by Aarchi Mewara
MSc International Criminology and Criminal Justice, Cardiff University
Whilst women in prison are a minority of the total population in UK prisons, they have some of the highest rates of mental illness, self-harm and suicide in the country, raising serious questions about whether prisons are used as a means of dealing with mental health problems rather than providing care.
Content type: News
A Growing Mental Health Emergency Behind Bars
Women make up less than five percent of the total prison population within England and Wales, they are also more prone to mental illness. According to criminal justice charities and inspection reports, more than 80% of women within prisons have a mental health problem such as depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, and personality disorder.
The rates of self-harm among women in custody far exceed those of their male counterparts. Women make up a large percentage of self-harm incidents despite their low population. Recent statistics have revealed that the rates of self-harm among female inmates hit record highs in 2024. This has led to fears that the correctional system is failing its most vulnerable inmates.
Campaigners warn that women’s prisons are increasingly being used as places of containment for mental distress, rather than environments equipped to support recovery or rehabilitation.
Why Women Enter Prison Already Vulnerable
Women also enter prison with long histories of trauma, abuse, poverty, and social exclusion. Consistent research evidence indicates that the levels of domestic violence, sexual assault, drug dependency, and homelessness among female offenders are significant and related to poor mental health.
Instead of being provided with early interventions and community-based support, women who have non-violent offenses that are directly related to their mental health issues tend to be brought into the criminal justice system. Once they are brought into the system, their mental health issues tend to be exacerbated rather than addressed.
As one former prisoner told a UK charity supporting women in custody:
“I asked for help when I was struggling, but all I got was a cell and medication. Prison didn’t make me better it made everything louder.”
Prison Conditions That Deepen the Crisis
Prison environments are rarely designed to support psychological wellbeing. Women in custody often experiences long delays in accessing psychiatric assessments, counselling, and stretched mental health services. Specialist, mental health services for women are in short supply.
One visible sign of the crisis is the increasing use of “anti-rip” clothing, whose purpose is to prevent self-harm and suicide. Though these measures are taken in an attempt to protect women, their proliferation speaks to the lack of preventative mental health care. For many women, such practices are experienced as humiliating and lonely, and provide no support.
A Case That Exposed Systemic Failure
The death of Sarah Reed in Holloway Prison in 2016 has come to symbolise the failure in the system with regards to the treatment of women with severe mental conditions. Reed, who suffered from schizophrenia, died while waiting psychiatric assessment after a change in medication.
An inquest was subsequently held and concluded that opportunities to save her life were missed. Yet, despite the attention and promises of change that were brought about by the case, the advocacy groups claim that the same risks continue to face vulnerable women with complex mental health needs in prisons today.
Why This Matters Now
This issue has also come back to the fore in recent times, with inspection bodies and charities warn that women’s prisons are having to deal with the absorbing the consequences of a wider mental health system in crisis. A lack of secure hospital beds and overstretched community services means courts often have few alternatives to custody, even for women whose primary need is treatment rather than punishment.
Women in prison remain far more likely to die by suicide than women in the general population, a stark indicator that current approaches are not working.
Calls for Change and Alternatives to Custody
Advocates are demanding an expansion of mental health diversion programs, community sentences, and continued investment in trauma-informed and gender-specific care. There is evidence that women who receive support for housing, health care, and social services have far higher rates of recovery and rehabilitation compared to those who are imprisoned.
Without meaningful reform, the cycle continues: women enter prison already unwell, leave without adequate support, and return in worse mental health than before.
A System at a Crossroads
The mental health crisis in women’s prisons is not inevitable. It is the result of policy decisions that prioritise custody over care. Until mental health is treated as a fundamental right rather than a security risk, women in prison will continue to suffer behind locked doors often in silence.