Opinion

Act early to promote healthy relationships

2 mins read Youth Justice Youth Work
News coverage of the recent early release scheme for prisoners largely featured pictures of men – their faces both hopeful and nervous at the prospect of life on the other side of the gate where no-one tells you when you can eat, sleep and shower.
Smart: 'We need to work with both genders to foster mutual respect and identify healthy relationships' - St Giles Trust

Women were absent from this coverage despite the fact they were released under the scheme as well. It seems their presence in the criminal justice system does not enter public consciousness as much as men.

Prison is not – in the main – a good option for women. There are better ways of dealing with women who have committed crime, 69% of which is non-violent. Sadly, women of all ages – but especially younger ones – often end up in prison because of the actions of men and have their lives ruined as a consequence.

Coercion, exploitation and grooming puts girls under pressure to do things they would not have done otherwise. The early signs are usually subtle and girls will often identify exploiters and abusers as their boyfriends. Later, this leads to added trauma as girls try to reconcile themselves to the fact that the man they loved and cared for is in fact the reason their young life is now being spent in a prison cell.

Much of this has its roots in misogyny. Misogynistic online influences such as incels breed hate and hateful behaviour. While there are no excuses, these influences emerge out of frustration, loneliness and a culture that still tells boys to hide their feelings and be the tough guy. With young children now exposed to such content we need to intervene in the early years to create a society where both boys and girls are resilient to negative narratives and influencers who push toxic and abusive relationships and the consequences of that. According to a Prisoners’ Education Trust study, 63% of the girls and young women they spoke to who were serving sentences in the community had experienced rape or domestic abuse in an intimate partner relationship.

Girls and young women can have difficulty in opening up about such trauma and we need to take the help closer to them in settings they feel comfortable. St Giles has established a mobile support service in Scarborough to provide drop-in support for girls and young women. A van parks up regularly in areas where groups of girls hang out and offers advice, guidance and support. In just one month, more than 100 girls and young women used it.

However, we need to work with both genders to foster mutual respect and identify healthy relationships, providing girls with the confidence to set boundaries for themselves and showing boys that toxic masculinity has real consequences – not just for themselves but those around them too.

By working with children and young people early to address these issues we can keep more of them out of prison in the first place, ending the need for early release schemes altogether.


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