BLACK WOMEN are experiencing disproportionate levels of racial discrimination in the criminal justice system with prison staff failing to meet their day-to-day cultural needs, a report has revealed. 

Over 260 Black, Asian, minority ethnic and foreign women in prison were surveyed and were found to be facing a “double disadvantage” of misogyny and racism. 

The three-part report, published by The Criminal Justice Alliance (CJA) and the Independent Monitoring Boards (IMBs), have outlined 13 recommendations to tackle the inequalities experienced by marginalised women in prison, including providing staff training to encourage diversity.

Nina Champion, Director of the Criminal Justice Alliance, said there is an “urgent need” to address the disparities.

“This ground-breaking project centres on the lived experiences of Black, Asian and minority ethnic women in prison – their accounts of direct and indirect racism and poor treatment are shocking and distressing,” she said.

“Even more upsetting is their sense of fatalism – they see this treatment as part of their everyday lives. 

“The women lack trust and confidence in the complaints system, do not trust that they will be treated fairly and are often unaware of how prison monitors can help. 

“There is an urgent need to address these issues nationally and locally and I hope to see our recommendations being implemented with haste.”

A third of women who responded to the survey said their treatment by staff was poor or very poor with over 40% of saying they had experienced discrimination such as getting less access to employment while in prison. 

Black women in particular were were found to be having more negative experiences of racial bias in the prison system.

Many respondents had little confidence in the system for reporting discrimination, in procedural fairness, or in staff understanding of cultural needs.

The CJA and the IMBs have detailed recommendations to the Prison Service and the Ministry of Justice to improve the experiences of marginalised women including training staff to understand diversity and equality issues.

Data collection and the need to act on findings is also listed as a priority,  leadership on setting a positive culture throughout prisons and language accessibility for prisoners whose first language is not English.

They have also urged for staff from diverse backgrounds to be considered for the recruitment process.

Dame Anne Owers, Chair of the IMBs, said she welcomed the hard-hitting report, but stressed that changes for black and minoritised women had not been fast enough.

“In spite of numerous reports highlighting disproportionality in the criminal justice system, and the specific challenges faced by women, positive change has been slow,” she said.

“These reports show that addressing racial and ethnic disadvantage needs to be a priority and I hope these recommendations will stimulate action at every level. 

“IMBs can play a key role in monitoring and reporting on outcomes for women from diverse backgrounds and we are keen to learn from this research.”