WOMEN
IN PRISON
SITUATION
SITUATION
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In the last two decades, the number of women imprisoned in Western nations has increased dramatically.
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With this increase has come the realisation that correctional services are not meeting the specific needs of women.
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Women currently comprise on average 8 percent of the total prison population, this is an increase from 3 percent in 1997 and 6 percent in 1999.
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As of 30th June 2015, a snapshot of the female prison population stands at 2,876.
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The vast majority of women offenders are not dangerous.
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They commit primarily acquisitive crime and have a much lower rate of professional crime, criminal damage and serious violence than men.
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Of women currently in prison over 70 percent are serving sentences of less than 12 months, and 95 percent are serving sentences of less than four years.
Locations of Women's Prisons in Australia
“I’d encountered violence in my life but the reality of violence perpetrated by women upon other women was a new and often very ugly experience. Even though you may learn to accept it as part of the daily life of an unreal and insular community, I could never come to terms with the ferocity and brutality of some of it.”
- An ex-prisoner
ECONOMIC PERSPECTIVE
Australia's prison system costs the nation $2.6 billion (after expenses) every year. Each prisoner costs an average of $292 per day, almost double the average Australian's daily earnings according the the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
In light of this incredible expenditure, prison as it is used today is not an economically viable solution. Instead, resources should be directed to prevening crime and violence in our community in the first place. Utilising justice reinvestment strategies to develop services and support networks designed to keep people out of jail is thus a more effective economic solution to prison. This is particularly the case when prison has been shown to be an ineffecitve crime prevention mechanism, as is the case for female offenders.
In our democratic system there exists significant pressure for politicians to be seen to be tough on crime. For this reason, there has been a consistent increase in incarceration rates for the past three decades. This pressure reflects not crime rates (which have been in decline since the 1990s) but political populism and a misbelief that tough on crime means smart on crime.
Thus, in order for the issues surrounding the imprisonment of women to be ameliorated, the political status quo must change.
"Courage is not about looking tough or doing what's popular -- it's about challenging the status quo with what works"
- Gino Vumbaca
(President of Harm Reduction Australia)
POLITICAL PERSPECTIVE
Female offenders have a different profile of risks and needs to male offenders. Women are statistically far less likely to commit crime than men, yet more female first time offenders are given custodial sentences than male first time offenders. This gendered approach to sentencing is mirrored in the societal perception of women who commit crime. The psychological impact of the incompatibility of a female offender's sense of self as a women and her sense of self as a prisoner is significant.
“Many women still define themselves and are defined by others by their role in the family. It is an important component in our sense of identity and self esteem. To become a prisoner is almost by definition to become a bad mother…, wife or partner.”
- Baroness Hale