Infographic: Source Reference: http://www.statista.com/chart/2755/no– 

"It is of grave concern that there are now over 10.2 million men, women and children held in penal institutions throughout the world. What is of graver concern is that the world prison population continues to rise, despite the fact that imprisonment is a highly expensive option for governments, as well as being inappropriate and ineffective for the majority of prisoners who come from minority and marginalised groups, or who are mentally ill or who are alcohol and drug abusers. 

"The International Centre for Prison Studies calls on those governments with high or rising rates of imprisonment to reduce their prison populations and to seek alternatives to custody in the interests of good economy, effectiveness in sentencing and the achievement of internationally agreed standards". Dr Peter Bennett, Director of The International Centre for Prison Studies, following the release of the tenth edition of the World Prison Population List, researched and compiled by Roy Walmsley

The Prison Reform Trust 

The Prison Reform Trust believe that prison should be reserved for those whose offending is so serious that they cannot serve their sentence in the community. Helping women at an early stage with the hope of helping them address the causes of their offending it is believed, would cut crime, reduce women’s prison numbers and save the taxpayer money, according to a briefing by the Prison Reform Trust. Brighter Futures, supported by the Pilgrim Trust, profiles innovative approaches to reducing women’s offending and calls for the development of coordinated services that bring together women’s services, police, women’s centres and local authorities to help women turn their lives around. Source: The Prison Reform Trust.

Soroptimists leading the way for change

In December 2011 the Soroptimist International UK Programme Action Committee (UKPAC) mounted a campaign in partnership with the Prison Reform Trust, with the aim of reducing women’s imprisonment across the UK. 2013 saw the

launch of an action pack at a reception in the House of Commons to support the Soroptimists’ initiative to reduce women’s imprisonment in the UK.

This ties in with the flagship project Violence Against Women – Stop it Now.

The action pack contains facts and figures about women’s justice, together with resources, suggesting steps Soroptimists can take to help end the unnecessary imprisonment of women who are not a threat to the public and enable them instead to tackle the causes of their offending. 

Soroptimists have now published a new report in partnership with the Prison Reform Trust highlighting the need for community provision for women in trouble. Kay Richmond, Chair of UKPAC was interviewed on BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour, where the report was profiled on 16 December, you can listen to it here.

You can also read the full report here.

The report, Transforming Lives Reducing Women’s Imprisonment, contains a wealth of information gathered by 139 Soroptimist clubs across the UK and is intended to spur national and local governments into action. It follows a 2011 resolution by the Soroptimist UK Programme Action Committee to work with the Prison Reform Trust to reduce women’s imprisonment. The report recommends the development in England and Wales of a cross-government strategy for women’s justice, led by the Minister for Female Offenders. Recommendations for improvements to the oversight of women’s justice in Scotland and Northern Ireland are also highlighted.

In addition to Woman’s Hour there has also been a lot of interest by local radio stations, regional reps have been involved in these radio interviews, well done to you all.

Pick of the Projects

S.I. Columbus and Franklin County, United States of America,
Kindway

Kindway is an organization which helps women who are exiting
the Ohio Reformatory for Women. They work with prisoners 12-15 months before
their release. One of the prisoners’ projects is to make jewelry to sell at
craft fairs. These funds are used to buy jewelry supplies and for the EMBARK
program, which works with these women after their release to find jobs, housing
and get back on their feet. Looking to enable the Kindway/EMBARK programs to
have more funds to help more women following their release from prison, SI
Columbus sold their jewelry at district meetings and the Spring Conference and
again at craft fairs in November 2014. 

SI Ilkley, Yorkshire, United Kingdom, Together Women Project
TWP

Through work with the Prison Reform Trust SI Ilkley became
aware of TWP and the work it does with vulnerable women. Some are ex-offenders
and many have complex social needs. The Centre needed refurbishment and practical
support to help women back into a more settled community life.

In a friendship link with SI Ilkley, SI Bradford, SI Keighley and SI Bingley, Soroptimists met with staff from TWP and cluster clubs to
see how they could work together. The club supplied crisis bags of toiletries
for women as they came out of prison, in addition to supplies for babies, and
non-perishable foodstuffs. Soroptimists also organised lunches for YMCA/Princes
Trust volunteers who were redecorating the Centre, together with Christmas craft
sessions. Although the project is at an early stage and is ongoing, SI Ilkley
will meet with centre staff to assess efficacy and future needs.

