Co-producing School-Based Mental Health and Wellbeing Interventions: A Mixed Methods Intervention Development Study

Aims
1. Produce the first in-depth empirical study of women's imprisonment in Wales.
2. Identify and explore the unique problems facing Welsh women.
3. Analyse the legacy of the Corston Review, assess the progress and current state of the 'women's alternatives' movement in Wales.
4. Draw upon research findings to contribute to debates over the effectiveness and future of 'Welsh-only' female offender policies.
5. Contribute to a growing body of research on criminology and criminal justice in Wales.
Purpose
Studies have shown that women in prison face many acute and wide-ranging problems (Bosworth, 2000; Carlen, 1983; Scraton, 2016). Because there are no female prisons in Wales, Welsh women are held at facilities across England (see Figure 1), and it has long been recognised that they face a distinct set of issues (see House of Commons Welsh Affairs Committee, 2007; 2015; 2019; Jones, 2018; Rees et al, 2017). However,
despite the fact that women's imprisonment in Wales has been identified as an area of concern, little in-depth research has been done to explore this (albeit some notable exceptions, see Hughes et al, 2012; Rees et al, 2017). Recent efforts to focus specifically upon the Welsh context of imprisonment have largely overlooked or excluded Welsh women (e.g. Jones, 2017). This research will address this gap and to systematically explore the accounts and experiences of Welsh female prisoners. The need to explore the experiences of Welsh women has become more pronounced amidst the emergence of Welsh-only policies for female offenders in Wales. This includes the co-produced Ministry of Justice and Welsh Government Female Offending Blueprint in 2019. At a time when the Welsh Government is actively seeking to implement the recommendations of the Commission on Justice in Wales's report, what might a separate Welsh Government vision for female offenders look like? The purpose of this research is to produce findings that can help to develop a more critical understanding of women's imprisonment in Wales and contribute to emerging Wales-only policy debates.