WHY YOUNG ADULTS?
Young adults in women’s prisons represent a minority within a minority in the prison population. Only 4% of the prison population are in women’s prisons, and of this even less are aged 18-25.
The exact number of 18-25 year olds in women’s prisons are not routinely reported, so it is hard to know quite what proportion of the prison population they make up, but to give an idea, in March 2020, there were 3,641 adult women in prison, and of this, figure only 91 were aged 18-20.
With more recent experiences than older women in prison of:
violence, abuse, exploitation;
the care system;
exclusion from school;
early parenthood;
poverty and economic inequality;
and racial inequality,
they are a group with distinct needs, that the prison environment is not designed to meet.
The 18-25 age bracket represents the developmental period of ‘the transition to adulthood’ where neural pathways are still being formed. It’s a stage of great possibility for young adults, who are working out who they are and who they want to become. For 18-25s in prison, it has the potential to be a pivotal time of re-shaping thinking and behavioural patterns, building self-belief, recognising their value, gifts, and reimagining their future beyond prison.
This is why we support 18-25s, and continue to journey with them after prison for the long-term. Our approach is flexible, holistic, and built on sustaining positive relationships with young adults for them to feel believed in and valued, and receive support for as long as they want.
INSIDE
In our work, we see time and time again that the labels of ‘victim’ or ‘offender’ are a false dichotomy. Young adults in women’s prisons have experienced disproportionate levels of rejection and suffering throughout their lives - often by people in their life that they should have been able to rely on. These experiences have a huge impact on an individual’s behaviour, their understanding of themselves and what they feel they have to offer society. For example:
• 31% of women+ in prison were taken into care as a child,
• 53% of women+ in prison reported experiencing emotional, physical or sexual abuse as a child (compared to 27% of men)
• 46% of women+ in prison report having suffered a history of domestic abuse.
• Around 40% of women+ in prison left school before age 16 – 10% before the age of 13
• 30% were permanently excluded from school (compared with 1% of the general population).
These experiences can have a hugely negative impact on a person’s understanding of who they are and what they have to offer society. They mean that many people in women’s prisons have missed out on opportunities in a number of areas of life, leaving them stuck in cycles of re-offending without any sense of hope or real prospects away from a life of crime.
Through our work we have seen that young adults in women’s prisons really benefit from having caring and compassionate support workers, to be there for them throughout their time in prison. Our ID Essence Workers can help young adults in women’s prison to feel heard and understood, to gain new skills and access new opportunities and aspirations for their future.
OUTSIDE
Women+ leaving prison face multiple barriers to being able to move forward positively with their lives after prison and as a result, 48% of people leaving prison end up going back. Some of the barriers young women+ in particular leaving prison might face are:
No secure place to live;
Struggles with mental health, often as a result of the past trauma mentioned above;
Barriers to employment and/or education due to having a criminal record; (a recent report by the Prison Reform Trust and Working Chance found that women released from prison are almost three times less likely to be employed on release than men leaving prison);
A lack of viable alternatives to crime;
Less work experience, qualifications or training to be able to put on their CV than other people in their age group, as a result of going to prison at a young age;
Feeling institutionalised and re-traumatised from time in prison;
A sense of hopelessness that these barriers are too big to overcome and stay out of prison.
It was hearing from people in prison about these barriers and the need for more support outside that caused us to respond by setting up a resettlement support component to our work. You can find out more about this on our ‘The Work’ page
For latest resources and key facts about the female prison population, we would recommend you visit the Women in Prison charity's website.