What are we trying to achieve when we send a woman to prison?
Lilly Lewis, Women’s Involvement Advisor, One Small Thing
In the next in her series of blogs, Lilly Lewis, our Women’s Involvement Advisor, reflects on the Independent Review of the Prison System in England and Wales and argues that, for many women whose involvement in the justice system is shaped by trauma, investment in community support offers a more effective response than imprisonment.
The Independent Review of the Prison System comes at a really important time for women involved in, or at risk of becoming involved in, the justice system. For me, one of the biggest questions we need to ask is, ‘what are we actually trying to achieve when we send a woman to prison?’. So many women in our prison system have experienced trauma, abuse, poverty, poor mental health, substance use, homelessness or a combination of these things. Often, these aren't separate issues. They are connected, and they build up over years, sometimes generations.
“If we want safer communities, fewer victims and fewer women entering the criminal justice system, then we have to be honest about what is happening now in our prisons and brave enough to consider doing things differently. ”
Yet too often, by the time a woman faces the prospect of prison, we are responding to the behaviour without properly understanding what sits behind it. For women who do not pose a significant risk to the public, I struggle to understand how removing them from their children, families, homes and communities can be the answer. Many of these women have already been through years of trauma.
Of course, there needs to be accountability. But accountability and imprisonment are not the same thing. Accountability means taking responsibility for actions and the impact this can have on others - but the justice system must be designed to support that process and not cause further harm. Many women in prison could be safely and effectively supported in the community, addressing the underlying causes of their involvement in the justice system and preventing the harmful impact of imprisonment – and the poorer outcomes associated with custody.
Without greater investment in housing, mental health support, substance use services, women's centres and other forms of specialist support, prisons will continue to receive women whose needs would be more effectively met elsewhere. This risks perpetuating a cycle in which custody acts as a costly and ineffective substitute for support, undermining outcomes for women both during custody and after their release.
Because when we imprison a woman, it isn't just her life that is affected. Her children feel it. Her family feels it. A child doesn't stop being a child because their mum has been sentenced. These are the voiceless victims of our prison system.
This is why community-based support, such as that provided at Hope Street, matters. It shows us that there is a different way we can support women - that when women are supported in the community, and can keep their children with them, we can create better outcomes that prevent custody and further involvement in the justice system.
My hope is that the Independent Review of the Prison System really listens to women with lived experience. Not just consult them and then write a report about them, but genuinely listen to what women say would have made a difference earlier in their lives. I want the review to chart a course for a future where our prison system is safer, more effective, and better able to support women to recover, rebuild and thrive – setting them up for success in the community.
In order for this to happen, we need to look seriously at community based support and the evidence behind them. I want us to invest in services before women reach crisis point, rather than waiting until the crisis becomes a criminal justice issue and ultimately ends in prison.
And I want us to recognise that funding community support isn't simply an alternative to prison spending. It is an investment in safer communities. We cannot keep saying that we want to reduce reoffending, protect children and build safer communities while underfunding the very services that can help make those things happen.
The women I have met have taught me something important – when the reality of their lives are taken into account and they are met with trauma-informed and practical support, we are more likely to see positive outcomes. For women, whom so many have deep experiences of trauma, the punishment of prison is not an effective response.
The Independent Review of the Prison System has an opportunity to help us move towards a prison system that understands this better. I hope it is bold enough to say that prison should not be the automatic answer to vulnerability, trauma and disadvantage. And I hope it recognises that if we really want safer communities, we need to invest in women before they reach the prison gate.
