Prison isn’t working for women, ministers say. Can it be fixed?

There are more than 3,600 woman prisoners in England and Wales – a number the Ministry of Justice projects will rise to 4,200 by November 2027.

But Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood believes “prison isn’t working” for women. She told the Labour Party conference that after serving a short custodial sentence, a woman is “significantly more likely” to reoffend than one given a non-custodial sentence.

Meanwhile prisons minister James Timpson has said he sees “lots of very ill women” on visits. This echoes research, external which found 82% of women prisoners reported they had some form of mental health problem, and data pointing to a rising number of self-harm incidents in women’s prisons.

The majority, external of imprisoned women have experienced domestic violence.

So what can be done? Two government-commissioned publications, the Corston Report (2007) and the Ministry of Justice’s Female Offender Strategy (2018) recommended that in some cases, instead of prison sentences, the use of women’s residential centres, which focus on trauma support and where children can sometimes stay, or community sentencing, would be more appropriate.

The new Labour government has announced measures including a Women’s Justice Board, external to reduce imprisonment numbers. Under the Conservatives, a 2021 white paper, external outlined plans for mandatory staff training in women’s prisons to reduce self-harm and better support for pregnant women.

InDepth has spoken to people with experience of the criminal justice system to hear how they think it can be reformed for female offenders.