Women offenders

Even though women are a relatively small proportion of the prison population, their rates of self harm and suicide are much higher than those of male prisoners. Around half of the women in prison report that they have been abused in their past life, and a third sexually abused.

The Ministry of Justice is leading a programme of work to implement the recommendations accepted by government following Baroness Corston’s Review. The Government Equalities Office is supporting the Ministry of Justice in taking this forward.

Maria Eagle, Under Secretary of State for Women and Equality, made a statement on 26 June 2008 following the first six months since publication of the government response in June 2008. Key achievements so far include the creation of specific guidance and support for offender managers to improve the treatment of women offenders; a new Conditional Caution Pilot which aims to divert women from custody; and the development of the Together Women projects in the North West and Yorkshire & Humberside, which are designed to demonstrate how a co-ordinated multi-agency approach using women’s centres and key workers can better respond to the complex needs of women offenders.

The Women In Focus Final Report can be found here.