Women in Prison respond to discussion on Sentencing Council guidance

Overview

New sentencing guidance from the Sentencing Council, expected to take effect this week (1 April 2025), has sparked debate across the media and political sphere since its announcement in early March.

Following significant consultation and based on significant evidence, the Imposition of community and custodial sentences guidelines (1) from the Sentencing Council are widely regarded as a significant step forward for women’s justice. The guidance has been welcomed across the criminal justice sector for acknowledging the lived realities of women. Notably, it recognises domestic abuse as a key driver of women’s offending and highlights the serious risks that prison poses to pregnant women, mothers, and their babies.

The new sentencing guidance also emphasises the importance of pre-sentence reports for women—particularly those who are pregnant or postnatal, survivors of domestic abuse, experiencing mental ill-health, or from black or racially minoritised backgrounds.

Discussion on the sentencing guidelines

Amid significant debate surrounding the guidance, the Sentencing Council has postponed its implementation, while the government has introduced new legislation to block the changes (2).

This response follows accusations that the guidelines would create a “two-tier” justice system for racially minoritised people, because the Sentencing Council advise that pre-sentence reports “would normally be considered necessary” if someone belong to specific "cohort". This includes people from an from an ethnic minority, cultural minority, and/or faith minority community.

Women in Prison’s response

Women in Prison welcomed the Sentencing Council’s new guidance and celebrated its recognition of the contexts in which women come into contact with the justice system. If implemented, the guidance would provide judges with comprehensive information to make informed decisions that consider women’s lived realities, the root causes of their offence and the impact of a prison sentence.

We also note and support that the Sentencing Council’s guidelines outline that “when considering a community or custodial sentence, the court must request and consider a pre-sentence report (PSR) before forming an opinion of the sentence.”

The guidelines were based on evidence from those working in the sector who wanted to see the system improve and reduce inequalities that have existed for decades. This is particularly crucial for Black and racially minoritised women, who remain over-represented at every stage of the criminal justice system. The guidelines also support the findings from the Ministry of Justice’s own pilots into pre-sentence reports for specific cohorts of people, including women from just two years ago (3).

We are encouraged by the government’s commitment to reducing the women’s prison population and the establishment of the Women’s Justice Board. However, we are deeply concerned by the government’s decision to block the proposed Sentencing Council guidelines, which we believe would have supported their own objectives.

The facts are:

• Almost 60% of women in prison have experienced domestic abuse

• Black women and women from minority ethnic groups are overrepresented at every stage of the system

• 4 babies died in prison in recent years

• Pregnant women are 7 times more likely to suffer stillbirth in prison.

Without meaningful changes to address the structural inequalities and harms women face, the government’s goal of reducing the women’s prison population will remain out of reach.

We urge the government to support the Sentencing Council’s guidelines, continue its focus on reducing the women’s prison population and address the harms and inequalities that women in contact with the justice system face.

References

1- Imposition of community and custodial sentences – Effective from (to be confirmed) – Sentencing

2 - Sentencing Guidelines (Pre-sentence Reports) Bill

3- Process evaluation of the Pre-Sentence Report Pilot - GOV.UK