Operationalising gender-sensitivity in women’s prisons in Scotland: recognition and reality

• In Event: Critical Approaches to Gender-Sensitive Policies in Prison Systems (II)

Abstract

The push for broader gender-specific understandings of women’s experiences and needs in the criminal justice system has prompted a range of penal policy and practice developments designed to improve the approach to, and care of, women in custody. Key principles of the Scottish Prison Service Strategy for Women are that women’s custodial facilities should be designed for women (that is, gender-specific) and take account of their likely experience of trauma and adversities (that is, trauma-informed). Central to this are the health and wellbeing of the women, the quality of the relationships established within custodial establishments, the skills and knowledge of staff, and the services, approaches and tools that will be available to help to address the individual needs and risks of the women. This paper critically addresses these aspirations by drawing on recent research undertaken in women’s prisons in Scotland.

Authors

• Michele Jane Burman, University of Glasgow

• Loraine Gelsthorpe, University of Cambridge