Women’s Aid responds to the early release of 1800 prisoners. Photograph by Felicity Crawshaw.
Today sees the early release of 1800 prisoners. Women’s Aid responds to the Government’s new plans for Early Release Schemes for Prisoners
Farah Nazeer, Chief Executive of Women’s Aid, said:
“Whilst we know that overcrowding in prisons is a real and serious issue, and that today’s announcement is underpinned by the new Labour government’s ambition to repair our broken criminal justice system, Women’s Aid, along with sector colleagues, have long cautioned against including domestic abuse perpetrators in early and automatic release schemes.
We strongly urge government to not just consider the highlighted risks to prison officers of violence rising when prisons are overfull, but the significant risk posed to women and children when violent and abusive men are released before the end of their sentence. It is absolutely vital that both the physical and psychological safety of survivors of domestic abuse is considered throughout the government’s work to tackle prison overcrowding.
Felicity Crawshaw originally shot this image to hi-light the correlation between the spike in domestic violence and when the National Football Team plays. The image feels particularly pertinent today.
