Women's imprisonment and the case for abolition: Critical reflections on Corston ten years on PDF
Preview Women's imprisonment and the case for abolition: Critical reflections on Corston ten years on
Women’s imprisonment and the case for abolition In 2007, the Corston Report recommended a far-reaching, radical, ‘women-centred’ approach to women’s imprisonment in England and Wales. It suggested a ‘fundamental re-thinking’ about how services to support women in conflict with the law are delivered in custody and in the community, recommending the development and implementation of a decarceration strategy. This argued for appropriate treatment programmes in the community, reserving prison for only those women who commit serious and violent offences. Ten years on, what progress has been made? What is the relationship between Corston’s vision and a more radical abolitionist agenda? Drawing on a range of international scholarship, this book contributes to the critical discourse on the penal system, human rights, and social injustice, revealing the conse- quences of imprisonment on the lives of women and their families. A decade on from Corston’s publication, it critically reviews her report, revealing the slow progress in meet- ing the reforms it proposed. Identifying the significant barriers to change, it questions the failure to reverse the unrelenting growth of the women’s prison population or to transform state responses to women’s offending. Reflecting the global expansion of women’s im- prisonment, particularly marked in advanced democratic societies, the chapters include comparative contributions from jurisdictions where Corston’s recommendations have rel- evance. It concludes with a critical appraisal of reformism and the case for penal abolition. Essential for applied and theory courses on prisons, punishment, and penology; social justice and the criminology of human rights; gender and crime; and feminist criminology. Linda Moore is Senior Lecturer in Criminology in the School of Applied Social and Policy Sciences at Ulster University, UK. Phil Scraton is Professor of Criminology in the School of Law, Queen’s University Belfast, UK. Azrini Wahidin is Professor of Criminology and Criminology Justice and Associate Dean for Research and Innovation in the School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Law, Teesside University, UK. This page intentionally left blank Women’s imprisonment and the case for abolition Critical Reflections on Corston Ten Years On Edited by Linda Moore, Phil Scraton and Azrini Wahidin First published 2018 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN and by Routledge 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2018 selection and editorial matter, Linda Moore, Phil Scraton and Azrini Wahidin; individual chapters, the contributors The right of Linda Moore, Phil Scraton and Azrini Wahidin to be identified as the authors of the editorial material, and of the authors for their individual chapters, has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Names: Moore, Linda, 1961– editor. | Scraton, Phil, editor. | Wahidin, Azrini, 1972– editor. Title: Women’s imprisonment and the case for abolition: critical reflections on Corston ten years on / edited by Linda Moore, Phil Scraton and Azrini Wahidin. Description: Abingdon, Oxon; New York, NY: Routledge, 2018. | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2017036414 | ISBN 9781138700253 (hardback) | ISBN 9781138700260 (pbk.) | ISBN 9781315204819 (ebook) Subjects: LCSH: Women prisoners—Government policy— Great Britain. | Female offenders—Effect of imprisonment on—Great Britain. | Alternatives to imprisonment—Great Britain. | Criminal justice, Administration of—Great Britain. Classification: LCC HV9647 .W665 2018 | DDC 364.6082/0941—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017036414 ISBN: 978-1-138-70025-3 (hbk) ISBN: 978-1-138-70026-0 (pbk) ISBN: 978-1-315-20481-9 (ebk) Typeset in Bembo by codeMantra contents List of Contributors vii Acknowledgements ix Introduction 1 Linda Moore, Phil Scraton and Azrini Wahidin 1 The post-Corston women’s penal ‘crisis’ in England and Wales: Exploring the failure of reform 10 Linda Moore and Azrini Wahidin 2 After Corston: Community, change, and challenges 32 Loraine Gelsthorpe 3 From ‘troubled’ women to failing institutions: The necessary narrative shift for the decarceration of women post-Corston 51 Becky Clarke and Kathryn Chadwick 4 The imprisonment of women in Scotland: Restructure, reform or abolish? 