Designing healthy prisons for women

One in 10 women in prison have attempted suicide prior to custody; half have experienced domestic violence; one-third report sexual assault/abuse in childhood. Two-thirds are drug dependent or have hazardous levels of drinking; 80 per cent have had diagnosable mental health problems; 15 per cent have previously been admitted to a psychiatric hospital. Furthermore, women commit half of all incidents of self-harm in prisons and, although less than five per cent of the prison population, constitute 10 per cent of those who die by suicide in custody (Howard League, 2016). Most experts believe that the women’s prison estate could and should be abolished, yet in November 2016 the Government announced that five new prisons for women are planned by 2020. This project has been awarded a research development grant by the Foundation for the Sociology of Health and Illness (SHI) and considers designing ‘healthy’ prisons for women: incorporating trauma-informed care and practice into prison planning and design.