IACD defines community development as a practice-based profession and an academic discipline that promotes participative democracy, sustainable development, rights, economic opportunity, equality and social justice, through the organisation, education and empowerment of people within their communities, whether these be of locality, identity or interest, in urban and rural settings.
March is Women’s History Month, and we are focusing on community development and women.
IACD’s Values: Social Justice
One of the core values that IACD supports is social justice, and today we are examining the social justice issues women face in the prison system.
Prison Vs Community-based Sentences
Daisy Cooper is the Liberal Democrat MP for St Albans in the UK, and she recently penned the article, “Short prison sentences fail vulnerable women – it’s time for reform.” She examined the background issues women in prisons face that are distinct from the experiences of men in the prison system. Writing to the New Statesman, she says:
Most women in prison are vulnerable people. The majority experienced abuse as a child, and many are survivors of domestic abuse as adults. They are more likely than male prisoners to have poor mental health or problems with alcohol and drugs.
Shockingly, self-harm rates in women’s prisons are almost five times the rate in men’s prisons, and they are rising. Eight women died in prison last year; five of them by suicide. We need reform to prevent more of these tragedies.
These alarming statistics should be enough on their own to make the case that women should only be sent to prison where absolutely necessary: for the most serious crimes, or where they pose a threat to the public. That does clearly not apply to many women prisoners right now.
https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk/2020/03/short-prison-sentences-fail-vulnerable-women-its-time-reform
To make matters worse, two thirds of women in prison are mothers of dependent children, and at least a third of these are single parents. Separating them from their children has a harsh impact on their welfare, going far beyond the intended punishment of imprisonment itself.
Women in Prison – Lecture and Exhibition Launch
On Friday, 13th March, there will be a free exhibition at the Stratford Library in London on women in prison. This event will have a lecture based on Dr Susy Menis, Lecturer in Law at Birkbeck, University of London’s book, A History of Women’s Prisons in England: The Myth of Prisoner Reformation (Cambridge Scholars Publishing 2020). The lecture will be followed by an exhibition by artist Noriko Hisazumi, who was inspired by the primary historical sources used in the study A History of Women’s Prisons in England: The Myth of Prisoner Reformation. The theme of the event is reproduced below:
Criminology has long been considered a field with a male-dominated subject matter. Academics have criticised the dearth of writing about the lives and experiences of women prisoners.
This lecture will explore the theme of the ‘invisibility’ of women prisoners from a historical perspective, focusing on 19th and early 20th century England. Has the perception of ‘invisibility’ stemmed from penal policy which has ignored women prisoners, or is it due to little academic engagement with the question of women’s experiences?
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/womens-history-month-women-in-prison-lecture-and-exhibition-launch-tickets-89037769365
Registration for this free event is now open.
Cover Photo ©Alistair Kerr Photography, alistairkerr.com
