Women’s prisons report finds 97 deaths in decade as self-harm hits record high

Charity director warns ‘more deaths will follow’ unless government changes tack and closes women’s prisons

Over the past decade 97 women have died in prisons in England and Wales and incidents of self-harm among female prisoners have reached the highest level on record, a report has found.

Inquest, the charity that produced the report, collated Ministry of Justice (MoJ) figures since 2015 to arrive at a total number of deaths. It said the numbers were evidence for its case that all women’s prisons should be closed.