Self-harm by women in prison doubles

Incidents of self-harm in women's prisons have nearly doubled since 2003, according to research by the Liberal Democrats.

The figures, contained in an answer to a Parliamentary Question, show that:

• In 2008 there were 12,560 incidents of self-harm in women's prisons, a 95.1% increase from 2003, when there were only 6,437 incidents.

• There were 2.8 incidents per female prisoner last year, compared to 1.4 in 2003.

• In the same period, self-harm in men's prisons rose by 39.3%, from 7,515 in 2003 to 10,466 in 2008.

• Women accounted for more than half of all self-harm incidents in prison, despite accounting for roughly 5% of the population. The female prison population has remained relatively static since 2003.

Commenting, Liberal Democrat Justice Spokesman, Paul Holmes said:

"It is nothing short of a disgrace how women are treated in our overcrowded penal system.

"It shows how desperate the situation is that the number of incidents has doubled in six years and on average, each female inmate deliberately hurts themselves nearly three times a year.

"The issue of women in prison has been ignored for far too long. There are record numbers behind bars but no evidence of a corresponding rise in women committing more serious crime.