HMIP Inspections of Women’s Prisons, 30 June 2020

On the 30th June 2020, the HM Chief Inspector of Prisons published a report after visiting prisons holding women. It focused on the conditions in two prisons, HMP Send and HMP and YOI Downview, during the coronavirus pandemic.

Whilst there were some positives, conditions in these establishment were still unacceptable. For example, prisoners at Send were only given one hour and 20 minutes out of their cells most days and at Downview, this was also only a shocking one hour and 30 minutes, every day.

There was also an ongoing national suspension of visits, meaning some prisoners hadn’t seen their children in three months and whilst, video conference calling was eventually implemented, prisoners did not feel this was a substitute for face-to-face visits.

Additional phone credit and a guaranteed access to phones for around 20 minutes a day were given but this was at times when a lot of family members were not available. Another failed solution was to give out a small supply of mobile phones but these had no network coverage and it took several weeks for these to be replaced.

These conditions led to many prisoners expressing these extremely constrained conditions were having an impact on both their physical and mental well-being. Prisoners who were more at risk of self-harm felt isolated and craved more human contact, as a result of the restricted regime. Education classes were suspended and whilst workbooks were distributed, they were not completed.

Both of the prisons had tried to mitigate with distraction packs, workbooks and craft work but prisoners fed back that this wasn’t providing sufficient stimulation and they were missing normal human contact.

The View Magazine is written by women for women in the criminal justice system and is dedicated to their rehabilitation and reintegration. Paid content created by women in prison and those on license is included in the magazine, such as poems, case studies and artwork.

We take a human rights-based approach about how women should be treated in prisons, compliant with domestic and international law, and the magazine includes vital legal information – how prisoners can access the best legal help, tips on self soothing and mental health and healthy eating.

In the last week, the prison service the prison service delivered hundreds of magazines free of charge to 9 out of 12 women’s prisons. We are really  grateful to the amazing Jason Swettenham, whose  energy and creativity has made a formidable partnership with Prison Industries possible. We hope to print future issues of The View in prison print shops. Look out for our poster, designed and printed at HMP Leyhill, coming soon.

Any women in prison or on license in the community who want a copy can request one, free of charge. Just get in touch with us and we will post it out to you. 

The View has never been more essential, this issue offers self-soothing techniques, such as meditation, ‘self-grounding’, mindfulness, writing and art therapy, which is beneficial for those struggling in the current climate.

Our recently published report, We are Invisible, outlines and exposes the ways in which many women in the criminal justice system, with a particular emphasis on those from BAME backgrounds, are mistreated,ignored and  are already victims of abuse. Moreover, it calls for better training for Judges and the  CPS and more accountability for probation staff and police.

We are currently crowdfunding in order to investigate the issues raised in our report further. This will help inform better practice amongst courts, the police, caseworkers and legal practitioners and add to the growing body of evidence that prison is rarely the answer for women.

To support us in the important work we do, which we know makes a difference to women in prison, please donate generously to our Crowdfunder.