Prison isn’t working for women, says Justice Secretary

Published: Friday, October 4th, 2024


This is a blog by our Communications and Campaigns Manager, Keeva Baxter.

 

Last week, Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, Shabana Mahmood, declared that prisons are not working for women. In order to reduce the number of women who are incarcerated, and ultimately cut the number of women’s prisons, she introduced a series of measures.

In her speech at the Labour Party conference, Shabana Mahmood said: “For women, prison isn’t working. Rather than encouraging rehabilitation, prison forces women into a life of crime. After leaving a short custodial sentence, a woman is significantly more likely to commit a further crime than one given a non-custodial sentence.” As part of the solution to tackle this problem, she announced the creation of a new body, the Women’s Justice Board.

As the Ministry of Justice recently shared, “over 60 per cent of women in prison reporting having experienced domestic violence and more than half having experienced abuse as a child.” This means most women in contact with the Criminal Justice System are considered vulnerable and have additional needs that should be factored into their care. The new Women’s Justice Board will create a tailored approach to women in contact with the Criminal Justice System, diverting them away from custody and towards more effective, rehabilitative solutions. As October is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month, it is all the more important that we highlight the experiences of women in prison and ensure they have access to the support they need to heal and move forwards.

Only around one third of female offenders sentenced to custody have committed a violent offence, and those serving short sentences are proven to have a higher likelihood of reoffending than those serving sentences in the community. The Women’s Justice Board, led by Prisons Minister Lord Timpson, aims to explore alternatives to custodial sentences such as community sentences and residential women’s centres.

Why me? welcomes this announcement and shares the Justice Secretary’s goal to divert more women from prisons. We also urge the new Government to consider Restorative Justice, both for women in prison and those sentenced to alternative measures. We know that Restorative Justice can be transformative for people who have committed crimes and can help them reintegrate back into their communities. We look forward to seeing how Restorative Justice fits into this new strategy and working together to improve access to RJ for women and all people affected by crime.

 

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