A former colleague at St Giles who had served time in a women’s prison once described it for many of the women she had met in there as ‘a welcome break’. Let’s just reflect on this sobering assertion and acknowledge an uncomfortable truth in it. Despite the deprivation of liberty, for some women prison is at least a chance to stay fed, get away from violent partners and gain respite from the danger and degradation of lives outside – one in which many are struggling to be seen, heard and access support.
It tells us a lot about the vulnerability of these women. But prison should never be the solution to their desperate, dehumanising situations.
I’d like to share Kayley’s story – her name has been changed to protect her identity. She was one of 1,745 women helped through St Giles’ specialist services focussing on support for women last year, referred to us six weeks before she was due to be released from prison. Already vulnerable with mental health needs, she was facing homelessness once in the community.
Despite a housing referral being submitted a month earlier, a failed council assessment due to technical issues meant Kayley was released without accommodation arranged. On release day, attempts to secure emergency housing were initially unsuccessful, and Kayley was also released without her mental health medication.
Although temporary hotel accommodation was approved following escalation, Kayley was refused entry and had to stay with an abusive ex-partner over a bank holiday weekend, exposing her to further risk.
The case highlights significant gaps in communication, coordination, and timely support for vulnerable women. Kayley posed no risk to the public. Unaddressed mental health issues and domestic abuse were driving her involvement in the justice system.
Kayley’s prison sentence was almost certainly due to a culmination of incidents in her life resulting in a crisis. But St Giles would have liked to have got involved with Kayley before this crisis. We could have supported her with early interventions around mental health and helped her stay safe from abusive relationships.
Over time, we would have built a relationship with Kayley built on trust and advocacy, ensuring she got the wraparound support she needed modelled on a Whole Systems Approach. Ultimately, our goal would have been to enable her to navigate life’s challenges on her own.
Kayley’s story underlines a key issue which has been highlighted by the recent Women’s Justice Board Report. This is the lack of progress made since the seminal Corston Report of 2007 which committed to ending imprisonment for women in all but the most serious cases.
Women in the justice system historically and continue to have multiple, interconnected needs. In 2012, St Giles ran a meet at the gates service for women in London leaving prison all of whom were deemed at ‘high’ or ‘very high’ risk of re-offending. Two caseworkers with lived experience of being in prison provided the support. Upon referral to them 65% of the women were experienced three or more unmet needs, 46% experienced four and 23% five or more. However, through intensive, personalised support provided across all areas of vulnerability being experienced by the women – from housing to domestic abuse – the women’s re-offending halved in the 12 months after release compared to the 12 months prior.
This illustrates the impact of advocacy and holistic support coupled with collaborative, interconnected services underpinned by lived experience. Women experience added barriers as they are operating within a system which is set up and designed for men. Women’s offending is largely non-violent and driven by exposure to trauma, abuse and poverty.
We warmly welcome the commitment from Lord Timpson to reduce the numbers of women in custody alongside the additional funding earmarked for helping divert women away from it and providing them with more appropriate community-based solutions. We stand ready to work with any organisation who shares our commitment to providing services which have a tangible, positive impact. Progress and bold thinking in this area are long overdue.
Women like Kayley and most of the 3,600 like her currently across the women’s estate are some of the most vulnerable women in our society. Let’s make prison a thing of the past for them and provide solutions in a more effective, impactful way.
Further reading:
https://www.stgilestrust.org.uk/partners-unite-to-strengthen-support-for-women-and-girls/