TRAUMA & WOMEN

IN THE CRIMINAL
JUSTICE SYSTEM
DEALING WITH WOMEN WITH CONVICTION
WHO CARES? YOU SHOULD!
Around half of MoJ spending is on prisons and probation
And around a fifth each on HMCTS and Legal Aid
Services. Reoffending costs £4.9bn a year

Overall estimated social and economic costs of reoffending

The total estimated economic and social cost of reoffending,
hereafter cost of reoffending,
over a 12-month follow-up period was £18.1 billion for the 2016
offender cohort.
 MENTAL HEALTH MADNESS

• DOMESTIC ABUSE, INCLUDING PRESSURE FROM COERCIVE PARTNERS TO COMMIT CRIME, HAS AFFECTED 57%
OF WOMEN IN PRISON. OVER HALF EXPERIENCED EMOTIONAL, PHYSICAL OR SEXUAL ABUSE IN THEIR FAMILY
BACKGROUNDS AND ALMOST ONE THIRD SPENT TIME IN CARE.
• RELATIONSHIPS ARE FEMALE OFFENDERS’ BIGGEST CRIMINOGENIC NEED: THOSE WITHOUT GOOD
RELATIONSHIPS ARE AT GREATER RISK OF REOFFENDING. NEARLY THREE QUARTERS HAVE PROBLEMS
OR ISSUES WITH RELATIONSHIPS WHICH INCREASE THIS RISK.
• UNRESOLVED TRAUMA RELATED TO SUCH ADVERSITIES IN CHILDHOOD OR LATER LIFE DRIVE
UNHEALTHY COPING STRATEGIES SUCH AS SUBSTANCE MISUSE AND SELF-HARM. INDEED, WOMEN’S
VULNERABILITIES, CONCENTRATED IN THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM, ARE THE DISTILLATION OF THE
BREAKDOWN OF FAMILY AND OTHER RELATIONSHIPS THAT IS SO PREVALENT IN OUR WIDER SOCIETY.
LORD FARMER, CONSERVATIVE PEER, 25 JULY 2019
 CALLING FOR CHANGE
BARONESS CORSTON, LORD WOOLFE, DAME SALLY COATES, WOMEN’S
POLICY FRAMEWORK LOTS OF REPORTS, VERY LITTLE ACTION
CIRCA £400M IS THE ESTIMATED COST OF NHS ENGLAND SPENDING ON
HEALTH AND MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES ACROSS PRISONS IN ENGLAND
AND WALES. THE COST TO MANAGE A WOMAN IN THE COMMUNITY IS
£15K A YEAR, AND SOCIETAL, FAMILY AND JUSTICE OUTCOMES ARE BETTER
JUDGE LED INQUIRY, TO FINALLY MUSTER ACADEMIC AND LIVED EXPERIENCE
EXPERTS AND REFRAME JUSTICE POLICY SO IT IS AFFORDABLE AND WORKS
 WHAT CAN I DO?

COURT ORDERED FORENSIC PSYCHOLOGISTS’/ PSYCHIATRISTS’ REPORTS, FULL BATTERY OF

TESTS INCLUDING EDUCATIONAL ABILITY AND IQ, OVER 84% OF PRISONERS HAVE A LESS
THAN AVERAGE IQ

CONSIDER MISDIAGNOSIS OF PERSONALITY DISORDER, (DANGEROUS, UNTREATABLE)

SAME HEADLINE SYMPTOMS AND SIMILAR BEHAVIOUR AS PTSD OR TRAUMA (LONG TERM
THERAPY IS EFFECTIVE)

HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE ACT OBLIGATIONS, CARE PLAN

I’M NOT JUST THE SUM TOTAL OF THE CRIMES BEFORE YOU, COMPASSIONATE LISTENING

LOOK AFTER YOURSELF, COMPASSION FATIGUE AND SECONDARY TRAUMA, BUILD YOUR
OWN RESILIENCE

READ THE VIEW! OUT 19 DECEMBER 2019