71 Margaret Malloch 5 Post-Corston reflections on remanded women’s experiences in Northern Ireland 88 Gillian McNaull vi Contents 6 Corston principles in Canada: Creating the carceral Other and moving beyond women in prison 109 Vicki Chartrand and Jennifer M. Kilty 7 In pursuit of fundamental change within the Australian penal landscape: Taking inspiration from the Corston Report 129 Julie Stubbs and Eileen Baldry 8 ‘Ukhohliwe’: A South African perspective on the Corston Report 150 Lillian Artz 9 Beyond Corston: The politics of decarceration and abolition in a punitive climate 172 Phil Scraton and Bree Carlton Index 195 list of contributors linda moore is Senior Lecturer in Criminology in the School of Applied Social and Policy Sciences at Ulster University, UK. phil scraton is Professor of Criminology in the School of Law at Queen’s University Belfast, UK. azrini Wahidin is Professor of Criminology and Criminology Justice and Associate Dean for Research and Innovation in the School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Law, Teesside University, UK. loraine Gelsthorpe is Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the Institute of Criminology at the University of Cambridge, UK. becky clarke is Senior Lecturer in the Department of Sociology at Manchester Metropolitan University, UK. Kathryn chadwick is Principal Lecturer in the Department of Sociology at Manchester Metropolitan University, UK. margaret malloch is a Reader in Criminology with the Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice Research at the University of Stirling, UK. Gillian mcnaull is a Research Fellow and PhD researcher in the School of Law at Queen’s University Belfast, UK. Vicki chartrand is Associate Professor in the Sociology Department at Bishop’s University, Québec, Canada. viii List of contributors Jennifer m. Kilty is Associate Professor in the Department of Criminology, University of Ottawa, Canada. Julie stubbs is Professor in the Faculty of Law at the University of New South Wales, Australia. eileen baldry is Professor of Criminology in the School of Social Sciences at the University of New South Wales, Australia. lillian artz is Associate Professor in the Gender, Health & Justice Research Unit at the University of Cape Town, South Africa. bree carlton is Senior Lecturer in Criminology in the School of Social Sciences at Monash University, Australia. Acknowledgements Linda would like to thank her co-editors Phil and Azrini who are great col- leagues and dear friends. Thank you to Thomas Sutton at Routledge for your support for the idea of the book and to Hannah Catterall for support in see- ing the project through. Many thanks also to Francesca Monaco and Erin Arata and the team at codeMantra for your expert support and your pa- tience. Thank you also to all of our co-authors. It had been a privilege to work with such wonderful scholars and activists. I hope to work with you all again. The Criminology team at Ulster University are fantastic colleagues – thank you to Jonny Byrne, Una Convery, Michael Davidson, Ruth McAlister, Rachel Monaghan and Brian Payne. I am grateful for continuing support from my previous and current Heads of School, Ruth Fee and Kris Lasslett. Thanks to Olivia Barnes, Deena Haydon, Ann Jemphrey, Agnieszka Martynowicz and Conor Murray for helpful discussions on imprisonment and criminalisation which have furthered my understanding of these processes. Higher education and academic freedom are under threat from marketisation and I pay tribute to my friends at UCU at Ulster University and UCU regional office for defending the public university. Thanks to my family including Tim, Paloma, Conor and Amaia, Sam and Ying Ying, Mal, Helen, Andy and Ada. My parents Alec and Libby Moore have been an amazing support as always. Huge thanks to Henry, Alex and Annie – you mean the world to me. Phil thanks co-editors, Azrini and Linda – working together challenges the isolation of working alone. Thanks to all the production team whose support always has been prompt and helpful. My first and most important acknowledge- ment is to all prisoners down the years who have put their trust in those of us who seek to bring their experiences to a wider audience as a challenge to ever- increasingly punitive measures that diminish their lives. In various ways, from the conception of the project through to its realisation, my good friends have been
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