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Olivia King
AP English: Language and Composition
12 December 2016
Suicides in Womens Prisons: The Tragedy That Is Sweeping Through England
England is in the midst of an epidemic and the death toll is still rising. They are
experiencing a rise in suicide because of mental health problems. Mental illness is
something many people suffer from. Most go and get help, but women in English
prisons dont have that luxury. Mental health problems are a serious issue, and the
ability to better oneself by getting help should not be restricted to just certain people.
Not only are English prisons disastrously failing their inhabitants by not giving them
treatment, but the lack of staffing and budget cuts are affecting everyone in the facility,
mainly the prisoners. That non-existent help, for those with mental health issues, is what
is contributing to the increase in suicides for female inmates in England.
There is an undeniable correlation between untreated mental illness and suicide.
According to Luciana Berger and Jo Stevens, Huffington Post writers, someone is
taking their life every four days in our prisons. This means that roughly six people are
dying every month, in the U. K.. In July of 2016, The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) released
that the number of suicides in prison has increased by twenty-eight per cent over the
past year (Pells). A few months after the MoJ publicised that statement, the director of
Inquest, Deborah Coles, reported that the number of suicides this year has been the
highest ever in England (Wright and Palumbo). In November more statistics emerged.
Paul Wright and Daniele Palumbo, writers for the International Business Times, stated
that statistics published by the MoJ also show the number of suicides behind bars rose

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by seventy-eight per cent between September of 2010 and September of 2016 to
unprecedented levels, from sixty deaths to one hundred and seven. As the months go
by the body count continues to rise, and nobody is doing anything about it. Theyre all
just commenting on the startling number of deaths. Suicides in prisons spiked this year
because of a loss of budget and treatment for mental health problems.
Not only are the rise in suicides shocking but the fact that a good portion of the
self-inflicted deaths are by women. A writer at Independent, Rachel Pells, wrote that
prison charity, the Howard League for Penal Reform, described the figure as
alarmingly high, with women accounting for one in ten cases, despite making up just
five per cent of the total prisoner population. If mental health is not the reason behind
these deaths then why are so many female inmates killing themselves? Writer Naomi
Ishmael, from Vice, says that the Prison Reform Trust revealed that female inmates
are more than three times as likely to be identified as suffering from depression as
women in the general population. Holloway Prison was a prison for females that helped
those with mental illnesses receive treatment. However Holloway was closed down in
May of this year. Even though Holloway offered help, because of the large amount of
inmates there was no one on one with professionals. The end of this prison gave the
people of England hope that a reform could surface. Nevertheless that has not happen.
The inmates at Holloway were sent to Downview and Bronzefield prisons, in Surrey
(Ishmael). Ishmael interviewed women at both penitentiaries to see what they were like.
She published that, inmates, at Downview say they spend twenty-three hours a day in
their cells with little access to professional support. Naomi Ismael also wrote that a
young woman who was recently released from Bronzefield commented that while she

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was in there it was up to her to support her girlfriend, who has a borderline personality
disorder, because no one came to help her.
Unfortunately, this absence of treatment in womens prisons is not new. In
November, the Yorkshire Post U. K. released an article, Epidemic: a Suicide in Jail
Every Three Days, stating the Howard League for Penal Reform said it has been
notified of one-hundred and two people dying behind bars this year. A few months prior
to this statement the Huffington Posts, Luciana Berger and Jo Stevens wrote that in
2009 Lord Bradleys landmark report into people with mental health problems or
learning disabilities in the criminal justice system, found that too many offenders with
poor mental health were ending up in prisons without access to appropriate treatment.
In that same article, Berger and Stevens go on to say Todays Justice Select
Committee report into the safety in Britains prisons reveals a crisis in mental health,
with rising levels of self-harm, drug abuse, and suicide. There is a correlation between
mental health problems and suicide. Prisons like Downview or Bronzefield that dont
offer help to those with mental illnesses are the reason there is a spike in deaths
caused by self-harm. More people with mental illnesses are being flushed into prisons.
Once they are there, the inmates receive little to no help.
The media and people have reported that the rise in suicides in prison have
nothing to do with mental health problems. Early in November, the Western Daily Press
released an article saying Englands under funded prison service is under manned and
prisoners suffer as a result. That same month the Yorkshire Post U. K. reported the
rise in prison suicides has coincided with cuts to prison staffing and budgets, along with
increase in the number of people in prison, resulting in overcrowding. People believe