SI Bangkok, Thailand, Giving women a second chance

In a project partnership with Bangkok Professional Women,
Zonta Thailand and with sponsorship from Turkish Airways, Sretsis, Wisut
Pornnimit, Tonson Group, Pimalai Resort, Lexus, Tongsai Bay, Air Asia Thailand
and Asita, this ongoing project started in 2002.

 

SI Bangkok, Thailand has provided knowledge and skills by
giving workshops related to career opportunities, building self-esteem and
social skills. These included, Thai massage, English for Daily life,
Hair, Make up, Cooking and more. Following the completion of the workshops, the club
provided certificates that would prove beneficial to the women in the society.  Women
in Prison often lose self-confidence and self-esteem. The women in prisons are able to use the certificates and apply the
skills and knowledge in their future lives.

SI Monza, Italy, Back garden in jail

In an ongoing project, SI Monza were looking to give women
prisoners in Monza the opportunity to spend time involved in positive activity.
An area was made available inside the Monza Prison that could be cultivated
with vegetables and aromatic plants. Together with professional teachers,
Soroptimists helped the women prisoners create the garden and then assists them
during the different phases of cultivation.

 

 

 

SI Venezia, Italy, Officina
Gianburrasca/WorkroomGianburrasca

In a project partnerships with Cooperativa Macramè
Association ‘La Gabbianella’ Casa di Reclusione femminile/ Women Jail in Venice,
starting in June 2011, SI Venezia  helped
women who had fallen on hard times. Particularly towards the end of this
project, Soroptimists were involved with women in prison. Twelve women were
in this project, some Italian and others from different parts of the world,
which consisted of a training course called ‘ricuciamo-ci’ which literally
means, let sew-again in a psycological way! The training course: three hours on
thursday for six weeks, was followed by a day release out of prison to find work. In May, one of the women involved with the project joined the Macramè laboratory
twice a week.

 

Although the project has now come to an end, the result of
this long project, which has spanned three years, was really extraordinary,
both for the women of the project and Soroptimists themselves who understand now
how hard life is for the women particularly those coming from different countries and different
conditions.

 

SI Richmond and Dales, United Kingdom, Women and the Law

In a friendship link with Northallerton and other clubs
across Yorkshire and Durham this project was run in partnership with local Magistrates
and Court Services, the UK Supreme Court and three local sixth form students taking
part in the SI ‘Sharing our Skills’ project.

 

The club is often asked to support women struggling within
the judicial system, those accessing the system, or during the process and
within the prison system. In order for members to have a greater understanding of how they
can support women and find out how women already influence the system together with finding out the obstacles in the way, during the course of a year, Soroptimists looked at involving members
in understanding the process of law – how it works on a local and national
scale, how decisions are made and how, as women, we can influence decision
making.

choosing a theme for the year, Soroptimists looked to gradually building knowledge
and exposure to the law, its process and understand how it can be influenced:

• Members invited The Bench Chairman of the local
Magistrates to be a speaker at a Soroptimist meeting.

• Visited the local magistrate’s court and had a mock trial
with Soroptimists playing the lead parts within the trial, making a decision as to the guilt of the defendant and their sentence.

• Invited Baroness Hale to speak to Soroptimists from the
Yorkshire and Durham region.

• Uitlised this event as a fundraising exercise for The Zimbabwe
Women Lawyers Association, who support Zimbabwean women who have limited rights,
free of charge, with legal support and advice.

SI Richmond and Dales continue to fund-raise with raffles
during club meetings and visited The Supreme Court, as the guest of Baroness
Hale (Justice of the Supreme Court) in July, to witness the process and judgements
first hand.

 

The project has given club members more confidence and
awareness of how the system works and resulted in them being more informed when
asked to support judicial and/or penal reform.

Having the theme running all year meant that members were able to
invite many other Soroptimist clubs and local students as well as the newly
formed Northallerton club, to take part in many of the activities. By raising awareness of having
only one female judge in the Supreme Court  the inequality within
the judicial system was highlighted. The mock court was particularly successful as the decision
making was much more difficult than many expected. The feedback from members
and students was positive and encouraging.

 

The club are looking at possibly following up
with a visit to a local prison to again give members and students the
opportunity to understand what happens to people within the judicial system and
also put forward a mock family court proceeding – something which is quite a
mystery to most but affects women and children.