The latest HM Chief Inspector of Prisons Annual Report 2024-25 has been published. It examined conditions in 37 prisons across England, including 14 women’s prisons and 23 men’s prisons.
For women the findings are bleak.
The rate of self-harm has rocketed in women’s prisons over the last ten years and is now more than 8.5 times higher than in men’s. This might be in part because “vulnerable and severely mentally ill” women are being sent to prison because of a lack of community alternatives.
Staff said they weren’t always well trained enough for the challenge of looking after the many women who self-harmed, and spent so much time with those with the most acute needs, that the others didn’t get enough time. The report also found that the response to some women in crisis had become punitive – with an overreliance on physical force – in some cases without good reason.
It goes on to say that often officers couldn’t provide the basic support women needed, and long periods in their cells increased anxiety and isolation. However, at Drake Hall there were “an excellent range” of tools and interventions to help women cope– including therapy dogs and a specialist unit.
18% of women felt unsafe in prison, and women feel let down by staff – with 60% saying they don’t treat them with respect.
Day to day living was beset by difficulties.
- 94% of women said what mattered to them most was contact with their families – but the report found insufficient contact in the first few days in prison, poor provision for social visits, and a lack of creativity around helping women to maintain this contact.
- 19% of women said they had developed a problem with drugs, alcohol or medication not prescribed to them since arriving in prison, and more women than men said they had a drug or alcohol problem.
- There wasn’t enough suitable clothing or underwear for women, so they had to wear men’s tracksuits and workwear.
- Only one third of women thought complaints were dealt with fairly and under half thought the replies they got were fair. In addition – accessing personal property promptly was an issue – with only 16% of women prisoners able to do so.
When it came to release only 29% of women were released near their home area. Not all women’s prisons offered a safe and supportive space outside the gate for women to plan their onward journey. This is something we are working on at Foston Hall, with a departure lounge for those ending their sentences. For most, the release is just the start, 10% of women leaving Drake Hall were released homeless and half were sent to temporary accommodation.
Joy Doal, Anawim CEO says:
This shows, again, why the recommendations in the Independent Sentencing Review need to be implemented as soon as practicably possible. There needs to be a presumption against short sentences, increased use of community orders, and sustained funding for women’s centres to allow us to continue our work. We know what we do works, it removes a layer of trauma for the women, can keep families united, saves thousands of pounds of public money, and leads to better outcomes.