Women in Prisons
When Karen White's conviction for sexually assaulting women in prison and his serial sexual and violent crime offences were revealed, it seemed strange that this charity was not more in the press.
A prominant TRA (can't remember if it was TELI, Tara Hewitt or Stephen Whittle) signposted the charity to a BBC show discussing the issues raised by White's assault to them & I was curious.
From their website this seems to be a single-sex (female) organisation:
"Why only women?
Women in Prison is a women-only organisation. This means that all staff and volunteers are women. We provide women-only services and campaign for a recognition and response to the distinct needs of women affected by the criminal justice system.
The previous life experiences of women prisoners and ex-prisoners make the need for women-only spaces and services more acute. The lives of women in prison are often characterised by sexual abuse, gender-based violence, mental illness, poverty, educational under-attainment, poor housing and substance misuse. These experiences are compounded by experiences of prison - a system based on disempowerment and control.
Experience shows that women-only support is necessary to provide a safe, positive and empowering response to the discrimination and inequality women experience in the criminal justice system and throughout their lives.
Achieving equality does not mean treating everyone exactly the same; equality of experience and outcomes sometimes require diversity of provision. Programmes to support prisoners’ resettlement will disadvantage women if they do not respond to the distinct root causes of women’s offending.
What about men? Aren't the issues the same for them? Don't they need support too?
Our entire criminal justice system needs transforming, for all age groups and genders; we are passionate about more community support and a reduction in custody for all groups. Men make up around 95% of the prison population in the UK. This means that the majority of voluntary sector organisations working in the criminal justice system already provide excellent support for men. Men and women in prison share many characteristics. However, as a minority group, we believe women require some attention so that their gender-specific needs are also taken into account. Therefore, unlike most organisations, our focus is on women only. The support we provide and the changes we campaign for are focused on women's specific needs and circumstances. Sadly, in spite of recent developments (see Research Hub section and read Reports), the criminal justice system still fails to recognise the distinct needs of women and address the root causes of women's offending. This causes further damage to the lives of women and their families."
October 2018 statement suggests that the definition of 'women' is wider:
'Transgender people, prisons and women’s spaces'
(extract)
"Recently, there has been a stronger public focus on a small number of cases of trans women in women’s prisons. This statement responds to the broader issue of transgender women and men in the prison system, particularly women’s prisons, and community-based women’s spaces." (continues)
"For thirty five years, one of the main purposes of Women in Prison (WIP) has been to offer support to women, trans women and trans men, in women’s prisons, in the community and, for the past decade, in women’s centres, in order that they be best equipped to rebuild their lives. As far as resources allow, we will continue to do this.
WIP respects the right of any individual to transition. Drawing on our experience in providing support, we recognise the significant difficulties that this often involves. We support the right of transgender people to access services that meet their needs.
Our priority is the safety and wellbeing of all those with whom we are working. HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) have a duty to maintain a safe environment for every person in prison. WIP supports the continued scrutiny of requests by transgender individuals to move to a women’s or men’s prison. WIP’s concern is that rigorous and transparent risk assessment that explores the background, motivation and potential risks to the individual and to others, is not being consistently conducted and monitored.
Risk assessment must include the individual’s stage of transition; their particular needs; any history of sexual exploitation, violence or abuse; evidence of motivation to exploit, control and/or manipulate others (including coercive control); and risk to the individual or others of consensual sexual activity, pregnancy or sexual assault. This assessment also needs to include transition plans before prison, future intentions after serving their sentence, and any risk to, or impact on the individual, and to others, of moving prison and of not being moved." (continues)
www.womeninprison.org.uk/news-and-campaigns.php?s=2018-10-12-statement-from-women-in-prison
current very relevent thread:
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3470790-Karen-White-wants-to-force-a-return-back-to-womens-prison
Trustees (some may be of interest):
www.womeninprison.org.uk/staff/trustees.php