The trauma, bereavement and loss experiences of women in prison

The partial closure of Scotland’s only dedicated female prison, Cornton Vale, following the recommendations from the Commission on Women Offenders report, led to the relocation of many women to HMP & YOI Polmont in 2016. As a result Barnardo’s Scotland received funding to extend the trauma, bereavement and loss service to women in the establishment. In order to ensure that the service was age and gender responsive the service adopted a more open-ended psychotherapeutic approach, and Barnardo’s Scotland commissioned a further small-scale evaluation to document and assess the trauma, bereavement and loss needs of women in custody; to evaluate the impact of the service, and to identify any gender-specific needs.