Women Prisoners In Commonwealth

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 32053, 30 July 1969, Page 3

Women Prisoners In Commonwealth

(By

ZALIA THOMAS)

LONDON, July 23. A British scheme to train rent collectors to spot serious family problems in the homes they visited was announced by Mrs Renee Short, M.P., at the recent Commonwealth Countries League conference in London.

Mrs Short who was chairman of the Royal Commission on women’s prisons in Britain, said the first sign of trouble, which often led to a parent being imprisoned, was usually arrears in rent.

The Home Secretary (Mr Callaghan) had agreed to start discussions with women’s organisations to see how rent collectors could be used with trained social workers to help women in financial difficulties and to prevent them from going to prison, she said. Many of these difficulties were the result of housing problems, which often led to crime, she said. Every effort must be made to see that all families were well housed. PRISONERS RETURN

Too many women returned to prison because of a lack of facilities for rehabilitation in the old-fashioned gaols, she said. The after-care system was usually inadequate to deal with discharged prisoners.

“Many women in prison need sex and family planning guidance,” Mrs Short said. “If a woman enters prison with an illegitimate child she i should be given the means of seeing that it does not happen iagain.” I Mrs Short blamed the shortlage of prison staffs on the Jack of recruiting drives and ! on the fact that this work was seldom put forward as a .worthwhile job. Britain must make a greater : effort to prevent women from ' committing crimes. When a

mother was taken away to prison it had a terrible effect on the family. Even the most difficult women prisoners should not be gaoled, but put in hospitals for psychiatric treatment, she said. The theme of the conference was “Women Offenders —Prisons, Penalties and Rehabilitation within the Commonwealth.” Mrs Lorna Jackson, who worked with women prisoners in the Kingston General Penitentiary, Jamaica, for five years, told the conference that she had introduced dressmaking and hairdressing classes as part of a general training scheme for women inmates.

“It is important for women to feel their best in gaol, and in this respect new uniforms help,” she said. In this prison an attempt was made to see that all prisoners could read and write by the time they were discharged, she said. CHILDREN’S INFLUENCE Mrs Jackson believes that women prisoners should be allowed to have their small children with them in prison, so long as the children are taken away before they have any idea of their environment.

Children brought tenderness and a humanising influence to a women’s prison, she said. Midivifery, health visiting, nursing, poultry-rearing and handicrafts were taught to women prisoners in some Indian states, Mrs Mary Clubwalla Jadbau, first woman sheriff of Madras, told the conference. Mrs Jadhau reminded the conference of Mr Gandhi's words: “A culture can be judged by tfhe way it treats its prisoners.” Some Indian schools offered two-year courses for research into crime, she said. The Family Adoption Scheme recently introduced in Australia was explained by Mrs Dulcie Hodgson, vicepresident of the Civil Rehabilitation Council, Perth. Under this scheme ordinary families “adopted” a prisoner’s family while he was serving his sentence and then entertained him in their homes after his release to help him adjust. When the conference was opened a message was read from Miss Amy Kane, the New Zealand vice-president of the league, wishing delegates a “good and worthwhile conference.” Miss Kane has attended several league conferences in the past.