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that female inmates are committing suicide because of understaffing and overcrowding.
But why would someone kill themself because the prison was too crowded and the staff
were not breathing down their backs? Why cant the suicides be attributed to mental
illness? Is that such a preposterous idea?
The budget cuts indirectly caused the suicides, the overcrowding, however did
not. The budget cuts shut down prisons and unemployed many. The loss of money and
the overcrowding of the prisons, plus the absence of treatment is what lead to the rise in
suicides in womens prisons. The number of prisoners with mental health issues, in
England, has increased (Hassan). Most prisons did not have any type of treatment for
those housed in their facility that are mentally ill. And when the budgets got cut, the
prisons, like Holloway, were shut down. Prisoners with mental health issues are then put
into prisons unequipped to help them. The loss of staff means that those who need to
be monitored are not. Being in these types of conditions made their mental health
problems worse. The saddest thing is not much is being done to change what is
happening.
Prison reform in England has been a long time coming. Writer, Naomi Ishmael, of
Vice voices divulged that in 2007, Baroness Corston conducted a report into
vulnerable women in the criminal justice system following the tragic deaths of six
women at Styal prison in Cheshire. The Baroness then suggested to the House of
Lords that they should look into setting up smaller custodial units and introducing
community sentences for nonviolent female offenders. However, to this day none of
these things have been put into place. According to Eric Allison, from the Guardian, in
early November, with around three-thousand nine hundred, mainly vulnerable, women

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locked up in English jails and nineteen deaths already recorded this year (the highest
for twelve years), the reforms cant come soon enough. Many believe that Justice
Secretary Michael Gove is not doing enough to help change the prison system.
Huffington Post writers, Luciana Berger and Jo Stevens express that Michael Gove
may talk of prisoners as potential assets, of the importance of education in rehabilitation
and on placing mental health at the centre of his reforms, but his warm words are not
translating into action. Countless English citizens are now putting their faith in Justice
Secretary Liz Truss. After coming back from a visit from Scotland, Liz Truss just recently
proposed that five new community prisons be created to house women with health
issues before they are released (Allison). A few weeks ago, Matthew Weaver, from the
Guardian, released an article that included a statement from Justice Secretary Truss,
Truss said she was determined to make sure our prisons are safe and places of
rehabilitation.
Reform of English prisons must happen if both the government and the citizens
wish to decrease the amount of suicides. Mental health treatment must be offered to all
female inmates that need it. The change will take time, but it is a necessary action that
must occur. Though the epidemic still rages on, perhaps Ms. Truss can help shine
some light on this dark time in England.

Works Cited

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Allison, Eric. Liz Truss, Take Note: All Women's Prisons Could Be like This | Eric
Allison. TheGuardian, Guardian News and Media, 8 Nov. 2016,
30 Nov. 2016
Berger, Luciana, and Jo Stevens. "The Scandal of Mental Health in Prisons That
Michael Gove Is Failing to Tackle." The Huffington Post. N.p., 16 May 2016. Web.
29 Nov. 2016.
'Epidemic': A Suicide in Jail Every Three Days. Crime,28 Nov. 2016, 29 Nov. 2016.
Hassan, Lamiece, et al. "Prevalence and appropriateness of psychotropic medication
prescribing in a nationally representative cross-sectional survey of male and
female prisoners in England." BMC Psychiatry, vol. 16, no. 1, 2016. Academic
OneFile, Accessed 28 Nov. 2016.
Ishmael, Naomi. Mental Health Services in Britain's Women's Prisons Are Still a Mess |
VICE | United Kingdom. VICE, 7 Nov. 2016, 29 Nov. 2016.
Pells, Rachel. Women's Prison Suicide Rate Soars as Charity Warns of 'Horrifying'
.The Independent, Independent Digital News and Media, 28 July 2016,
1 Dec. 2016
"The prison service in England is in a state of chaos." Western Daily Press [Bristol,
England], 14 Nov. 2016, p. 18. Infotrac Newsstand. Accessed 28 Nov. 2016.
Weaver, Matthew. "Suicides and Assaults in Prisons in England and Wales at All-time
High." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 28 July 2016. Web.
29 Nov. 2016.
Wright, Paul, and Daniele Palumbo. UK Prisons Crisis: Five Graphs Showing Why
Officers Are Striking as Chaos Erupts behind Bars. International Business Times
UK, 15 Nov. 2016, 30 Nov. 2016