5 Feb 2025
Almost two decades after Corston, prisons are still failing women
The Howard League for Penal Reform has responded to HM Inspectorate of Prisons’ thematic report, Time to care: what helps women cope in prison?, published today (Wednesday 5 February).
The report, based on research carried out in four women’s prisons in England, found that prisons are not doing enough to help women cope, resulting in endemic levels of mental ill-health and self-harm.
The rate of self-harm among women in prison has rocketed in the last 10 years and is now eight-and-a-half times higher than in men’s jails. The report also found astonishing gaps in basic decency and an overreliance on using physical force to manage women in acute and obvious crisis.
The report found 84% of women felt unable to cope at some point in prison, and that the needs of women in prison exceeded the capabilities of prison staff and their environment.
Andrew Neilson, Director of Campaigns at the Howard League for Penal Reform, said: “Almost 20 years after the Corston Report called for a radical overhaul of the criminal justice system for women, this report makes it clear that little has changed.
“Women who experience abuse and trauma need a safe space, not a cell. But thousands have been sentenced to time in overwhelmed prisons that are unable to support them or meet their complex needs, leading to more pain and despair.
“The government cannot duck its responsibilities on this, and ministers are right to make reducing the number of women behind bars a priority. It is time to deliver the holistic, women-centred approach that has long been promised but consistently overlooked.”
Notes to editors
- The Howard League for Penal Reform is the oldest penal reform charity in the world. It is a national charity working for less crime, safer communities and fewer people in prison.
- The Time to care: what helps women cope in prison? report will be available on the HM Inspectorate of Prisons website at: https://hmiprisons.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/our-reports/
Contact
Noor Khan
Press and Public Affairs Officer
Tel: +44 (0)20 7241 7873
Email: [email protected]
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