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97 Women Died: Charity Demands Prison Closure
3 Dec
Summary
- Nearly 100 women have died in English and Welsh prisons since 2015.
- Self-harm incidents in women's prisons have reached a record high.
- Charity Inquest calls for the closure of all women's prisons.
Inquest, a charity, has released a report detailing the deaths of 97 women in prisons across England and Wales since 2015. The report highlights a significant increase in self-harm incidents among female inmates, reaching the highest level on record.
These findings have led to calls for the radical closure of all women's prisons. The charity argues that current conditions are unacceptable and that further deaths are inevitable without decisive governmental action and brave political change.
Despite past reviews and strategies aimed at reducing the female prison population, numbers have increased by 12% between June 2020 and June 2024. The Ministry of Justice acknowledges the system's failures, particularly for women, and is exploring community-based sentences.
