At Anawim – Birmingham’s Centre for Women we work with women every year who are in, have been, or who are at risk of, going to prison. We provide diversion schemes in the community and work inside in two jails and a secure forensic unit. We believe in most cases women would be better off out of jail.
The short sentences being served by most women in prison – for non-violent offences – do more harm than good. Often, these women are brought into contact with the criminal justice system because of abuse or ill health, and their incarceration makes things worse. The rate of self-harm in women’s prisons is more than 11 times that of the men’s estate. It makes up 29% of all incidents, despite women being 5% of the prison population.
There are financial considerations too. A three-month prison term costs approximately £14,500, and that’s without factoring in care arrangements for any children affected. It is those children who are often forgotten in the debates around prison, punishment, and rehabilitation. It is estimated that 17,000 children a year are affected by their mother being imprisoned (Narco.org). MoJ figures suggest that at any one time this equates to 3,550 children.
This problem is compounded when you learn that only 5% of children with a mother in prison stay in their own homes. Parental imprisonment is a recognised Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE), but there’s no statutory mechanism to support, or even identify, children affected. Any assumption children will be taken into care is incorrect.
This means sometimes the state doesn’t know who – or where – these young people are. In some cases, they are living on their own (Children Heard & Seen, 2024). They may have to deal with shame, and bullying, something that contributes to “Secondary Prisonisation” – a recognition of the severity of the situation (Minson, and others).
The 95% of children left behind might enter the care system, at great cost to the public purse, or may be sent to live with family members. This moves them away from support groups, disrupts their education, and can cause greater issues in time, for example two thirds of boys with a parent in prison go on to offend (CHAS).
We would argue that a large amount of this disruption can be avoided.
At Anawim we want the new government to reconsider how women are dealt with in the criminal justice system, to provide better outcomes for them and their children. Nearly 70% of women sent to prison have committed non-violent offences, and more than half serve under six months.
Short prison sentences don’t work.
On leaving prison more than half of women don’t have settled accommodation to go to. Rates of homelessness are increasing in the recently released. 12% of women are now sleeping rough after they leave prison and 13.4% are considered homeless in total (MoJ figures).
There are other ways, and chances for better outcomes for both women and their children. Last year we worked with 195 women through the intensive Supervision Court and the Health and Justice Vulnerability Service. Both are designed to divert women from prison – if they had all been jailed for three months – it would have cost approximately £2.8m, more than our annual budget.
We think – and we’re not alone – that there are better ways than prison.
“Women’s Centres take an approach that encompasses all aspects of a woman’s life and provide services and support from housing and finances to domestic abuse and harmful substance use. Women’s Centres are based in local communities and enable women to maintain relationships with family and social networks, whilst also building and developing wider support systems.” (Women in Prison)
We take a holistic, whole-person approach, and work to make sure that it is trauma informed and gender responsive. We believe this is why we get better results. In the last tax year, we worked with 615 women in the community who are involved in with the criminal justice system and 265 in secure locations. With sustained and continued funding, we could do more.
We also provide a free helpline, a drop-in service for any woman who needs it, specialist support in a variety of areas, and courses, activities and training. Anawim has been in Balsall Heath for nearly 40 years, we’re part of the city, and are proud to work with and for the women here, and across the country. You can read more about Anawim’s impact here – and there are many ways to support us – and all our work.