The injustices of incarceration

A new report from Women for Refugee Women (WRW) highlights the plight of refugee women locked up in the UK, The Independent reports.

The WRW report focused on 46 women who were being, or had recently been, detained. Of these 85 per cent had been raped or tortured before reaching Britain. One women interviewed, who is detained in Yarl's Wood Immigration Removal Centre, described the institution as a place 'where human rights do not exist'.

Commenting on the WRW in the Daily Mirror, Ros Wynne-Jones asks why Britian is locking up women who are only seeking help and protection.

In a separate report, the Care Quality Commission has said that it is 'a serious cause for concern' that so many people admitted informally to a mental hospital for treatment were subsequently detained. According to The Guardian, over 50,000 people were detained under the Mental Health Act in England during 2012-13, up 12 per cent in five years.

The Centre for Crime and Justice Studies is currently completing a study for the Joseph Rowntree Foundation of the links between poverty and detention in prisons, immigration detention, psychiatric secure hospitals and residential locations for children and vulnerable adults.

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Anti-poverty forum presentation (18 September, 2013)