Engendering Justice - from Policy to Practice - The Fawcett Society

Female offenders serving indeterminate sentences find itdifficult to access accredited programmes that are nowan accepted route to prove fitness for release. Accreditedprogrammes such as those to develop cognitive skills haveproven effective in helping male offenders address theiroffending behaviour. No such body of evidence exists tosupport their efficacy with women and, indeed, very fewprogrammes have been developed which are appropriateto women. As with education and training programmes,there needs to be a separate strand of work which reflectsthe different learning styles of women. Developmentalprogrammes specific to women’s needs need to beaccorded the same status in the journey towards release asthe traditional male accredited programmes.The Differentiated Needs of WomenIt is important for any consideration of the needs of womenoffenders to take into account that women are not ahomogenous group. Women will have differentiated needsaccording to their experiences as well as the intersectionbetween gender and other inequalities. For example, ethnicminority women are substantially overrepresented amongthe prison population, comprising 22.3 percent of thefemale British prison population. 69 Further, factors such aswhether a woman is a mother or past histories of violenceand abuse will also impact on the effect of custody on awoman.Women from Black and Minority Ethnic GroupsOn 30 June 2007, 29 percent of women in prison were froma black and ethnic minority background. 70 Women fromminority groups are more likely to feel unsafe in prison andless likely to feel they are treated with respect from prisonstaff. 71 The concentration of ethnic minority communities incities also makes ethnic minority women more likely to beisolated from their families and to receive fewer visits dueto the location of the prisons in the female estate. This alsocreates difficulties for these women in relation to accessingresettlement support.There is a lack of understanding of the needs of blackprisoners. For example African-Caribbean hair oil is anecessity, not a luxury, but it has to be ordered throughthe canteen system which is slow and often chaotic. 72Women also commented that they did not receive anyconsideration for their religious needs throughout thecriminal justice process.BME women and foreign nationals are more likely toexperience isolation in custody leading to increased levelsof depression. Further, BME women may also be lesslikely to seek help from staff. This needs to be proactivelyaddressed. Many prison workers who shared their viewswith the Commission also noted that language was a barrierfor BME women. As one prison worker explained:For black and minority ethnic women, the biggestproblem is communication and language barriers. I knowwe’ve got language line but there are not enough bilingualstaff. Prison rules, literature etc. is not printed in otherlanguages. 73The use of interpreters and the employment of staff whospeak the languages of ethnic minority women should beimplemented within the female estate. Further, staff shouldbe trained in some basic words from the most commonlanguages.Significantly, the Prison Service Order on Women Prisonersprovides guidance specifically in relation to BME womennoting needs such as toiletries, health care, access to awide range of faith representatives and courses and trainingwhich take taking into account different cultures. 74 This isan important step but this policy needs to be translated intopractice and the complexities of the intersection betweengender and racial discrimination within the criminal justicesystem and the attitudes to offending and attached stigmawithin various communities requires further research.One of the critical barriers to understanding the needs ofethnic minority women and their patterns of offending is thelack of data which is available on these women and theirdistinctive needs. As one female ex-prisoner commented:Page 37