29 Jul 2021
Self-harm rates amongst women in custody increased by 12% in the 12 months up to March 2021, according to today’s MOJ data.
On the increase in self-harm Jemima Olchawski, CEO of Agenda, the alliance for women and girls at risk, says:
“It's tragic but now horribly familiar to see rates of self-harm for women in prison continuing to rise. In the last year many women were confined to their cells for 23 hours a day, unable to see their families and children for months at a time and often forced to isolate for medical reasons with very little social contact. The majority of women in prison are survivors of trauma and abuse, often beginning in childhood. Black and minoritised women are overrepresented in the prison population as are women who have been in care as children. Instead of spending more money on prison places that do more harm than good it’s time to invest in the specialist services that support women, prevent offending, and are proven to save money.”