Mentally ill women do not belong in prison

11.05.23am UTC (GMT +0000) Tue 27th Feb 2007

Liberal Democrat Women and Equalities Spokesperson, Lorely Burt MP, today asked Women's Minister Meg Munn to expand the system of court diversion to prevent mentally ill people being sent to the hostile environment of prison.

Commenting after her question in Women and Equalities Questions, Lorely Burt said:

"Prison is not a place for the mentally ill. Too many women are there already who should not be.70% percent of women in prison suffer from two or more mental health problems and 37% have attempted suicide before going into prison.Currently mentally ill people are assessed for treatment in prison but simply being there is very likely to make their illness a lot worse.People should be assessed outside the hostile environment of a prison where they are likely to self-harm and become more ill."