Monday 3 December 2012

Make Up Your Minds, Ladies!

Crime rates among women suffering from poor mental health or substance misuse would be cut by offering medical support rather than handing out jail sentences, a poll suggests.
A poll? Run by whom?

Oh. Of course. Our old friends:
Juliet Lyon, director of the Prison Reform Trust, said: "Most women in prison are serving short sentences for petty persistent offending and non-violent crime. Most have been victims of serious crime, domestic violence and sexual abuse."
"Solutions to women's offending lie not behind bars but in effective treatment to beat addictions to drugs and drink, mental health care and help to get out of debt."
And…how is that different to men’s offending?

Meanwhile, over in CiF, Yvonne Roberts is bewailing the ‘reversal of progress’ that the sisterhood claims to be seeing due to those eeeeeevil Tory cuts:
Polls tell us that this country cares deeply about equality. However, other events over the past week indicate that it's not only the Anglican church that talks the language of equality but significantly fails to walk the walk.
In every sphere of life, in the UK and the rest of the EU, in banking, the City, law, medicine, Westminster and Whitehall, inequality is embedded and, more shamefully, is treated as the norm.
You want to have a word with Juliet, love. Equality clearly just ain't where it’s at any more.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

I went on Danny Alexander MP
Chief Secretary to the Treasurys website
http://www.dannyalexander.org.uk/

Pressed the butoon on left
“Make a Donation”

and paid 9 [nine] pence into his account using PayPal.

I urge everyone to send tuppence to Danny.

Ben said...

"Most women in prison are serving short sentences for... etc"

Except, well, they aren't. Or not unless you interpret the figures in an... interesting manner.

http://www.theyworkforyou.com/whall/?gid=2012-10-16a.38.0

"Solutions to women's offending... etc"

See the above debate again - reoffending rates drop from around 61% (<12 months) to 17% (>4 years).

The right honorable Philip Davies had a good debate there - which sadly ended with a feeling of 'shush, you don't understand the stories behind the statistics. Stop talking now. There is no inequality here.'

"...inequality is embedded..."

And in the case of female offenders, is considered to be desirable.

Anonymous said...

Too few realise equality isn't special pleading Julia. I'm all for new ways to prevent crime among poor people. But we never hear of any educational stuff having the deterrent effect of the clip behind the ear. Women's issue this ain't.

JuliaM said...

"And in the case of female offenders, is considered to be desirable."

Spot on!

"Women's issue this ain't."

We're unlikely to bring it back. Double-unlikely for women!

David Gillies said...

If they are 'persistent' offenders, then would not a rather lengthier term of incarceration stop their nonsense rather more effectively than right-on knit-your-own-muesli crap from the Prison Reform Trust?

JuliaM said...

You'd think, wouldn't you?