Women’s prisons have ‘astonishing gaps in basic decency’ and an ‘overreliance’ on physical force according to new research which examined conditions in four jails.
Self-harm among women in prison has skyrocketed over the last decade, with rates of self-harm now over 8 times higher than in the men’s estate. The report, produced by the prisons inspectorate, found that despite this women experiencing acute crisis are being dealt with by force. It describes responses to poor mental health, often exacerbated by being locked in cells with nothing to do, becoming ‘punitive’. Inspectors in four women’s prisons saw women in distress being ‘stripped against their will’ to make them wear anti-rip clothing, designed to be difficult to tear to make ligatures).
The report likened the situation to a ‘vicious’ cycle, where officers are spending the majority of their time helping women in acute crisis, and are therefore unable to provide the day to day support to other prisoners that is needed to prevent their wellbeing from deteriorating.
The report also found that many women were unable to maintain relationships with family due to staff not facilitating contact, and ‘inflexible’ short visit sessions making it hard for family to visit. It found the support for this was ‘far more limited than that in some mens’ prisons’, despite the level of need being much higher. A third of women in prison receive no visits at all.
Anxiety and distress among women in prison, the inspection found, is compounded by a lack of decency including women being provided with ill-fitting male uniforms, and ‘bizarre’ rules that stop them being able to wash underwear in washing machines. It levelled heavy criticism against prison officers, who are often ‘inexperienced’ and ‘insufficiently trained’.
Charity Women in Prison, said this week: ‘Women with serious mental health problems should not be in prison. Yet today’s HM Inspectorate of Prisons report lays bare the brutal reality: prisons are unsafe, traumatising environments that worsen women’s mental ill-health, leading to alarming levels of distress and self-harm.
Without support for basic, essential needs like personal hygiene, suitable clothing, contact with family and friends, going outside and taking physical activity, the high levels of distress and self-harm in women’s prisons are horrifying, but unsurprising.’
The head of the prions watchdog, Charlie Taylor, said in response to this report: ‘There is no doubt that our prisons contain some very unwell women who are expressing their distress through repeated and risky self-harm. Dedicated mental health provision is critical, but prison staff also have a vital role to play. Disappointingly, this report highlights a lack of basic care to help women cope day-by-day which, for some, is then a cause of self-harm.’
He said the report ‘challenges leaders’ to transform women’s prisons, adding ‘now is the time for urgent and determined action’.
In September 2024, the new government announced plans to reduce the number of women in custody. A Women’s Justice Board is to be established, bringing together senior leaders in the criminal justice system, charities and government departments, with a new strategy
due in spring 2025.
