PRT comment: Welsh government blueprint for women offenders

Commenting on the publication by the Welsh Government today of a Blueprint for Women Offenders, Jenny Earle, Transforming Lives programme director said:

“This is welcome recognition of the need for urgent action to improve community solutions for women currently imprisoned a long way from home for minor offences, their offending often linked to histories of abuse and trauma. Last year, 69% of the women sentenced to prison in Wales received a sentence of less than 6 months, overwhelmingly for non-violent offences. The strategy, accompanied by an implementation plan, promises a more positive future for these women and the children from whom they are commonly separated, with damaging inter-generational consequences. If Wales is to lose its ‘badge of shame’ for having one of the highest rates of women’s imprisonment in western Europe, there must be realistic investment by both Wales and Westminster in women’s centres and support services across Wales.”