factors (e.g., poverty, race, class, and gender) and therapeutic interventions involving issues such as abuse, violence, family relationships, substance abuse, and co-occurring disorders. These interventions provide a strength-based approach to treatment and skills building, with an emphasis on self-efficacy.”

While millions of fans across the United States (and the world) engross themselves in the wildly successful “Orange is the New Black,” Piper Kerman and others remind us that there are real issues behind the comedy series, and that entertainment, at its best, serves as a potent critique of real-life circumstances.

Kerman’s 13-page testimony from her August 4 Capitol Hill visit is available for free download in its entirety here.

Related: Murs & Mayday Take a Stand Against the American Prison System in Serge’s Song (Video)