Prison isn’t working – and it’s even worse if you happen to be a woman

Editorial: New data released by HM Prison Service and the Ministry of Justice shows that violence in women’s prisons has risen dramatically. One obvious answer to this quiet, unseen crisis is to send fewer women to jail in the first place

Prisons, whether public or privately run, are all too often universities of crime (PA)

Men are generally more violent than women but in Britain’s prisons, the position is now reversed – and to an alarming degree. Data released by HM Prison Service and the Ministry of Justice shows that the number of violent incidents between inmates in women’s prisons – along with instances of self-harm – has risen dramatically.

The shameful fact is that women’s jails in Britain are the most violent they have ever been. Assaults have tripled in a decade to hit an all-time high, and there is no sign of matters improving in the short term. Among those involved in the prison system – governors, staff, prisoners and their families – there seems to be a mood of general despair. In particular, the lazy assumption that women’s prisons are somehow “easier” seems to be vastly at variance with contemporary reality.

It is something that should concern the wider community and our political leaders, but the one fact about prison life that hasn’t changed in recent times is that few care about the plight of those inside. It is as if human rights – of which we hear so much – do not apply to prisoners, and especially not to female prisoners. If they did, then the levels of violence and disorder would not be anywhere near where they presently stand.