Download wip`s manifesto - Women in Prison

Women in Prison’s Manifesto
General Election 2015
www.womeninprison.org.uk/ge2015
WOMEN IN PRISON: Afterword
01
The UK has one of the highest rates of
women’s imprisonment in Western Europe.
Every year 12,000 women are sentenced to
prison. The majority serve short sentences
for non-violent offences.
More often than not, women have been victims of crime prior to becoming
perpetrators. Over 50% of women in prison report having suffered domestic
violence; 1 in 3 has experienced sexual abuse.
If the objective is to reduce re-offending, prison does not work. Short sentences
wreck lives. A few weeks inside can mean that a woman loses her children, her
home, and her job. Every year, about 20,000 children are deprived of their mothers.
The Criminal Justice System is failing women and this failure costs society and
the economy.
Women in Prison is calling on General Election candidates and other supporters to
pledge a commitment to a new approach for criminal justice, one with social justice
at its heart.
It is time for a fair, effective and cost-efficient Criminal Justice System, where the
abuse, marginalisation and poverty at the root of so much of women’s offending
are addressed and custodial sentencing is used as a last resort.
Please pledge to commit to the following support for women:
1. Alternatives to custodial sentencing
2. Leadership
The Government should introduce a
statutory presumption against the use of
short custodial sentences. Custody is the
most serious sanction available to courts and
the primary option to a court should be a
community sentence.
The Government must appoint a Ministerial
lead for women in the Criminal Justice
System with a cross-departmental remit,
working to a clearly defined target for the
reduction of women in prison. The position
should work in conjunction with a newly
formed Women’s Justice Board.
Reoffending rates are high for women serving
short sentences. This should not come as a
surprise. A custodial sentence cuts women off
from their children, families, support networks
and community services. When released, the
circumstances that led to prison in the first place
will not have changed. Community sentencing
works and offers value for money. It is not a
soft option; it requires an intensive, tailor-made
programme of daily activities that is monitored
and provides a holistic rehabilitation plan.
Implementing policies to change the lives of
marginalised women requires strong leadership
operating across the multitude of social and
economic factors that lead women down the
path to crime. The Youth Justice Board has
significantly contributed to halving the prison
population for young people. The same approach
should be adopted to reduce the women’s prison
population.
3. Women-specialist sector
The UK boasts an unparalleled level of
expertise and care for marginalised women,
the quality of which is driven by the third
sector. As we move into the Transforming
Rehabilitation agenda, the provision of
gender-specific, high quality support
services and expertise must be sustained,
supported with ring-fenced funding
provided.
Whether serving a community sentence or on
licence, access to effective support services is vital
for rehabilitation. Research and experience show
that women respond better to gender-specific
solutions that offer a holistic approach, and thus
improve self-esteem, well-being and their ability
to take control of their lives.
4. No woman should leave
prison homeless
Housing is essential to rehabilitation;
no woman should leave prison homeless.
There must be a statutory duty to place
women released from prison as ‘priority
need’ of housing.
Nearly 40% of women are leaving prison
homeless. Homelessness is an immediate barrier
to getting one’s life back on track or laying the
foundations for some stability. A policy ensuring
that women have suitable accommodation upon
leaving prison may seem costly, but is, in fact,
a long-term saving for the UK taxpayer, since it
drastically reduces the risk of reoffending and
its ensuing cost.
5. Prison estate reform
A significant amount of public money
has already been invested in reforming
the women’s prison estate. The new
Government needs to build on this
investment, ensure the recommendations
are implemented and accelerate the pace of
radical reform in line with a gender-specific
approach.
Women in Prison welcomes the Government’s
commitment to deliver the recommendations
made by the Women’s Custodial Estate Review.
The review embeds a gender specific reform of
the estate which is vital to reduce re-offending
and enable the effective resettlement of women
in their communities..
WOMEN IN PRISON’s General election 2015 Manifesto
How to pledge
Whether you are a Parliamentary candidate or not,
please join our campaign and pledge your support
for women affected by the Criminal Justice System.
To pledge your support for this manifesto or for more
information on Women in Prison’s campaigns please
get in touch:
Sign up online at: womeninprison.org.uk/ge2015
Or contact:
[email protected]
0203 227 0451
@WIP_live
Candidates pledging their support for this manifesto
will be listed on our website and promoted through
our communications to our supporters.
Women in Prison
We are a national organisation supporting women affected by the Criminal Justice
System and since 1984, have campaigned for social justice rather than criminal justice.
Women in Prison was born out of the anger that our founder Chris Tchaikovsky felt
about what she saw when incarcerated in HMP Holloway.
We believe that prison as it exists today is no place for women. We therefore support
women to avoid, survive and exit the Criminal Justice System and campaign for the
radical changes required to deliver justice for women.
Promoted by Claire Cain on behalf of Women in Prison, Unit 10, the Ivories, 6 Northampton St, London, N1 2HY
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