NATIONAL CAMPAIGN LAUNCHED TO BRING RADICAL CHANGE

12.00.00am UTC (GMT +0000) Tue 12th Jun 2007

Woman's organizations, mental health agencies and prison reform groups today launch a National Campaign to highlight the scandal over the locking up of women with mental health problems. The campaign was launched on Tuesday the 12th of June 2007 at 2.30pm in Committee Room 19, House of Commons, Westminster, London. The Campaign urges the government to take urgent action to stop women with mental health problems being sent to prison and to invest in mental health provision, drug treatment and support and supervision in the community. There are 4,300 women in prison in England and Wales spread across 17 women's jails. The women's prison population has increased rapidly in the last decade, from 2,600 when Labour came to power in 1997, despite no equivalent increase in the nature or seriousness of their offending. The effects on 18,000 children every year whose mothers are sent to prison are so often nothing short of catastrophic.

At the meeting, Baroness Jean Corston, Author of the Report of the Home Office 'Review of Vulnerabilities of Women in the Criminal Justice System' highlighted the need for a radical change in the way we treat women throughout the whole Criminal Justice System. Baroness Corston's report, which was triggered by the deaths of six women in Styal prison, recommends shutting existing women's prisons and replacing them with small units in a radical 10 year reform programme. She calls for a new approach, treating women both holistically and individually - a woman-centred approach. Other speakers included Lorely Burt MP for Solihull and Juliet Lyon the Director of the Prison Reform Trust (see attached programme).

Juliet Lyon, Director of the Prison Reform Trust stated "So many women in prison are mentally ill, so much of their offending is a public health, rather than a criminal justice, concern, this long standing problem could be solved, not by investing in more women's prisons, but by providing mental health care, drug treatment, court diversion and women's support and supervision centres across the country. Prison is a punishment of last resort. It is cruel to lock up mentally ill women and it does lasting harm to them and their families".

Lorely Burt, MP for Solihull commented, 'You could not devise a system more calculated to make a woman with mental illness worse than to lock her up in prison. There must be adequate facilities for assessment and treatment without a mentally ill person ever having to suffer the totally inappropriate and damaging conditions of a prison. Our prisons should be reserved for those who deserve to be there.'

The Scandal of Women in Prison in the UK - the facts (See Notes to Editors for references)

· Up to 80% of women in prison have diagnosable mental health problems.

The majority of women prisoners are serving short sentences for non-violent crimes such as theft and handling stolen goods.

· 50% of women in prison have at least one personality disorder and a high rate of severe mental illness such as schizophrenia or delusional disorders

· More than 50% of women in prison report having experienced domestic violence, physical, emotional or sexual abuse and 40% say they have attempted suicide at some time in their life.

· Many women in prison can be described as victims as well as offenders.

· Proportionately more women than men are remanded in custody.

· Relationship problems feature strongly in women's pathways into crime including coercion by men.

· Around 55% of women in prison have a child under 16, 33% a child under 5 and 20% are lone parents.