UK prisons watchdog slams lack of action on rising female

A considerable rise in suicides among British female prisoners has raised the alarm in the country.

A report by Britain’s Prisons and Probation Ombudsman has linked the rising trend to inadequate mental health provisions in UK prisons. The report blames prison staff for lack of urgency in responding to indications of mental illness among female prisoners. For the first time over the past ten years, the number of female suicides per one thousand prisoners in 2015 was higher than that among men. Meanwhile, the overall deaths of female prisoners more than doubled in 2016 compared to the previous year.