Women in prison on mental health grounds

[ArabeIIaScott]

A new report from the IWB on the subject.

'Independent Monitoring Boards (IMBs) are again drawing attention to the high level of mental health need and self-harm incidents in women’s prisons.

'Boards have expressed repeated concern about the increasing number of women with severe mental health conditions who are being sent to prison solely on mental health grounds, either under the Bail Act for their ‘own protection’ or as a ‘place of safety’ under the Mental Health Act.'

'at Bronzefield, the 18-bed inpatient healthcare unit is almost constantly full, and the majority of women located there have mental health issues. The Board reported that, on some days, there were more than 20 self-harm incidents occurring on the unit.'

And on the BBC this morning, new women's prison in Scotland that has been built specifically to support mental health needs.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-tayside-central-65715387

'HMP Stirling, which will also be a young offenders institute, includes areas to support women needing more intensive mental health support and a mother and baby centre.'

...

'A report compiled in 2012 by former Lord Advocate Elish Angiolini recommended the demolition of Cornton Vale, the previous national women-only jail, and paved the way for the HMP Stirling replacement and smaller Community Custody Units (CCUs).
The CCUs, the first of their kind anywhere in the UK, are designed to recognise the needs of women in custody and the fact that their backgrounds often involve adversity and trauma.
CCU's opened in Dundee and Glasgow last year.'

So the last thing those poor women need is a mixed sex space with male patients and full gaslighting as they are forced to pretend those men are women.

The sooner this nonsense stops, the better. Mentally ill men who claim they are women fo not belong in the women’s estate ever.

Absolutely, PriOn. Good to see moves towards reform, at least in Scotland. But of course this will make women's prisons ever more attractive for all prisoners who wish to 'transition' into them.

Women prisoners are forced to refer to male inmates who 'identify as women' as She. If they refuse to they are taken to one side and told they are being rude and it's unacceptable behaviour. If they continue to refuse to refer to the obviously male person they are objecting to being in the womens prison, as a she, they lose privileges-such as being able to work to earn a few pounds a day. Prisons are understaffed, yet at Downview the policy is to have 2 officers accompany a man, whenever he is moving about general parts of the prison. (To keep the women safe) So officers who should be there to interact with and support women are having to act as private security for male inmates. It is inhumane and such a waste of resources.

The sad thing is that the vast majority of women in prison shouldn't be there. They are frequently troubled, with mental health problems, or drug addiction, or are victims of domestic abuse, or care leavers with little familial support - often all those things. Sometimes they have kids of their own that they are forced to leave when they go into prison. They are often sent to prison for relatively trivial offences. These women are in desperate need of support, so while this new prison in Scotland is welcome, it would be better not to send women to prison in the first place.

I realise most of what I've said is probably in the report the OP draws attention to, but this is specifically in response to the news about the Scottish prison.

Yes. I should maybe not have put the news article on the same thread as the report, actually.

The report refers to E&W, the news article to Scotland. I'm not informed enough to know how the situations differ between countries.

I did wonder why, if they were making moves to turn prisons into what sound more like therapeutic mental health support facilities, they don't build more of those rather than prisons.

Gender critical beliefs (ie facts) are now supported in UK law. So women prisoners are absolutely entitled to refuse to address men as “she”. If denied privileges as a result, they should seek legal redress and substantial damages. We need to stop this compulsory gaslighting in prisons.

they should seek legal redress and substantial damages.

Ideally, yes - but how many women in prison are likely to be in a position to do that?

Binturongs, I agree legal aid provision is pathetic, but the Howard League might be able to advise on how to bring a case on human rights grounds, where the prison authorities are in clear breach of UK law on protected belief. Which they are, post Forstater.