Mothers in prison: the rights of the child

Abstract

Of the 11,044 women who entered prison in the UK in 2009, about half were on remand, spending an average of four to six weeks in prison. Following trial, 61 per cent of women sentenced to custody received sentences of six months or less (Prison Reform Trust, 2010). In the same year, 3,000 women were sentenced to custody for three months or less, of whom 176 were sentenced to ten days or less. This suggests that a significant number of women are imprisoned for relatively minor offences. Many are mothers of dependent children.

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Notes on contributors

Rona Epstein

Rona Epstein is Honorary Research Fellow at the Law School, Coventry University