Reproductive rights on the inside: A rapid evidence assessment of women’s experiences of reproductive healthcare and rights while in prison in England and Wales
| Published date | 01 November 2023 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/17488958221117925 |
| Author | Vicki Dabrowski,Emma Milne |
| Date | 01 November 2023 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
https://doi.org/10.1177/17488958221117925
Criminology & Criminal Justice
2023, Vol. 23(5) 675 –693
© The Author(s) 2022
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DOI: 10.1177/17488958221117925
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Reproductive rights on the
inside: A rapid evidence
assessment of women’s
experiences of reproductive
healthcare and rights while in
prison in England and Wales
Vicki Dabrowski
Liverpool Hope University, UK
Emma Milne
Durham University, UK
Abstract
Despite academic, policy and charity commissioned research giving considerable attention to
the health of imprisoned women, significantly less research has considered the reproductive
health and rights of this group. This shortfall is noteworthy since women who are imprisoned
are often in very vulnerable positions, and so their ongoing healthcare in relation to gynaecology,
obstetrics and sexual health and wellbeing, as well as access to such rights, should be a priority.
These issues are exacerbated for the high number of women who are repeatedly imprisoned
for short sentences. Presenting findings of a rapid evidence assessment, this article highlights
the lack of attention to this aspect of imprisoned women’s health and rights, using the limited
information available. The article argues that suitable reproductive healthcare needs to be seen
as an essential aspect of women’s rights. Furthermore, the current nature of imprisonment in
England and Wales results in multiple and frequent rights violations.
Keywords
Prison, rapid evidence assessment, reproductive health, reproductive rights, women
Corresponding author:
Vicki Dabrowski, School of Social Science, Liverpool Hope University, Hope Park, Liverpool, L16 9JD, UK.
Email: dabrowv@hope.ac.uk
1117925CRJ0010.1177/17488958221117925Criminology & Criminal JusticeDabrowski and Milne
research-article2022
Article
676 Criminology & Criminal Justice 23(5)
Despite academic, policy and charity commissioned research giving considerable atten-
tion to the health of imprisoned women, significantly less research has considered the
reproductive health and rights of this group. This shortfall is noteworthy since women
who are imprisoned are often in very vulnerable positions (Bartlett and Hollins, 2018),
and so their ongoing healthcare in relation to gynaecology, obstetrics and sexual health
and wellbeing, as well as access to such rights, should be a priority. These issues are
exacerbated for the high number of women who are repeatedly imprisoned for short
sentences (Ministry of Justice (MoJ), 2020b), specifically concerning the continuity of
care. This article highlights the lack of attention to this important aspect of imprisoned
women’s health and rights, using the limited information available in academic, policy
and charity commissioned research. In so doing, the article argues that adequate and suit-
able reproductive healthcare needs to be seen as an essential aspect of women’s rights.
Furthermore, the current nature of imprisonment in England and Wales results in multi-
ple and frequent rights violations.
Reproductive rights are an essential aspect of women’s rights. The Office of the High
Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR, n.d.) identifies that sexual and reproductive
rights are related to multiple human rights, including the right to life, the right to be free
from torture, the right to privacy, the right to education, the prohibition of discrimination
and the right to health, which includes sexual and reproductive health. Consequently,
‘States have obligations to respect, protect and fulfil rights related to women’s sexual and
reproductive health’ (OHCHR, n.d.). Such rights encompass substantial aspects of wom-
en’s health, such as health and wellbeing connected to menstruation, including access to
suitable sanitary items; gynaecological healthcare; experiences of and treatment for
symptoms of menopause and perimenopause; decisions about whether, when and how
often to become pregnant; ways to prevent pregnancy, including abortion; and care dur-
ing pregnancy, including treatment and support for miscarriage or stillbirth. If taking a
reproductive justice perspective, then far more is encompassed under the umbrella of
women’s reproductive rights, including access to adequate housing, education and
employment to assist women ‘to maintain personal bodily autonomy, have children, not
have children, and parent the children [they] have in safe and sustainable communities’
(SisterSong, n.d.; see also, Luna and Luker, 2013; Nelson, 2003; West, 2009).
Prison has always been a right-limiting institution with one of the stated purposes to
deliver ‘reform [of] offenders to prevent more crime from being committed’ (MoJ,
2016b: 20). However, the ability of the State to remove the rights of prisoners is not
absolute and needs to be tempered with human rights law and other competing policies;
this is specifically relevant to reproductive healthcare. Following an agreement based on
a formal contract between HM Prison Service and the National Health Service (NHS) in
2000, there is a statutory recognition that prisons are required to provide the ‘same level
of care and access to services’ as those in the wider community (North, n.d.). In addition,
the United Nations General Assembly (2010) Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners
and Non-Custodial Measures for Women Offenders, also referred to as the Bangkok
Rules, state that women in prison should be given, and have access to, gender-specific
care. This, in theory, means that women’s reproductive healthcare should be of equal
standard to that provided in the community. Thus, this offers a foundational basis from
which reproductive healthcare and connected rights for imprisoned women stem, with
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