Women offenders: after the Corston Report - United Kingdom ...

Justice Committee: Evidence Ev 91health and housing was generally poor. For over half of the women in their case sample, mental health serviceswere unsatisfactory. It will be essential for the new Health and Well-Being Boards to assess the mental healthand substance misuse needs of women at risk in their local areas, and to include those women as a specificcohort within joint strategic needs assessments and plans.3.3 To prevent the re-marginalisation of women in the development of new funding instruments, we proposethat women should be specifically targeted in emerging pilots. For example, in considering the shift towardsoutcomes-based commissioning, VCS organisations have highlighted the need for payable outcomes to betailored to women’s specific needs.3.4 We propose one or more local justice reinvestment pilots, bringing together all the key statutory and VCSagencies to co-commission an integrated set of community interventions aimed at responding to vulnerabilities,diverting girls and women from the CJS, reducing offending and minimising harm. In line with the currentfinancial incentive models in Greater Manchester and London, if the authorities involved can demonstratereductions in the number of girls and women entering custody, any savings generated could be made availablefor reinvestment in local community provision.3.5 Given the perilous position faced by many VCS organisations and the difficulty securing funding forinnovative projects, which by nature lack a solid evidence base, we advocate for grant funding to remainavailable for some services, especially very specialist and small scale provision.4. The extent to which the gender equality duty has become a lever for mainstream service commissioners—outside of the criminal justice system—to provide services which tackle the underlying causes of femaleoffending4.1 The failure to deal effectively with the needs of girls and women at risk in the community has meantthat prison has often been utilised as seemingly the only disposal available to the courts for women appearingbefore them who are living rootless, chaotic lives. More work is therefore needed at the preventative end tobring greater visibility to the needs of women at risk of offending with commissioners of mainstream services.Violence against women and poverty both exemplify causes of offending that have a clear gendered dimension,and where service provision is at risk in the unstable financial climate.4.2 Violence against girls and women: The critical link made in the Corston Report between victimisationand women at risk of offending remains persistent. Women in Prison data reveal that 79% of their service usersreport experience of domestic violence and/or sexual abuse. 15 Recent research demonstrates a dramatic anduneven reduction in local services to prevent and protect violence against women and girls and it is feared thatthis will result in an increase in such violence. 16,17 It is therefore essential that any approach to women has,at its core, a strategy for responding to these overwhelming levels of violence and abuse.4.3 Poverty-related offending: As part of Clinks’ monitoring of the economic downturn, VCS organisationshave identified worrying signs that the economic downturn is impacting disproportionately on women, withcuts to services that provide assistance with legal access, benefits and debt advice, housing support and mentalhealth provision in the community. In a Women in Prison consultation in November 2011, all the womenreported the closure of a service that they had accessed and they were experiencing a variety of reductions totheir benefits, child support payments, perceived job opportunity and opportunity and access to quality localservices. Women are often part of the “hidden homeless” group and St Mungo’s have found that, despitelinking in with multiple services, women with complex needs often fall through the gaps in service provision. 18Homeless Link research found a reduction of 40% in women-only accommodation over the last year. 195. The suitability of the women’s custodial estate and prison regimes5.1 In order truly to redress the disproportionality exposed by the Corston Report, a substantial debate isrequired about whether imprisonment is an appropriate response to the levels of risk and types of offencestypically committed by women. Just 3.2% of women in prison are assessed as high or very high risk of harmto others. 205.2 Many women are held far from home making it difficult to provide them with an effective resettlementservice and to maintain links with their children, families and communities. Additionally, VCS organisationsreport lack of staff resource within prisons to facilitate access to clients in order to formulate plans for release.15 Women in Prison. 2009. Response to Together We Can End Violence Against Women Consultation on a National Strategy onViolence Against Women. Online: http://www.womeninprison.org.uk/userfiles/file/Women%20Offender%20Campaign%20Network%20Response%20to%20the%20Way%20Forward.doc16 S Walby and J Towers. 2012. Measuring the impact of cuts in public expenditure on the provision of services to prevent violenceagainst women and girls. Online: http://www.trustforlondon.org.uk/VAWG%20Full%20report.pdf17 D Sands. 2012. “The Impact of Austerity on Women”, The Fawcett Society. Online: http://fawcettsociety.org.uk/documents/The%20Impact%20of%20Austerity%20on%20Women%20-%2019th%20March%202012.pdf18 St Mungo’s, Women’s Resource Centre and Homeless Link. 2012. Spotlight on Homeless Women—20th June 2012. Online:http://homeless.org.uk/sites/default/files/Womens%20Spotlight%202012%20-%20Report%20v2%20–160812%20FINAL_0.pdf19 Homeless Link. 2012. Homeless Watch: Survey of Needs and Provision. Online: http://homeless.org.uk/women#.UC49F6NXmZQ20 Women and Equalities Group, NOMS. 2012. Judicial Engagement: Women in the CJS. A Briefing for Probation Trusts. Online:http://www.clinks.org/assets/files/word_docs/judicial%20engagement%20briefing%20FINAL%2017%20Jan%202012.pdf