Since 2010, more than 1,000 rape, sexual assault incidents happened in England, Wales prisons: Report

Since 2010, prisons in England and Wales have seen nearly 1,000 rapes. As per exclusive data obtained by The Observer for the period, an additional 2,336 sexual assaults were reported to the police. However, as per a report by the Guardian, experts have warned that the true figure of the heinous crimes may be much higher, as not all the attacks get reported. The data reportedly includes cases of both staff-on-prisoner and prisoner-on-prisoner abuse.

The figures have raised concerns about the safety of prisoners and the prison system's effectiveness in addressing the issue of sexual violence.

Overcrowding, staff reductions and budget cuts have all contributed to the rising incidents of sexual assault and rape in prisons. These issues, as per the report, have been further exacerbated by austerity measures over the past decade.

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According to research by Nasrul Ismail, a lecturer in criminology at Bristol University, the impact of austerity has left English prisons "unable to provide safe environments for rising prison populations".

A government report revealed that 52 per cent of prisons in England and Wales were overcrowded as of September 2022.

There are currently just under 90,000 people in prisons in the UK, reports The Guardian.

Last year, the government even announced a £500 million (a little more than $622mn) funding injection to create thousands of new prison places for both men and women.

However, it's not just space for prisoners, the prison system is also struggling to recruit and retain staff.

As per the Guardian report, in 2021-22, the number of prison officers and custodial managers fell by 600. Losing staff has also contributed to the safety issues, putting safety at risk. Many experienced officers are leaving the workforce and prisons are struggling to recruit and retain new staff to replace them.

Talking to the Observer, UK-based charity Howard League for Penal Reform's director of campaigns, Andrew Neilson said that his organisation had called for staff to be given more training and guidance. However, he added, "we know that many experienced officers have since left the workforce and prisons have struggled to recruit and retain people to replace them."

He also said that there has been "minimal research – and a worrying lack of coherent and consistently applied policies – in relation to consensual and coercive sex behind bars."

Sexual violence is a problem not just for the female prison estate but also for male ones.

According to the latest statistics on safety in custody published by the UK Ministry of Justice, there were a total of 20,993 assaults in the 12 months leading up to December 2022. Out of these, 12 per cent were classified as "serious assaults," which encompass sexual violence incidents. This represents a 19 per cent rise in the number of serious assaults compared to the previous year. The number of prisoner-on-prisoner sexual assaults, however, fell to 195, which is 26 per cent lower than the 265 incidents that were recorded in 2019.

(With inputs from agencies)

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