No Births Behind Bars and Level Up
New Derwent House
69‑73 Theobalds Road
London
WC1X 8TA
Rt Hon Brandon Lewis MP
Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice Ministry of Justice,
102 Petty France,
London SW1H 9AJ
Rt. Hon Lord Burnett of Maldon
The Sentencing Council for England and Wales The Royal Courts of Justice
East Block, Room EB16
Strand
London WC2A 2LL
23rd September 2022
Dear Justice Secretary and Chair of the Sentencing Council,
Following the release of more data detailing the horrific picture of pregnancy in women’s prisons, and on the third anniversary of the tragic death of a baby inside HMP Bronzefield in 2019, we are writing to demand an urgent review into the sentencing of pregnant women and new mothers.
On the 22nd September 2019, an 18-year-old woman remanded in HMP Bronzefield gave birth in her cell alone. Despite requesting help she did not receive any medical assistance. After giving birth alone, she bit through the umbilical cord to free her baby. She was found in her cell the following morning; paramedics called to the scene were unable to resuscitate the child [1,2]. Her devastating case alone should have been enough to prevent any pregnant woman being held in prison again – yet, in June 2020, a pregnant woman in HMP Styal, Louise Powell, also gave birth without medical assistance, to a baby named Brooke that died.
These two preventable baby deaths should have been the catalyst for real change in the sentencing and remand of pregnant women, yet the latest data from the Ministry of Justice shows that little has changed. In the past year alone, and in the wake of the deaths of Baby A and Baby Brooke, 50 births took place in prisons, on the average week 29 pregnant women were held in prison, and 40 babies have been held in prison with their mothers. The data also shows that birth outcomes are worse than previously reported [3].
Facts on pregnancy in UK prisons:
- Pregnant women in prison are five times more likely to suffer a stillbirth than women in the community [4].
- Pregnant women in prison are almost twice as likely to give birth prematurely as women in the general population, which puts both the mothers and their babies at risk [5].
- One in ten pregnant women in prison give birth in-cell or on the way to hospital [6].
- At least two babies have died in women’s prisons in the past three years.
No Births Behind Bars and Level Up New Derwent House 69‐73 Theobalds Road London WC1X 8TA
Even if their baby does not die, research into the experiences of pregnant women in English prisons found that pregnant women faced severe stress, were unable to access basic comfort, adequate nutrition or fresh air and that the fear of potential separation from their baby or shame of being made an incarcerated mother was debilitating [7]. A substantial body of evidence shows that consequently, mothers and infants held in custody during pregnancy and infancy face serious health risks, and developmental trauma. 50% of mothers and babies are separated from each other, and even if held in a Mother and Baby Unit (MBU) both mother and baby are cut off from essential family and community support at a critical time in the baby’s life.
Pregnancy and the first months of a baby’s life are of critical importance; they are their developmental building blocks for life. Psychological research has long established that secure parent-infant relationships underpin good physical and mental health and wellbeing across a child’s lifespan. Babies are highly dependent on parent-infant interactions to shape their rapidly developing nervous system, emotional and behavioural self-regulation [8], with the first postnatal year being most important. Prison will never be the best start in a child’s life. The consequences and impact of a prison sentence for a mother and her child, even from a short sentence, are often disproportionate to the offence.
Prison is not and cannot ever be a safe place for pregnant women, new mothers and their infants will not ever receive equivalence of care to those in the community. In 2021, the Prison Ombudsman described all pregnancies in prison as ‘high risk’ [9]. Deciding that a child should be born in prison, with all the known risks of that situation for the child in both the short and long term, is to discriminate against that child in breach of Article 2 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which has been ratified by the UK. Imprisoning pregnant women and new mothers also flies in the face of the UN Bangkok Rules on women offenders and prisoners [10]. Prison is not and cannot ever be a safe place for pregnant women, new mothers and their infants, regardless of the small prison policy changes that have been promised in MoJ guidance. The best way to keep both mothers and babies safe is to keep them out of prison entirely.
Sentencing and bail decisions
We are a broad coalition of groups and individuals including lawyers, midwives, medical professionals, psychologists, academics and parents who know firsthand how important pregnancy and the first months of a baby’s life are in their development. The criminal courts are failing to properly consider the needs of pregnant women, new mothers and their infants in sentencing and bail decisions. The rights of the child are at stake when a parent is sentenced or remanded in custody, but courts often fail to weigh the child’s right to parental care and non-discrimination, and the consequences of remand or a custodial sentence for that child, against the alleged or proven offence [11]. The criminal courts, despite attempts to train judges to act differently, continue to make decisions that cause unnecessary and serious harm to children both before and after their births [12].
The government and Sentencing Council can and must change sentencing and bail practices. There is no statutory duty for judges to take pregnancy or parenthood into consideration when sentencing or making a decision on bail, and there are no specific medical or psychologically-informed sentencing guidelines to assist sentencers when for sentencing pregnant women and new mothers, despite the vast amount of research and evidence available to inform such guidelines.
