The Diocese of Worcester hosts a group whose focus is criminal justice. The group offers a faith perspective on criminal justice matters and raises awareness of the issues. CJAG offers this bi-monthly prayer guide which we hope will be useful for personal and intercessory prayer in local parishes.
Do pass it on to those in your church who would be interested and encourage its usage [If anyone would like to receive a direct copy then please email diana@fulbrook.co.uk]. Welcome to the CJAG Prayer Guide for February.
Women in the Criminal Justice System
Females account for 16% of arrests (an 8% increase from the previous year). Violence against women and girls is a significant problem that affects at least 1 in 12 women pa - 20% of all police-recorded crime was related to this. Females make up 4% of the prison population. Of all female offenders cautioned or convicted in 2023, 27% were first time offenders (21% for males).
74% of those prosecuted for TV licence evasion were female ie 12% of all female prosecutions. Theft from shops accounted for 27% of all female prosecutions (compared to 12% for males).
A higher proportion of female prisoners than males reported: self-declared mental health problems, physical disability, having drug and alcohol problems, money worries and housing worries. In the absence of available hospital beds, prisons are being used as a place of safety for women who have complex mental health needs. Prison is not a place of safety, it is a place often, of dark and utter terror.
3 in 5 women prisoners report experiencing domestic abuse and there is evidence that women who are coerced into offending, acting in self-defence, or facing malicious allegations as part of a pattern of coercive control, are being punished rather than supported.
55% of women prisoners are mothers of children under 18, and children’s lives are often upended when the parent they most depend upon goes to prison (estimated to be 17,000 pa).
Self-harm by women in prison hit a record high of 20,834 incidents last year (a quarter of whom were on remand) and is 8 times higher than men.
Heavenly Father, we pray for women caught up in the criminal justice system and lift up to you those who are overwhelmed by fear and despair. You are the God of hope and restoration and we ask for your healing of the distress that leads to self-harm, mental anguish and broken spirits. Pour out Your peace and love upon them and let them see beyond their current circumstances to a purposeful future
Amen
Especially we pray for:
- The high number of women and girls who are victims of violence and domestic abuse
- Female victims caught up in the criminal justice system
- Women prisoners who are mothers and the impact on their children of their absence
- The work of the voluntary and community sector in supporting women in the community
- Women with complex mental health problems and the violence they might provoke in others rather than their understanding
- Women who experience prison as a place of chaos and trauma and where vulnerable people struggle to maintain their dignity, let alone sanity
- A compassionate society that recognises the need to treat women humanely
- Those with fractured family relationships
- The work of the newly formed Women’s Justice Board to reduce the number of women in prison and better support those who still must be imprisoned
- The development of alternatives to prison for women and support in the community
- For all who work within the criminal justice system with women offenders, for their compassion and wisdom.
