DOES SCOTLAND NEED THE NEW STRATHCLYDE WOMEN’S PRISON ?
A leading women’s organisation calls for a UK-wide drive to reform women’s justice. Soroptimists say: “Too many women in Scotland and the UK are still being sent to prison instead of receiving community sanctions and targeted support to address the causes of their offending.” Scottish Soroptimists together with their Soroptimist UK Programme Action Committee have been working with the Prison Reform Trust, and, information gathered by 139 Soroptimist clubs across the UK has been distilled into a Report. The Report paints a mixed picture of the criminal justice system’s response to women.
In Scotland, it is estimated that 80% of women in the Cornton Vale Prison have mental health problems. Many are victims of severe physical, emotional and sexual abuse and there are high rates of self harm and drug and alcohol problems. The majority of women have committed minor offences and are serving short term sentences. 21% of prisoners are on remand and only 30% of them go on to get a prison sentence. 66% of women in prison have children under 18; and, out of 38 babies that were born to mothers in Cornton Vale prison, 22 have been removed from their mothers by the authorities.
The Soroptimist’s Report gives a number of recommendations. Among them, it recommends that the Scottish Government should scale back its proposal to build a new national women’s prison at HMP Inverclyde. Most of the cost of building a new prison would be better spent on embedding and expanding community alternatives to custody, and ensuring imprisonment is used as a last resort. The Report also says that the Scottish Government should legislate to restrict the use of remand where there is no real prospect of the offender or defendant receiving a custodial sentence on conviction.
Commenting, Dr Kay Richmond (Soroptimist International UK Programme Action Committee Chair) said: “Ending violence against women has been at the core of Soroptimist work for many years and as violent and coercive relationships are so often a driver to women’s offending we welcomed this opportunity to provide a voice for women who are very often victims themselves.”
Juliet Lyon, Director, Prison Reform Trust said: “Very few women in prison have committed serious or violent crimes. Without any risk to the public, the women’s prison population could be reduced by at least half. Through concerted action and sustained leadership, the number of young people aged under 18 entering prison has successfully reduced by 60% in the last few years. This detailed report by the Soroptimists provides the information and inspiration needed to reform women’s justice across the UK.
NOTES:
About Soroptimist International: Soroptimist International (SI) is an organisation that works to improve the lives of women and girls worldwide. It has a membership of approximately 80,000 women in over 3,000 clubs in 130 countries and territories and it is the only women’s service organisation with general consultative status at the United Nations. There are four Federations, one of which is Soroptimist International Great Britrain & Ireland (SIGBI). SIGBI has 355 clubs in 29 countries,of which 241 clubs are in the UK. SIGBI also has special consultative status with the UN. To find out more information about Soroptimism visit the website: www.sigbi.org
The Report: Transforming Lives: reducing women’s imprisonment A copy of the Report is available at: sigbi.org/assets/PRT-UKPAC-Transforming-Lives.pdf
Presentation on this Report ‘Transforming Lives; Reducing Women’s Imprisonment’ by Scottish Soroptimists will be given at the second annual Conference on Female Offending: Intervention and Support on 14th January 2015. The Holyrood Magazine are the sponsors. The ‘Holyrood’ is Scotland’s award winning current affairs magazine. Venue: Royal College of Surgeons, Edinburgh.
More than two years has now passed since the Scottish Government accepted the majority of the recommendations made by Eilish Angiolini, DBE, QC, FRSA, and the Commission on Women Offenders.
The Conference on 14th January 2015 will examine to what extent these recommendations have been met and discuss some major changes that have taken place as a result of the Commission.
Keynote Speakers will be: Rt Hon. Baroness Jean Corston, Privy Counsellor and Life Peer in the House of Lords. Kate Donegan OBE, Project Executive, Women Offenders Project, Scottish Prison Service. Allister Purdie, Governor, Cornton Vale Prison. Anne Gallacher, Team Leader, Tomorrows’ Women, The Adelphi Centre. Chair: Rt Hon. Henry McLeish, Former First Minister of Scotland. Soroptimist Presentation by Margaret Mowat.
Scottish Soroptimists will be attending the Cross Party Committee on Families and Children affected by Imprisonment on 4th February 2015 at The Scottish Parliament. This Committee will be chaired by Mary Fee MSP. Michael Matheson, MSP and Cabinet Secretary for Justice will be attending.
To find out further information on this Press Release, contact:
Janice Wilson, Communications Officer Soroptimist International Scotland North Region
Email: stitches@tesco.net Telephone: 01764 652532