Women’s equality in the UK – A health check

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15.32 15.33 15.34 Observations 51 the UK Government is taking no discernible action at this time to further the implementation of a gender-responsive CJS and is in the process of rolling back some of the progress that has been made. The Government is undertaking a process of criminal justice reform in which women are invisible. The principle piece of legislation arising from this reform process, the LASPO Act 2012, makes no mention of women and no specific provision for women in conflict with the law. Government peers in the House of Lords voted down an attempt to amend this legislation to include specific provision for women. 52 This Government has stated that it will not appoint a Ministerial Champion for Women in the CJS and has not issued any progress updates on this agenda. 53 Previously, the Ministerial Champion provided accountability and was instrumental in securing government funding for women-specific diversion schemes. The cross-departmental unit that worked under her issued biannual progress reports but no such reports have been issued since December 2009. Furthermore, the unit (praised in CEDAW’s 2008 Concluding Observations) has been reduced to two staff. In its 7th Periodic Report the UK Government states that it is “developing a strategy that will ensure that the women’s sentence delivery, in both custodial and community environments, is fit for purpose and meets the complex needs of women offenders.” However, the Government has since stated that they will only publish ‘strategic priorities’ around this. 54 Neither the strategy referred to in the Government’s report nor the strategic priorities committed to in Parliament have been produced. The number of women in prison increased by 85% between 1996 and 2011. 55 Women are still more likely than men to be incarcerated for non-violent offences - 68% of women are in prison for non-violent offences, compared with 47% of men 56 and in 2010, 61% of women were sentenced to custody for six months or less. 57 The cost and social implications of the current system are also huge – it is estimated that imprisoning mothers for non-violent offences carries a cost to children and the State of more than £17m over a ten year period. 58 The impacts on women in the CJS include women being held in higher security conditions than required; 59 a lack of accredited women-specific programmes in prison and women-specific community sentencing disposals; disproportionately high rates of self-harm in women’s prisons and indefinite incarceration of women with mental illness 60 (See Article 12); and inappropriate 51. CEDAW Committee (2008) Concluding observations of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Forty-first session http://daccess-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N09/555/92/PDF/ N0955592.pdf?OpenElement 52. Lords Hansard (2012) House of Lords Debate HL, 20 March 2012, c764. Hansard: London http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ ld201212/ldhansrd/text/120320-0001.htm#12032057000118 53. Commons Hansard (2010) House of Commons Debate, HC Deb, 2 November 2010, c737W. Hansard: London http://www.publications. parliament.uk/pa/cm201011/cmhansrd/cm101102/text/101102w0003.htm#1011031001527 54. Lords Hansard (2012) House of Lords Debate HL, 20 March 2012, c764. Hansard: London http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ ld201212/ldhansrd/text/120320-0001.htm#12032057000118 55. Prison Reform Trust (2012) Bromley Briefing Prison Factfile, June 2012. PRT: London http://www.prisonreformtrust.org.uk/Portals/0/ Documents/FactfileJune2012.pdf 56. All Party Parliamentary Group on Women in the Penal System (2011) Women in the penal system: Second report on women with particular vulnerabilities in the criminal justice system. http://d19ylpo4aovc7m.cloudfront.net/fileadmin/howard_league/user/pdf/Publications/ Women_in_the_penal_system.pdf 57. Prison Reform Trust (2011) Bromley Briefing Prison Factfile, December 2011. PRT: London http://www.prisonreformtrust.org.uk/Portals/0/ Documents/Bromley%20Briefing%20December%202011.pdf 58. Lawlor, E., Nicholls, J. and Sanfilippo, L. (2008) Unlocking Value: How we all benefit from investing in alternatives to prison for women offenders. New economics foundation: London http://neweconomics.org/publications/unlocking-value 59. Prison Service, Prisons in England and Wales http://www.justice.gov.uk/contacts/prison-finder Accessed: 14/04/13 60. HM Chief Inspector of Prisons and HM Chief Inspector of Probation (2008) The indeterminate sentence for public protection: A thematic review. Criminal Justice Joint Inspection: London http://www.justice.gov.uk/downloads/publications/inspectorate-reports/hmiprobation/ joint-thematic/IPP_report_final_2-rps.pdf 160 Women’s equality in the UK: CEDAW shadow report 2013
15.35 15.36 behaviour by male prison staff. 61 (See Article 1 and Appendix: 27 for further information) Recommendations: • The recommendations of the Corston Report must be implemented, particularly in relation to community alternatives to custody, the mental health needs of female offenders, women with caring responsibilities, and the relationship between female offending and histories of violence and abuse • Adequate health, including mental health, services are needed for women in prisons and the mental health and substance misuse needs of vulnerable women need to be assessed by Health and Wellbeing Boards at a local level Women specific sentencing disposals are not consistently available across the country. For example, between April 2009 and March 2010 only four of 35 Probation Trusts were running the Women’s Programme. 62 The National Offender Management Service has produced guidance on working with women; 63 however, the guidance was not referenced in the latest Government policy proposals on community sentences. 64 This illustrates how the lack of a strategy on women in the CJS is causing opportunities for progress to be missed. Recommendation: Adopt a national action plan on women in the criminal justice system to be led at the highest level of Government and report regularly on progress made. This should be a joined-up approach bringing together different government departments to coordinate a holistic response. The causes of women’s offending must be targeted and gender-sensitive policies, strategies and programmes for women in prisons developed There are also worrying signs from the voluntary sector working with offenders that the economic downturn is impacting heavily on the most vulnerable service users and disproportionately upon women. For example, organisations delivering services to women have raised concerns about the specific impact on women of current reforms to benefits and legal aid. 65 (See Article 13 and Appendix: 28) Recommendation: The Government must ensure that the impact of funding and service cuts on women in low income and/or single-parent households are rigorously monitored and assessed, to avoid perpetuating poverty-related offending 61. HM Chief Inspector of Prisons (2011) Report on a full unannounced inspection of HMP Holloway 15 – 23 April 2010. HM Prisons Inspectorate: London http://www.justice.gov.uk/downloads/publications/inspectorate-reports/hmipris/prison-and-yoi-inspections/holloway/ Holloway_2010_rps.pdf Para. 2.35. Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons is an independent inspection body which has a coordinating function for the UK’s National Preventative Mechanisms under the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention Against Torture. 62. Ministry of Justice (2010) Freedom of Information Request: FOI 67233. Ministry of Justice: London 63. National Offender Management Service Women and Equalities Group (2012) A Distinct Approach: A guide to working with women offenders. Ministry of Justice: London http://www.clinks.org/assets/files/PDFs/Holding%20Page%20docs/A%20Distinct%20Approach%20 A%20guide%20to%20working%20with%20women%20offenders%20March%202012.pdf 64. Ministry of Justice (2012) Punishment and Reform: Effective Community Sentences. Ministry of Justice: London https://consult.justice. gov.uk/digital-communications/effective-community-services-1 65. Reducing Reoffending Third Sector Advisory Group (2012) A report of the Task and Finish Group. Breaking the cycle of women’s offending: a system re-design. http://www.clinks.org/publications/reports/rr3-women-tfg Women’s equality in the UK: CEDAW shadow report 2013 161
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Women’s equality in the UK - A he
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Women’s equality in the UK - A he
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Appendices (online only) Appendix 1
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• the continued discrimination ag
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• Develop a common model of analy
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Article 9 - Nationality: One third
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investment in social infrastructure
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and increase the marginalisation of
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have been no prosecutions in Englan
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1 2 3 4 5 Introduction This is a Un
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10 11 12 13 housing crisis, a ‘lo
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1.1 1.2 1.3 Article 1 - Overarching
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1.7 1.8 1.9 1.10 1.11 1.12 Women’
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1.17 1.18 1.19 Young women We are a
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2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 consult to “remov
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2.12 2.13 discrimination”. Howeve
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2.17 2.18 2.19 2.20 2.21 worsen gen
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2.26 2.27 2.28 2.29 CEDAW and the l
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3.7 3.8 3.9 3.10 would “increase
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3.15 3.16 3.17 and accountable EHRC
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3.22 3.23 3.24 report is was partic
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classes, migrants, and Gypsy, Trave
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the institutional discrimination an
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5.5 5.6 5.7 Case study: 8 Sandra li
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5.12 5.13 5.14 issue. A more approp
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6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 Article 6 - Exploit
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6.9 6.10 6.11 to the protection and
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6.15 6.16 6.17 6.18 Office’s own
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6.24 6.25 6.26 women and increase t
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6.31 6.32 6.33 6.34 infrequent lap
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7.1 7.2 Article 7 - Political and p
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7.7 7.8 7.9 7.10 The House of Lords
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7.13 7.14 7.15 7.16 7.17 Recommenda
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7.21 7.22 7.23 Political representa
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9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 9.6 9.7 Article
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9.9 9.10 Mainstreaming gender in th
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9.15 9.16 9.17 biased views towards
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9.21 9.22 9.23 9.24 women. 47 (See
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9.28 9.29 9.30 9.31 New family migr
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9.35 9.36 UKBA, where men and women
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9.39 9.40 9.41 9.42 • Do not redu
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9.46 Research on immigration case m
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10.5 10.6 10.7 10.8 10.9 The Educat
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10.13 10.14 10.15 10.16 boys and on
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10.22 10.23 allow speakers to promo
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10.29 10.30 10.31 10.32 Case study:
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10.37 10.38 10.39 10.40 • Many wo
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10.46 10.47 10.48 applications (fig
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11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 Article 11 - Em
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11.8 11.9 are 754,000 women working
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11.14 11.15 11.16 11.17 11.18 The g
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11.24 11.25 11.26 per week or they
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11.31 11.32 11.33 Introducing more
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11.37 11.38 Case study: 83 Jasmine
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