Women form just 4% of the prison population in England and Wales and a minority of that 4% are pregnant at the point of their sentencing. Three in five women enter prison for six months or less. According to a study published earlier this year, the most common offence among pregnant women in prison was shoplifting [13]. Eleven countries (including Russia, Brazil, Mexico, Italy and Portugal) have laws against the imprisonment of pregnant women, with alternatives in place [13]. We would suggest there is a strong argument for all women to be kept in the community, not in prison, and the case for using only non-custodial sentences for pregnant women and new mothers is evidence-based and inarguable.
The alternative
All evidence suggests that, instead of custodial sentences, women swept up in the criminal justice system should receive support in the community at properly resourced women’s centres that can help tackle the proven driving causes of crime: domestic abuse, poverty, addiction and homelessness. Given these drivers, rehabilitation should be the focus of sentencing. Women’s centres are community-based services that tailor support around women’s specific needs to address the root causes of complex problems that women with multiple disadvantages face. The Prison Reform Trust found that 57% of women in prison reported being a victim of domestic violence [14]. A report from Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Probation has found that community women’s centres, which help women to build the capacity to address their issues, rather than just addressing offending behaviour, are a far more cost-effective response than custody and are proven to reduce reoffending [15].
You have the opportunity to stop the senseless and needless harm, including loss of life, being caused by imprisoning pregnant women and new mothers. Please act without further delay:
1. Enter dialogue with us to work towards a sentencing guideline that specifically informs judges on the risks and factors to be taken into account when considering sentence for a pregnant woman or mother of an infant;
2. Address ministers and MPs on the need for a statutory duty, in light of the research above, to consider the pregnancy or new motherhood of a woman when making decisions on bail and/or sentence.
Yours sincerely,
Aisha Dodwell, Mel Evans, Emma Hughes, Diana Adell and Jung-ui Sul, No Births Behind Bars
Janey Starling and Seyi Falodun-Liburd, Co-directors, Level Up
Gill Walton CBE, Chief Executive, Royal College of Midwives
Birte Harlev-Lam OBE, Executive Director Midwife, Royal College of Midwives
Dr Eddie Morris, President, Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists
Dr Helen Mactier, President, British Association of Perinatal Medicine
Rt Reverend Rachel Treweek, Bishop of Gloucester and Anglican Bishop for Prisons, Church of England
Naomi Delap, Director, Birth Companions
Ros Bragg, Director, Maternity Action
Francesca Treadaway, Director, Birth Rights
Sonya Ruparel, Chief Executive, Women in Prison
Keith Reed, CEO, Parent-Infant Foundation
Caroline Lee-Davey, Chief Executive, Bliss
Clea Harmer, Chief Executive, Sands
Kath Abrahams, Chief Executive, Tommy’s
Jenny Ward, Chief Executive, The Lullaby Trust
Ruth Bender Atik, National Director, The Miscarriage Association
Elizabeth Duff, Senior Policy Adviser, National Childbirth Trust
Estelle du Boulay, Director, Rights of Women
Martha Spurrier, Director, Liberty
James Skinner, Co-director, MedAct
Deborah Coles, Executive Director, INQUEST
Lubia Begum-Rob, Director, Prisoners’ Advice Service
Andy Keen-Downs, Chief Executive, PACT
Harriet Wistrich, Director, Centre for Women’s Justice
Jodie Beck and Millie Smith, Co-founders, Our Empty Chair
Brianna Smith, Director of Operations, Children of Prisoners Europe
Claire Hubberstey, Chief Executive, One Small Thing
Natasha Finlayson, Chief Executive, Working Chance
Jayne Butler, CEO, Rape Crisis England and Wales
Tom Harrison, Retired Solicitor and Deputy District Judge (civil), Philosophy in Prison
Dr Shona Minson, Centre for Criminology, University of Oxford
Dr Laura Abbott, Associate Professor in Midwifery, University of Hertfordshire, Fellow of The Royal College of Midwives
Dr Lucy Baldwin, Senior Lecturer in Criminology at De Montfort University Dr Maria Garcia de Frutos, Lecturer in Midwifery, City University of London
Professor Nicola Padfield, Faculty of Law, University of Cambridge, Director, Cambridge Centre for Criminal Justice
Professor Loraine Gelsthorpe, Director, Institute of Criminology, University of Cambridge
Dr Rona Epstein, Honorary Research Fellow, Coventry Law School, University of Coventry
Dr Felicity Gerry KC, Libertas Chambers
