The government announced that the women s prison estate would be managed geographically instead of functionally from 2004. It said the move would enable female prisoners to have better access to services such as jobseeking and healthcare which had a regional structure. The particular needs of female prisoners would continue to be met by a dedicated section of staff with a senior manager in overall charge. But campaigners said that only the creation of a 'National Women's Justice Board' would prioritise the needs of women offenders. (There are 17 women's prisons, and 2 wings attached to men's prisons.)
Source: Press release 12 November 2003, Home Office (0870 000 1585) | Press release 13 November 2003, Prison Reform Trust (020 7251 5070)
Links: Home Office press release | PRT press release
Date: 2003-Nov
A report said that the prison system had failed to halt the rise in women offenders; and that the needs of women prisoners were not met within the existing system, which was designed around containing potentially violent male offenders. The problems of vulnerable women, many of whom were victims of abuse, were not always addressed; and because there were fewer women's prisons, women tended to be imprisoned further from their families than men, despite the fact that many had young children and that family contact was a key tool in reducing re-offending.
Source: Commission on Women and the Criminal Justice System, Interim Report on Women and Offending, Fawcett Society (020 7253 2598)
Links: Report (pdf) | Fawcett Society press release (pdf) | Guardian report
Date: 2003-Nov
A book reported the experiences of prison life by a woman charity worker sentenced for allowing drug dealing in a centre for homeless people in Cambridge.
Source: Ruth Wyner, From the Inside: Dispatches from a women's prison, Aurum Press (020 7637 3225)
Links: Guardian report
Date: 2003-Jun
A prisons inspectorate report raised serious concerns about conditions for girls at Holloway Prison. Following a visit in July 2002, it said the regime for young girls was grossly inadequate, with little awareness of child protection procedures. Campaigners called for young girls to be taken out of Holloway immediately. The Youth Justice Board said it was committed to removing all girls aged under 17 from prison accommodation by the end of 2003.
Source: Report on a Full Announced Inspection of HM Prison Holloway, HM Chief Inspector of Prisons for England and Wales (020 7035 2103) | Press release 18.2.03, Howard League for Penal Reform (020 7249 7373) | Press release 18.2.03, Youth Justice Board for England and Wales (020 7271 3033)
Links: Report (pdf) | HLPR press release | Guardian report
Date: 2003-Feb