ABSTRACT
Women make up about five per cent of prison populations world-wide (Stern 1998). Most research has therefore focused on men, the majority population. However, it is precisely this minority status and marginalisation which increases the need to recognise women in prison as a distinct group with distinctive needs. A consistent picture of poverty, deprivation, victimisation and marginalisation makes up the basis of every female custodial population studied in every jurisdiction. The ‘career’ criminals and thrill-seekers common amongst male prisoners are virtually absent in women’s prison, replaced instead by people in custody often through desperate circumstances or lives so chaotic that they failed to comply with community penalties or bail.