His Honour Nicholas Cooke KC, Former Senior Circuit and Deputy High Court Judge, Oxford University
Marcia Willis Stewart KC (Hon), Coram Chambers Maya Sikand KC, Doughty St Chambers
Jane Ryan, Partner, Bhatt Murphy
Maya Grantham, Solicitor, Leigh Day
Harriet Johnson, Barrister, Doughty St Chambers
Pippa Woodrow, Barrister, Doughty St Chambers
Omran Belhadi, Barrister, Doughty St Chambers
Zoë Chapman, Barrister, Red Lion Chambers
Tim Kiely, Barrister, Red Lion Chambers
Michelle Nelson, Barrister, Red Lion Chambers
Jesse Nicholls, Barrister, Matrix Chambers
Lily Lewis, Barrister, Garden Court North
Mandu Reid, Leader, Women’s Equality Party
Tabitha Morton, Deputy Leader, Women’s Equality Party
Miranda Reilley, Director, AVID
Maria Gallagher, Director, Feminist Law Society
Dr Sarah Keenan, Reader in Law, Birkbeck School of Law
Dr Nadine El-Enany, Reader in Law, Birkbeck School of Law
Dr Cheyann Heap, Research Associate, University of York
Kim Jackson-Blott, Clinical Psychologist, Children’s services
Leanne Turner, Founder/CEO, Aching Arms
Jane Fisher, Director, Antenatal Results and Choices (ARC)
Marcus Green, CEO, Action on Pre-eclampsia
Heidi Eldridge, CEO, MAMA Academy
Karen Burgess, CEO and Founder, Petals Charity
Sarah Fishburn, Chair, Pelvic Partnership
Sarah de Malplaquet, Chief Executive, Kit Tarka Foundation
Jane Denton, Director, Multiple Births Foundation
Munira Oza, Director, The Ectopic Pregnancy Trust
Peter Grigg, Chief Executive, Home-Start UK
Indy Cross, CEO, Agenda, the alliance for women and girls at risk
Shauna Leven, CEO, Twins Trust
Leah Francis, Trainee Clinical Psychologist, NHS
Zita Holbourne , National Chair, BARAC UK
Dr Sanah Ahsan, Clinical psychologist, NHS
Alyce Biddle, Community Organiser, Sheffield Maternity Cooperative
Kevin Blowe, Campaigns Coordinator, Netpol
Professor Paul O’Hare, Consultant Physician, University Hospitals of Coventry and Warwickshire
Dr Sara Lightowlers, Clinical Research Fellow, University of Cambridge
Jo Watson, Psychotherapist, AD4E
Sage M Stephanou, Managing Director, Radical Therapist Network CIC
Norman L. Reimer, Global CEO, Fair Trials
Sophie Ellis, PhD Researcher, Institute of Criminology, University of Cambridge
Paul-John Griffiths, Forensic Psychologist, PJG Psychological Services
Dr Nick Waggett, Chief Executive Officer, Association of Child Psychotherapists
Dr Siobhan Tierney, Principal Clinical Psychologist , NHS
Dr. Nick Bell, Clinical Psychologist, Psychologists for Social Change
Vik Nair, Clinical Psychologist, GG&C NHS Health Board
Tarek Younis, Clinical Psychologist and Senior Lecturer, Middlesex University
Dr Claire Fitzpatrick, Senior Lecturer in Criminology, Lancaster University
Dr Natalie Booth, Senior Lecturer in Criminology, Bath Spa University
Dr Katie Hunter, Research Fellow, Lancaster University
Clementine Harrison, Former Criminal Solicitor (Currently a stay at home mother)
Dr Matthew Constantinou, Trainee Clinical Psychologist, NHS
Clare Hennessey, Solicitor
Sharon Shalev, Criminologist, University of Oxford
Catherine Austin, Service Manager, Peabody
Elspeth Windsor, DPhil Candidate and Research Assistant, Faculty of Law, University of Oxford
Naida Osei, PhD student, University of Oxford
Dr Steph Scott, Lecturer in Public Health, Newcastle University
References:
[1] Maya Grantham and Ellie Sutherland, Leigh Day, ‘Is it time to stop holding pregnant women in prison?’
[2] Prisons and Probation Ombudsman, ‘Independent investigation into the death of Baby A at HMP Bronzefield on 27 September 2019’
[3] HMPPS Annual Digest 2021/22
[4] Observer, ‘Jailed women in UK five times more likely to suffer stillbirths data shows’ (2021)
[5] Nuffield Trust, ‘Inequality on the inside: Using hospital data to understand the key health care issues for women in prison’ (2022)
[6] Nuffield Trust, ‘Prisoners use of hospital services’ (2020)
[7] Dr Laura Abbott, ‘Pregnancy and Childbirth in English Prisons: Institutional Ignominy and the Pains of Imprisonment’ (2020)
[8] Parent-Infant Foundation, Securing Healthy Lives (2021)
[9] Prisons and Probation Ombudsman, ‘Independent investigation into the death of Baby A at HMP Bronzefield on 27 September 2019’ (2021)
[10] United Nations, Bangkok rules on women offenders and prisoners (2013)
[11] Shona Minson, ‘Who cares? Analysing the place of children in maternal sentencing decisions in England and Wales’ (2017)
[12] Dr Rona Epstein, ‘MOTHERS IN PRISON: the sentencing of mothers and the rights of the child’ (2012)
[13] Rona Epstein, ‘Why are pregnant women in prison?’ (2022)
[14] Prison Reform Trust, ‘There’s a reason we’re in trouble’: Domestic abuse as a driver to women’s offending (2017)
[15] HMP Probation, Research, The evidence base (women)
