The Independent November 2003

Anne Owers, Chief Inspector of Prisons

We should care about our prisons

It is particularly the marginalised who need the protection of human rights.

By definition prisons are closed environments. They operate outside the normal controls and processes of society; and it is often the case that society as a whole is less than interested about what happens behind their walls. We do not talk of “our prisons” as we talk of “our” schools and hospitals; politicians rarely feel the need to promise more prison officers, as they do more police or more doctors and teachers.

Because they are out of sight and out of mind, prisons need to have a light shone on them, so that society as a whole can know what is being done in its name.

The Independent January 27^th 2003

Speaking at King's College Law School, Cherie Booth, QC described how the separation of a baby from her Jamaican mother in prison, born after she was jailed for trying to smuggle cocaine into Britain, breached her human rights. The woman gave birth to her son in April 2002 and they were allowed to stay together until September, when the authorities made the decision to send the baby to a friend of the mother's to be fostered. The judge found that the removal of the baby breached the mother's human rights and the child's rights to a family life.

Cherie Booth, commented: The true import of the human rights act is that it is intended to introduce a new moral underpinning to law and to state action ... but the Human Rights Act also asks that we look beyond the law.

We need to look to the development of a more broadly based human rights culture within the UK – one which informs not just relationships between individuals and among wider communities.

Feb 2000

In correspondence with Sheila Kitzinger, Martin Narey, the former Director General of HM Prison Services, commenting on staffing levels at Holloway which meant that women prisoners had to remain in their rooms for longer, which they found very stressful: “It has now been made clear to staff that this is unacceptable, and women on the unit should have full association and not be confined to their rooms for prolonged periods”. He goes on to say “So long as I am Director General, no baby will ever again be separated from his or her mother unless separation is in the baby's interest. Prison is a very difficult place for a mother to bring up a baby but I can promise you that I am committed to making the environment as caring as possible.”

He agreed that “during times of staff shortage and vacancies such as Holloway has experienced recently, it is possible that staff without a keen insight into mothers' needs have been on duty, on the unit there. I can assure you that we are taking the preparation of staff to work on the mother and baby units very seriously. A new training module is about to be piloted especially for these staff. There is also a continual dialogue between the Women's Policy Group and the staff of each mother and baby unit as part of their informal monitoring roles. I will shortly appoint a national co-ordinator to oversee developments and formally monitor standards”.

We offer support to women from Holloway Prison. Prisoners are allowed to have a companion of their choice. For many, a friend or family member can be there. However, sometimes, and particularly for foreign nationals, there is no-one who can be with them. There can be nothing more terrifying than going through labour on your own with no-one to turn to for support and reassurance. As a group of ten antenatal teachers, student teachers and student midwives, we are well placed to offer doula support. We are non-judgmental and provide a sensitive service, based on informed and individual care for each woman who requests our help, helping communication between them and their health professionals and serving as advocates. We are also particularly well-placed to monitor the level of care that each woman receives from the hospital and the prison authorities.

Women are made aware of us through antenatal classes, literature distributed and displayed in the prison and other involved groups. Any woman who requests our support is sent our guidelines and is visited by a member of the Birth Companions who gets to know her and discusses with her a birth plan. When she goes into labour, she contacts us (via a pager). One of us meets her at the hospital and stays with her continuously through labour. If necessary, other members of the group also support her during the birth and in the days she spends in hospital.

We aim to do this for every woman from Holloway prison who requests our services.

For further information click the image to visit their web site:

Other Information - Web sites

Read "Not Part of My Sentence:
Violations of the Human Rights of Women in Custody"
Also see this campaign

Prison Inspectors site

Prison Ombudsmen www.homeoffice.gov.uk/prisons/prisomb.htm

The report recommended that in view of the adverse affects of imprisonment of mothers and babies the Committee of Ministers should invite member states:

1. to develop and use community based penalties for mothers of young children and to avoid the use of prison custody;
2. to develop education programmes for criminal justice professionals on the issue of mothers and young children, using the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and the European Convention of Human Rights;
3. to recognise that custody for pregnant mothers and mothers of young children should only ever be used as a last resort for those women convicted of the most serious offences and who represent a danger to the community;
4. to develop small scale secure and semi-secure units with social services support for the small number of mothers who do require such custody, where children can be cared for in a child-friendly environment and where the best interests of the child will be paramount, but where security can be offered to the public;
5. to develop appropriate guidelines so that courts would only consider custodial sentences for pregnant women and nursing mothers when the offence was serious and violent and the woman represents a continuing danger;
6. to report back on the progress made by the year 2005.

A fascinating book!