Abstract
Women in prison have attracted comparatively little attention, both in terms of public interest and academic research. Their contribution to the total prison population is small, and in Europe ranges from a minimum of 2.4 per cent in Northern Ireland, to a maximum of 4.8 per cent in Italy. In the UK as a whole, the proportion was 3.1 per cent, with Scotland slightly lower at 2.6 per cent (Council of Europe, 1985). In addition to being a small minority, women tend to have committed less sensational, less violent crimes; they have not engaged in violent protest while in prison; and they have rarely been held in the conditions of severe overcrowding that men have experienced. For all these reasons, their situation receives little publicity.
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© 1988 Simon Backett, John McNeill and Alex Yellowlees
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Baldwin, P. (1988). Women in Prison. In: Backett, S., McNeill, J., Yellowlees, A. (eds) Imprisonment Today. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-08897-3_4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-08897-3_4
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