NO MALES IN FEMALE JAILS
NO GIRL SHOULD EVER BE IN A PRISON WITH MEN OR BOYS
The Women's Rights Network (WRN) welcomes the announcement that the placement of girls in prison accommodation is under review by the Ministry of Justice, and the appointment of Susannah Hancock to lead this review.
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Girls are currently held in mixed-sex settings including Secure Training Centres, secure children's homes and a secure school. They have also been held in Wetherby Young Offender Institution, an establishment for boys, in conditions which are a longstanding cause of grave concern for WRN and were extensively criticised in a recent report by HM Inspectorate of Prisons.
WRN holds that prisons for women and girls of all ages should be single-sex, both for prisoners and for staff. The practice of using mixed-sex accommodation for under 18s is one which breaches the human rights and safeguarding needs of girls; a position successfully won by Elizabeth Fry for adult women over 200 years ago. The argument that prison accommodation for children should be mixed-sex in order to mirror the outside community is utterly flawed - it is that outside community which has abused and traumatised girls, who require a therapeutic and trauma-informed service.
Heather Binning, Executive Director of WRN said:
"WRN has invited Susannah Hancock to engage with us on her vital work to improve prison services for girls in England and Wales. We have campaigned on the unacceptable practice of holding girls in a prison for boys and young men for many years since our members raised their concerns, and invited the Secretary of State and justice ministers to take urgent action. We welcome this review, which is urgently needed to address the failure of the Youth Custody Service to meet the basic needs of girls in the justice system, who have almost always been exploited and traumatised by men. We look forward to working with Susannah to improve the system for girls".
Notes:
1. The Women's Rights Network is the largest grassroots network of women in the UK, with a focus on protecting and furthering the rights of women and girls.
2. https://www.womensrights.network/post/get-those-girls-out-of-wetherby-now link to WRN blog on placement of girls in HMYOI Wetherby, a prison for boys and young men.
3. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/susannah-hancock-to-lead-independent-review-into-girls-in-custody
4. https://hmiprisons.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmipris_reports/hmyoi-wetherby report from HM Inspectorate of Prisons on Wetherby, which found girls stripped by adult male staff.
WRN POSITION ON WOMEN IN PRISON
Prison should be reserved for offenders whose behaviour is so violent and risky that they present an unacceptable risk to the public. Most such offenders are male. At least two thirds of the current women in prison have not committed violent offences, and of those who have, few would fall into the category of high risk.
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For all other types of crime, the public and the individual are better served by investing in evidence-based, rigorous community-based provision which addresses the causes and is rehabilitative in focus. This would mean substantially reducing the number of custodial places necessary for women, freeing up resources to make the remaining provision more effective.
Women's provision should be therapeutic, possibly following the model of the Scottish Bella Centre
​Prisons for women should be single-sex (NO exceptions for self-identifying OR GRC holding men) both for inmates and staff; it should be trauma-informed and focus on healing for successful reintegration into society.
SIMPLY INEXPLICABLE & CRIMINAL
We all know who will be adversely affected by a policy that allows men to identify their way into women’s prisons. We know that women who are incarcerated with men are unlikely to fare well.
It’s why we have sex segregation in prisons in the first place.
One former prisoner, FDJ, tried to challenge the placement of men in women’s prisons through judicial review after she was forced to shower with a male who went on to sexually assault her and other women. The judge said he fully understood the concerns of FDJ, and that women prisoners may suffer fear and acute anxiety if housed with a “transgender woman who has male genitalia”. He also acknowledged that the unconditional introduction of a man into the general population of a women's prison carries a statistically greater risk of sexual assault upon non-transgender prisoners.
Despite this FDJ lost her case and the practice of housing fully intact males with women continues.
For many of us, it is simply inexplicable that the justice authorities are happy to take a man’s word for it that he is a woman, even though they are not willing to believe him when he says he is innocent.
​To place men who have been convicted of serious crimes – even rape – in the female estate is criminal.
STATEMENT ON PROTESTS
As an organisation, WRN does not support or organise protests at prison premises.
Our Justice working group includes women with extensive experience of working in and with prisons. Protests outside or near prison establishments usually lead to an immediate lockdown inside the prison, meaning that women do not leave their cell, and miss education, exercise, legal and personal visits.
WRN's prison strategy is to campaign against unnecessary incarceration of women. We believe that prison should be reserved for individuals who pose a serious risk of harm if in the community; and that very few of these are women. We campaign against any men being held in the women's prison estate, and for single-sex prison accommodation at all ages. We do this through strategic influence with decision makers, using research and evidence. The Justice group welcomes members who support this strategy and are willing to give time to pursue these aims.
As individuals, any WRN member is free to attend or support any activity they choose. WRN will not arrange or publicise protests at prisons and ask that members do not wear or carry anything identifying them as WRN at such events.
BLOG ARTICLES
USEFUL LINKS
WRN Podcasts
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Men In Women's Prisons: A former female prison governor, Rhona Hotchkiss, speaks. Listen now
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Men In Women's Prisons: A former female prisoner speaks. Listen now
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Prisons
Vulnerable female prisoners are housed with men who say they are women - even when they are male sex offenders and have fully functioning male genitals.
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The Times: Trans sex offenders are moved into women’s jails (2021) - Read More
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Sunday Times: Trans prisoners ‘switch gender again’ once freed from women’s units (2022) - Read More
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If you would like to know more about the issue and find out what you can do in support, please visit:​
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Women in prison and transgender prison policy at Fair Play for Women
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Where Sex Matters: Prisons - Sex Matters
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