Between January 2000 and December 2009 there were 69 self-inflicted deaths of women in prison. Our monitoring of women’s deaths in prison has shown that women are continuing to die in an unprecedented number. Although the number of deaths corresponds with an increase in the numbers of women being sent to prison, it is still disproportionately high.
INQUEST is extremely critical of the failure of the prison service and government to address the questions about the overuse of prison for women. A large percentage of women in prison are primary carers whose imprisonment has far-reaching consequences their families and society in general.
In March 2007, the government published the Corston Report which looked at the treatment of women in the criminal justice system. INQUEST was represented on the report’s panel. The report recommended a radical overhaul of the way women are treated in the criminal justice system and INQUEST is urging the government to implement its findings at the earliest opportunity.
INQUEST published a major report, Dying on the Inside, in April 2008.
The report is the first analysis of all self-inflicted deaths of women in prison between 1990 and 2007 in England & Wales and identifies trends and patterns arising from the deaths presenting a shameful picture of preventable tragedy. The recommendations in the report focus on a departure from current thought and practice, with the key recommendation being the abolition of prison for women as the central criminal justice response and investment in radical community-based alternatives.
 Click here for statistics of Deaths of women in prison . |
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| More on Press releases including those on women’s deaths. |
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| More information on INQUEST’s report Dying on the Inside. |
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| Click here to download the Corston Report. |
