Issues of Security and Safety for Women Released from Prison

Abstract

Despite women in prison reporting significant rates of prior victimization, there is no research which has focused on issues concerning women's security after their release. In this paper we attempt to rectify that omission by drawing on the findings of a research project which followed 200 women through their prison sentence, from reception to resettlement in the community. A significant proportion of these women had suffered prior physical and sexual abuse, few had received any help with this, and, in many cases, there appeared to be links between the abuse and their offending behaviour. Whilst there are arguments for not dealing with this abuse in a prison setting, the problems are not insurmountable. But this type of approach is not sufficient in itself. What is most important is that women are able to manage their own security on release. This ability is seriously curtailed when women are relocated within families which were the site of their abuse, when they are unable to exercise choices about where they will live, and when they are denied the financial autonomy to break free of enforced dependency. The new standards on resettlement, issued by the Prison Service, provide a timely opportunity to respond to women's overriding need to remain free from harm caused by other people.