Who Goes To Prison?

The backgrounds of many women in prison are predictably bleak - just as they are shown on Bad Girls:

• Over 25% have, like Denny, spent time in public care
• 20% of women in prisons have spent time as an in-patient at a psychiatric hospital
• 47% have no educational qualifications - like the Julies and most of the other inmates of G wing
• Over half the women in prison report that they have suffered violence at home and 1/3 have experienced sexual abuse (this is likely to be an underestimate as sexual and domestic violence is under reported)
• Half the women in prison report that they were, like Buki, dependent on drugs in the year before they came into prison
• Nearly 40% have alcohol problems
• Mental health problems are another major issue:
• 75% of women in prison have a neurotic disorder, such as depression, anxiety or phobias
• Women prisoners have a high rate of severe mental illness such as schizophrenia or delusional disorders
• Half of the women in prison are on prescribed medication such as anti-depressants or anti-psychotic medicine

For many mental health problems are an issue before they come into prison, but for some, like Roisin, the experience of separation from children and loss of liberty can be enough to cause mental health problems to develop.

In mid-2000, ethnic minority groups made up 25% of the female prison population.

A high proportion of the prisoners from ethnic minorities (15% of all female prisoners in 2000) are foreign nationals, most of whom are held for drug offences. Many of the foreign national prisoners have been arrested at ports or airports as they try to enter the country with drugs. These drug 'mules' are often unaware how seriously the offence they are committing is taken in the UK and believe they will simply be sent home if they are caught. In some cases they are women facing extreme poverty or urgent need, such as medical treatment for a child, in their countries of origin and get involved in drug smuggling because there seems to be no alternative. They face long prison sentences and are usually deported at their release date.