Built to Harm: how women's prisons take lives (Inquest, 3 December 2025)

Summary

Between 2018 and 2024, 59 people died in women’s prisons in England and Wales, more than a third (39%) of these deaths were self-inflicted. In the next four years, self-inflicted deaths across all prisons in England and Wales are expected to rise by 21%. In this report the charity Inquest examines the circumstances of seven recent deaths in women’s prisons, situating them within broader systemic issues that have persisted for decades.

Content

In addition to the full report, which you can find at the bottom of this page, via the link below you can view a webinar discussing its findings. Speakers included:

• Oceana, campaigner and daughter of Kay Melhuish who died following neglect at HMP Eastwood Park
• Tanya Tracey, incoming Director of Services at Birth Companions and co-chair of the Agenda Alliance board, an intersectional feminist organisation
• Jessica Pandian, Deborah Coles, and Mo Mansfield of INQUEST