The women's Prison system is broken

ACCORDING to Nacro is a social justice charity which delivers services across the justice sector, health and housing:- "The women's Prison system is broken."

The charity has found that many women in Prison have been victims of much more serious offences than those they are accused of committing. Over � the women in Prison report having suffered domestic violence with 53% of women reporting having experienced emotional, physical or sexual abuse as a child.

NACRO analysis of the data from the Ministry of Justice shows:-

52% increase in self harm female establishments self harm in the female estate is at its highest ever recorded level. 4% of the Prison population are held in women's Prisons, yet they account for around 10% of all hospitalizations after incidents of self harm in 2023.
Women's Prison HMP Bronzefield is the worst performing Prison in England and Wales.
Women's Prison HMP Eastwood Park saw self harm almost double in comparison to 2022.
545 women were released into homelessness or rough sleeping, that's 11.3% of total women released.

Campbell Robb, Nacro chief executive, said:- "This shocking data that shows that the woman's Prison system is broken. More women in Prison are self harming, hundreds are being released homeless. Most woman are sent to Prison on short sentences for non-violent offences. This just doesn't work, with women often being removed from their families, their children, and those that support them. The Government must act immediately to fix this before even more women and their families suffer."

Furthermore, annually it's estimated that around 17,000 children are separated from their mothers when those mothers go to Prison. Only 5% of children will remain in their own home. Whether moving to live with a family member, or entering the care system, this often means children end up moving School, disrupting their education and moving them away from peer support groups. The impact is devastating.

It doesn't have to be this way. Nobody should be sentenced to custody unless absolutely necessary, community sentences are shown to be more effective at reducing re-offending, and particularly when support such as:- housing, mental health services, addiction and substance misuse programs, employment, and positive community links are in place. This is particularly true of women.

The Government's response to the crisis in women's Prisons has been to create a further 500 places. Not only is this in contradiction to their Female Offender Strategy, the money would be far better spent on women's centres and diversion and support services. This would give women better access to the care and support they need, and a place where they can tackle the issues that swept them into crime in the 1st place, like trauma, domestic abuse, and poverty.

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If you do not know about Nacro Crime Reduction, they are a social justice charity which delivers services across the justice sector, health and housing. For more information visit:- Nacro.Org.UK.

Headline findings of 1st LGBTQ+ health needs survey revealed

FURTHER work is to be carried out to examine in more detail the findings of a Public Health Liverpool study which has revealed many in the LGBT+ community feel let down by their healthcare experiences.

The dedicated Health Needs Assessment was launched to coincide with LGBTQ+ history month, and is part of the Council's commitment to make sure all communities are supported.

The headline findings have been released ahead of Pride in Liverpool this weekend, and mirrors national evidence which shows that

LGBTQ+ people (lesbian, gay, bi, trans, queer, questioning and asexual) face inequalities relating to health and wellbeing throughout their lives; including:- barriers to accessing healthcare services.

A 2018 Stonewall survey also found that � of LGBTQ+ people had experienced depression in the previous year, and 25% of people had witnessed discrimination by healthcare staff.

Of the 600 people who responded to Liverpool's survey, high percentages reported difficulty accessing certain services, and when they did, many felt that the practitioner working with them could be more informed about sexual orientation and gender identity.

Almost 75% felt worried about being harassed in public spaces, and 40% reported anxiety disorder.

1 in 5 had not heard of PrEP, a medication that can be used to prevent people contracting HIV.

Public Health Liverpool and community partners are now to launch the next stage of the 2023/24 LGBTQ+ Health Needs assessment.

The findings will be used to design focus groups and explore the key issues in more depth, and a stakeholder steering group will plan the next phase of the assessment.

Cabinet Member for Culture and Health, Councillor Harry Doyle, said:- "I am proud that we have carried out this work, to ensure that nobody within our LGBTQ+ communities faces any discrimination or stigma when accessing services. It will ensure we place equity and reducing inequalities at the heart of our partnership work on this issue. Pride month is a time to celebrate our LGBTQ+ communities, but also a time to raise awareness about the issues that disproportionately impact our LGBTQ+ communities in Liverpool. Through this needs assessment, survey and a series of listening sessions designed to help us improve provision, we will achieve our commitment to equality and inclusion laid out in the Council Plan. We want to thank the people who took time to give us vital information, and for providing the chance to ensure that our services are fully inclusive of all communities across the City."

Director of Public Health for Liverpool, Professor Matthew Ashton, said:- "Working with our community partners, the Liverpool LGBTQ+ Health Needs Assessment will support the wider health and social care system to work with different LGBTQ+ populations in Liverpool, enabling us to provide for them and gain crucial insight into their experiences of services and the barriers they face in accessing good health care. Sahir House, Liverpool PaSH and our other partners will now assist with the next phase of detailed engagement, focus groups and interviews. This will allow us to engage meaningfully with LGBTQ+ communities across Liverpool to understand how we can improve access to high quality health care."

Andi Herring, CEO of LCR Pride Foundation said:- "Surveys like these are so important to ensure that the needs of LGBT+ people are understood across healthcare and services, and that they can do so without fear of discrimination or shame. It is crucial that services, commissioners and the community don't see this work as complete with the findings of the survey, but instead valuable insight into the improvements that need to be made and the collective role we all have in achieving this. As the Liverpool City Region's LGBT+ charity, we look forward to working with Liverpool City Council and service providers to focus on this report's findings and using these to highlight the barriers and opportunities that it brings to improve the provision for all."

News reports located on this page = 2.

The women's Prison system is broken

Headline findings of 1st LGBTQ+ health needs survey revealed