Prison for Mothers and
Babies? Are we still living
in the Victorian Age?
I
set up Make Justice Work in 2009 following my experience of working at
Feltham Young Offenders and establishing the UK’s first prison radio station – far
too many young people were ending up in
Feltham with short sentences and then leaving prison with absolutely no support on the
outside. To me that felt like the system was
failing both offenders and victims alike. My
sense of the damage caused by the criminal
justice system to this group of offenders has
increased since I became Chair of the Griffins
Society, a small research based charity looking at the needs of women who offend. Those
of you, particularly those serving short sentences, represent a huge dilemma – and as I
discovered, even prison staff recognise that
many of you in their care should not be inside.
We are a campaign to boost public support
for a radical change in how Britain deals with
lower level offenders – away from expensive
short prison sentences to intensive and effective sentences delivered in the community. We know there are many challenges with
regard to public perception and confidence
around community sentencing so a great deal
of our work is about getting the message
out there that robust community sentences
are, for many, harder than a short prison
sentence. We also emphasise that community
sentences are more effective at addressing some of those issues which land people
in prison in the first place, such as mental
health and substance misuse problems.
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A key concern for the campaign is how to
reduce the number of women in prison – far
too many end up behind bars for offences
which we believe would be far better dealt
with in the community. Very shockingly, it
is estimated that more than 17,240 children
were separated from their mothers in 2010
by imprisonment.
Maintaining contact with children is
made much more difficult because of the
distance that many women are held from
their homes, in many cases as much as 100
miles away. Equally concerning is a Home
Office study which showed that for 85%
of mothers, prison was the first time they
had been separated from their children.
Not a good state of affairs especially when
there is plenty of evidence to confirm that
families have a vital role to play in helping
women offenders rehabilitate their lives.
During a recent debate in the House
of Lords, Baroness Benjamin raised her
concerns about the number of women who
are imprisoned with their babies: She said
“essential, emotional attachments are made
between mother and baby during the first
18 months… but imprisoned mothers with
babies are often denied these necessary
bonding opportunities because of the
restricted environments they are placed in,
even within the Mother & Baby Units, which
are often far away from the women’s homes.”
MJW and many others are confident that
appropriate community sentences, which
include services that support
both mother and children, are better
placed to enable women to deal with
what is behind their offending whilst
at the same time reducing the level of
disruption caused to their families. The
Together Women Project in Bradford
is a really good example of what can
work so well for women on community
sentences.
We believe the Government has a
responsibility to ensure the judiciary
always considers the welfare of
babies before sentencing mothers
into custody and look at viable
alternatives in the community. Under
the Humans Rights Act 1998, in the
current guidelines if an offender is
a sole or primary carer, this should
be considered as a mitigating factor
in sentencing. As Baroness Corston
commented during the same debate, this
small number indicates that “for many
women, if they have other children, they have
to make the stark choice between applying
for a place at a unit and keeping their baby
but losing contact with their other children.”
No mother should have to be forced into
making this kind of choice – whether.
Providing support for mothers and
babies in prison is no substitute for
providing this in the community. As
we know from the work in Holloway,
babies themselves very quickly become
institutionalised, which is why volunteers at
the prison take the babies out for a walk in
the park once a week to gain some fresh air
and hear sounds they won’t inside. Equally,
the extra care and support mothers can
receive in prison is rarely replicated in the
community where it is most needed.
Strengthening and supporting women’s
relationships with their babies, children and
family members is crucial in the journey out
of offending. Critically, consistent and posi-
tive relationships with key workers can have
a substantial impact on these women’s lives –
these are best nurtured in the community. Of
course, these relationships can be achieved
in prison, but cannot be continued on release.
This does not bode well for settling both
mother and baby back in the community.
Surely now is the time to campaign for
greater investment in women’s centres
to enable those women with babies who
are not a risk to the public to serve their
sentences in the community? Locking up
women (who are not a danger to society)
and their children is nothing to be proud of,
is very expensive and ineffective – now is
the time for a better solution.
Roma Hooper
founder and director of Make Justice Work
If you have any stories you would like to share with us, we would
love to hear from you. Please send them to Women in Prison,
Unit 10, The Ivories, 6 Northampton Street, London, N1 2HY
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