Nacro response to the launch of the Ministry of Justice Female Offender Strategy

In response to the launch of the MoJ Female Offender Strategy, Nacro Chief Executive, Jacob Tas, said:
With one in four women sentenced to 30 days in prison or less in 2016, and 57% women in prison being victims of domestic abuse, it is right that the government recognises that there must be a specific approach that provides the tailored support that women need.

We are pleased to see significant government investment to reduce the numbers of women serving short custodial sentences and to enable more women to serve sentences within local communities through improved information flow with courts and piloting residential women’s centres.

At Nacro, we support disadvantaged and vulnerable women across the country, some of whom have been victims of domestic violence, sexual abuse or exploitation. We have seen first hand the importance of a trauma informed approach which seeks to understand and overcome barriers to building a brighter future. We know that help ranging from training and work skills, to support with managing drug and alcohol dependency, or help with developing life skills and self esteem, as well as ensuring links with children, family and friends being maintained where possible, all can have a huge positive impact.

We look forward to working with government, local and national organisations as part of the review to explore family links for women in prison and plans to explore and develop residential women’s centre pilots.