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

Ev 114Justice Committee: EvidenceThe availability of appropriate provision for different groups of women offenders, including, under 18’s,women with children, foreign nationals and black , asian and minority ethnic women , and those with mentalhealth problems4. Females with convictions for sexual harm might be included in all of these categories and represent someof the most high profile and complex cases within the female system .Despite this the lack of attention to theirtreatment and management remains concerning. Inherent faults in the design of the NOMS Female SexOffender strategy mean that few case managers have received any formal training in relation to this groupwhile those who have suggest that it was insufficient to equip them with the necessary skills and knowledgeto effectively engage with this client group, leading to requests for consultancy from our agency, for whichthere is no funding stream.Although the efforts by some Probation Trusts to shift responsibility for female sex offenders from sexoffender teams to female offender teams is a positive move the lack of specialist training for staff mean thattheir ability to assess associated risk and safeguarding issues is undermined by lack of knowledge andconfidence. This is also reflected in the lack of appropriate treatment interventions made available.Females under 18 with convictions for sexual offences are particularly disadvantaged as the lack ofknowledge regarding adolescent sexual harm means that decisions made in relation to transition issues areoften influenced by factors which bear little relevance to risk and rehabilitation, for example moving a 17 yearold from the juvenile system where specialist assessment services could be made available into the adult systemwhere none were available in order to facilitate her request that she be allowed to smoke. It has been ourexperience that the transition of young women from the juvenile to adult systems is often lacking in theattention given to the inherent trauma associated with the change in location layout, numbers and focus of theadult estate.September 2012IntroductionWritten evidence from the Howard League for Penal Reform 79In 2009, the Howard League for Penal Reform established the All Party Parliamentary Group on Women inthe Penal System, chaired by the Rt. Hon Baroness Corston. Its aim was to publicise issues around women inthe penal system and push for the implementation of the recommendations of The Corston report: a report byBaroness Jean Corston of a review of women with particular vulnerabilities in the criminal justice system(Home Office, 2007). The Howard League for Penal Reform continues to provide administrative support to theAPPG on Women in the Penal System.In 2011 the Howard League for Penal Reform published Women in the penal system: Second report onWomen with particular vulnerabilities in the criminal justice system. The report by the APPG on Women inthe Penal System highlighted the achievements since the publication of the Corston report, including theestablishment of a cross-departmental criminal justice women’s unit and the publication of a national serviceframework for women offenders. It also drew attention to the recommendations which had not been met,including the lack of progress in replacing existing women’s prisons with small custodial centres and thecontinued high rates of imprisonment for women convicted of non-violent offences.The APPG, with support from the Howard League for Penal Reform, recently conducted an inquiry on girlsin the penal system. It looked at the decisions that routed girls into or out of the penal system, provision forgirls and made recommendations for reform across the social and penal system. The inquiry produced twobriefing papers, Keeping girls out of the penal system and From courts to custody.This submission is based on our policy work with women and girls in the penal system and those at risk ofentering the penal system.1. The nature and effectiveness of the Ministry of Justice’s strategy for women offenders1.1 It is difficult to comment on the nature and effectiveness of the Ministry of Justice’s current strategy forwomen offenders when a strategy document is not yet available.1.2 Baroness Corston has expressed her concern about the lack of a written strategy for women in the penalsystem. In a debate in the House of Lords (Hansard, HL Deb, 20 March 2012, c764) Baroness Corston stated,We currently have a virtual strategy in that government Ministers say that they have a strategy butthat they will not publish it. That is no strategy at all. Surely that is meaningless if the Governmentare serious in their attempt to be accountable and to monitor progress. How can they evidenceprogress in a transparent way without publishing, at the very least, a framework of intent, supported79The Howard League for Penal Reform is the oldest penal reform charity in the world. It has campaigned on the issue of womenand girls in prison, the treatment of pregnant women and provision for women with babies in prison for many years. The HowardLeague for Penal Reform’s legal team has represented girls and young women caught up in the criminal justice system, includingthose in custody