Dr Clare Wiper

Women's prisons could be shut and converted to house male inmates to ease overcrowding, reports the Mirror. This is a vital moment for this Labour govt to seize a step-change in our response to female offenders. Prison has proven time and again to NOT be a safe place for women, nor tackle the root causes of their offending. Now is the time to act and close them for good: 🔺 Self-harm for women in prison was at the highest rate ever recorded in 2023, an increase of 63% and eleven times higher than in the male estate. 🔺 76% of women in prison report having a mental health problem. 🔺 53% of women in prison have experienced abuse as children. 🔺 72% of women leaving one prison faced homelessness or unsafe accommodation. 🔺 Pregnant women are 7x more likely than those outside prison to suffer a stillbirth. Women are disproportionately imprisoned through a failure to tackle the root causes of crime. Austerity has not only dealt us a prison overcrowding crisis, it has in tandem with a cost of living crisis exacerbated offending, further increasing the needs of women and families. Women are most likely to be primary carers for children and other adults around them, as well as to be susceptible to sexualised exploitation for fear of escalating violence, homelessness, threat or material need, found @RevDoors. For the more than 70% of female offenders who have experienced domestic abuse, and whose offending is rooted in their abuse, this compounds the outcome. Leaving women destitute, homeless. With no holistic response to address their harm, they are spat out of the system, often back in the control of their abuser. Pregnant women and mothers? One in three are held in prison pre-trial. Two babies have died in England’s prisons in recent years. Inquests into newborn babies dying in prison have found huge failings for what is in real terms a dark ages Dickensian practice that should be abolished. The answer? Investing in the community solutions, like Women Centre's. The case is clear, and has been for years. WC’s have a proven track record of delivering results that stems from providing a holistic specialist approach to tackling how and why women offend. Giving women empowerment and support they need to avoid re-offending whilst addressing harms. Against a spend of £1.7bn on issues linked to female offending, a place at a Woman’s Centre ranges from £1,223 to £4,125 per woman depending on needs, whilst a place in prison costs £52,121. This makes sense. This needs to happen.