Domestic abuse head injuries prevalent among women in prison
An international study has found that four out of five women in prison in Scotland have a history of head injury, mostly sustained through domestic violence. Published recently in
The Lancet, researchers, including SFU psychology graduate student Hira Aslam, say the study has important implications for the female prison population more broadly and could help to inform mental health and criminal justice policy development.
“The findings are incredibly sobering,” says Aslam. “While we anticipated that the incidence of head injuries among women who are involved in the criminal justice system would be high, these estimates exceeded our expectations.”
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An international study has found that four out of five women in prison in Scotland have a history of head injury, mostly sustained through domestic violence. Published recently in
The Lancet, researchers, including SFU psychology graduate student Hira Aslam, say the study has important implications for the female prison population more broadly and could help to inform mental health and criminal justice policy development. The findings are incredibly sobering, says Aslam. While we anticipated that the incidence of head injuries among women who are involved in the criminal justice system would be high, these estimates exceeded our expectations.
Researchers also found that violent criminal behaviour was three times more likely among women who had a history of significant head injury, while women who sustained such injuries generally had prison sentences that were three times longer. Two-thirds were found to have suffered repeated head injuries, and nearly all reported