HM Prison Service has a very long list of sex-based differences between male and female prisoners.
www.justice.gov.uk/downloads/offenders/psipso/pso/PSO_4800_women_prisoners.doc
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2.2 Women more frequently than men are the main carers of children. They are often single parents. Two-thirds of women prisoners are mothers. Only one quarter of children of women prisoners live with their biological or current fathers. Only 5% of children stay in their own homes after mother’s imprisonment.
2.3 Women in prison bring with them a considerable amount of vulnerability: one in 10 will have attempted suicide, half say they have experienced domestic violence and a third sexual assault. Now half of all incidents of self-harm in prisons will be committed by a woman even though women represent only 6% of the total prison population.
2.4 Around one-third of women prisoners report having experienced sexual abuse in childhood. A survey for HMCIP in 1997 found 49% of young women said that they had experienced sexual abuse, compared with 17% of young men interviewed.
2.5 Two-thirds will be drug dependent or with hazardous levels of drinking
2.6 15% have been so seriously mentally ill that they have previously been in a psychiatric hospital and 80% have had diagnosable mental health problems.
2.7 60% of women remanded into custody do not receive a custodial sentence.
2.8 Many women will be entering custody from positions of poverty and with very little social contact.
2.9 The gender specific requirements contained within this document take into account the particular nature of the women’s prisoner population which is disproportionately likely to have suffered domestic and sexual abuse, mental health problems and self-harm which both impacts upon on their offending behaviour and their ability to cope within custody and after release."
"40-50% of women in local prisons have never been in custody before. Twice as many women as men are jailed for a first offence."
"Women are often unwell on entry to local prisons and may have injuries."
"However from Jan 2006 – end June only 10% of women on remand were given a bail information report in comparison to 19% of their male counterparts.
60% of women on remand are not eventually given a prison sentence. Bail is often refused due to the lack of information available to the court.
Women may have missed the opportunity for bail at court, not answered questions correctly, or become too distressed to consider all the options open to them. "
"85% of women prisoners smoke"
"Women who have been sexually or physically abused by men will often only wish to be examined by female doctors and nurses.
Women may have to terminate pregnancies while in custody. This can be a very traumatic and difficult experience for the woman and staff.
Women prisoner’s needs are particularly acute in the areas of mental health, self-harm, substance misuse, maternity care and sexual health. A much higher percentage of women than men will require psychiatric reports to be written."
"There is a difficulty engaging many women into sporting activities (inside and outside prisons). Body image is a very sensitive issue for many women. Few girls too, are likely to continue with competitive sport after school.
Women may be happier to join in if they are able to take part in activities with women of similar fitness."
"Most women prefer and need a lower carbohydrate diet then men and that this should be reflected in the menus"
"Women prisoners are charged with offences against discipline at significantly higher rates than men. It is unclear why this is. It is not true that women generally behave more anti-socially than men – indeed women prisoners usually are very supportive to their peers. It may be that staff in women’s prisons are less likely to use informal rather than formal ways of managing anti-social behaviour. It may be that staff in male prisons tolerate a higher level of “minor” anti-social behaviour. "
"It has also been suggested that women prisoners are less likely to obey instructions instantly as they have a much greater need than men to receive reasons and reassurances for decisions made. This could lead to conflict if it is unexpected or there is not time to explain."
"Women prisoners receive far fewer visits than male prisoners. This is partly due to the distance many are from home but many more men than women have supportive partners at home bringing up the children. "
"Women who have been abused by men may feel safer in a predominantly female [staffing] environment. There are also issues of decency and security that need to be dealt with by women staff."
"There are fewer serious incidents such as hostage taking, escapes and serious assaults in women’s prisons compared to male prisons although these do occur. When women participate in acts of concerted indiscipline the incidents tend to be passive, spontaneous and small in number.
There are a few high-risk women in prison and more who are associates of high-risk men."
We are told 'transwomen are women'. However what this means is not clear. The Prison Service is very clear the differences between 'women' and 'men' in prison. To what extent do 'transwomen' comply more closely with the 'women' class of prisoners, and to what extent the 'men' class of prisoners?
How does, for instance, the note about engaging female prisoners in physical activity fit in with stories like this?
www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/outrage-transgender-prisoner-living-woman-12022675