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WOMEN IN JAIL are four times more likely to self-harm than male prisoners, a new study has revealed.
They cut, scratch, poison, overdose or swallow object not intended for ingestion. They may also self-strangulate.
The research, carried out in England and Wales and published by The Lancet today, found that one in four female inmates in the countries’ prisons self-harm every year.
Between 2004 and 2009, professors from Oxford noted 139,195 incidents of self-harm involving 26,510 both male and female inmates in English and Welsh prisons.
Although suicide rates were down for the six-year period, the decline was not matched when self-harm incidents were looked at. Self-harm is proven to be a strong risk factor for suicide in prison.
Incidents of self-harm were 10 times higher in female than in male prisoners—with 20 to 24 per cent of female prisoners and five to six per cent of male inmates self-harming every year—and around 30 times that of the general population of the UK.
“While self-harm is a substantial problem across the board, it is a particularly serious issue for women in prison who make up only 5% of the prison population but account for half of all self-harm incidents,” says Dr Fazel, a Wellcome Trust Senior Research Fellow.
“Moreover, now we know the extent to which the risk of subsequent suicide in prisoners who self-harm is greater than the general prison population, suicide prevention initiatives should be changed to include a focus on prisoners who are self-harming, especially repeatedly.
“Repetition rates were striking—if a female prisoner self-harmed, she would self-harm eight times per year, and there were 102 women (and two male) inmates who self-harmed more than 100 times per year.”
The risk of self-harm was higher for young people, white men and women and for those who were unsentenced or had life sentences.
The authors of the study have called for more research to address the questions of ‘why’ and ‘what works’ to reduce the stagnating self-harm rates in prisons.
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A star in the making. Good on you Sarah
Well done
Just persevere. Do your best and be proud!
Great run from Andrew Coscoran also
6th in the 3000m
there’s no medal for sixth
@qffaffaf affrafrfraf: You know your stuff.
@john kenny: do you wear a little pair of panties?
@qffaffaf affrafrfraf: you got gold, for being the best clown
Hope she’s not reading this, she done her best today was not her day, she was placed and proud.
@Phillip Smyth: I doubt she gives a s*** what the bitter little reprobates have to say.
She did herself and her country proud which is more than these saddos will ever achieve.
@Fergus O’Donnell: dead right Fergus do know if she receiving
@Phillip Smyth: do you know if she’s receiving plaudits for her finishing she seems to be getting raw deals this is not right
@Phillip Smyth: She finished sixth of 12 in a world final. First European home. Exactly as anyone who knows the sport would have predicted.
can’t comment on genocide in gaza, Israel’s a disgrace
@Joe Doyle: release the Hamas held hostages and remove the reason for Israel being in Gaza
@Joe Doyle: The excellent UK radio station LBC constantly covers almost daily what’s happening in the Middle East and allows its listeners to voice their opinions on the matter unlike here in Ireland, public debate on anything is blatantly and deliberately ignored by our media, free speech in the Irish version of democracy I’m afraid is non existent, our last general election is a perfect example of that where the general public were completely ignored by our pathetic media both radio and Television and not facilitated in any debate whatsoever to voice their opinions.
@James Gorman: Hamas was created by Israel and no one else, ever hear of the expression James “Divide And Conquer”?, now do yourself a favour and investigate how Hamas was created and financed but first take off the blinkers, perhaps you may also check out “The Bibi Files Documentary” that has exposed the horrible individual and his family that are in power in Israel, It will also give an insight into some of the extreme far fight racists in Netanyahu’s government.
Sixth lol
@Mr. Biggins: u couldn’t run a bath
@Mr. Biggins: Imagine how meaningless your life must be to spend your time on here trolling. What a los*r.
It’s a pity that she didn’t have the kick on power in the final three laps. It’s a learning curve and she did Ireland proud.
Sarah is tough as nails
have your say