Girls in Custody: Exploring the Harms

Posted by NAYJ on Jun 24, 2025

Throughout Doughty Street Chambers at Girls in Custody: Exploring the Harms on the 20th of May, the message of “there is no more urgent mission than these girls” echoed from Suzannah Hancock’s review on the current state of girls in custody. The event was organised in partnership with the Youth Practitioners’ Association and the Howard League for Penal Reform, and sought to shed greater light on girls in custody, who are still overlooked, neglected and experience significant harms. The all-women panel, chaired by Pippa Woodrow, brought together academics, the voluntary sector, frontline practitioners, legal professionals, and most importantly those with lived experience, which included;

• Dr Pippa Goodfellow (National Children’s Bureau)
• Nardein (Justice experienced)
• Dr Laura Janes KC Hons (NAYJ)
• Dr Samantha Burns (NAYJ)
• Laura Riley (NAYJ)

This blog provides a summary of the panel speakers, highlighting key points to consider when thinking about how to best respond to girls in conflict with the law and how to reduce harm in their lives.

Decline in numbers, persistence of harm
Dr Pippa Goodfellow began the panel discussion, providing the much-overlooked context of girls in the youth justice system. Presenting her doctoral research, she spotlighted the most marked findings that are commonly overlooked by policymakers and the media:

• A 96% drop in the number of girls taken into custody between 2002 (530) and 2024 (13)
• Since July of 2020, fewer than 20 girls have been in custody at any one time, with the latest figure reporting a population of 13 (March 2025)
• Girls now represent less than three per cent of children in custody overall.

However, Dr Goodfellow cautioned against interpreting these statistics at face value, warning that they risk being misread as evidence that the issue has been resolved. She emphasised that the sharp decline was not the result of a deliberate, gender-specific policy, nor part of any broader strategy to reform a system that continues to harm girls. Despite making up less than 3% of the youth custodial population, girls account for nearly 50% of all recorded self-harm incidents. These disproportionate rates reflect the significant mental health needs of girls in custody, but also the numerous reports of abuse, exploitation, and neglect. Yet, girls remain virtually invisible in a criminal justice system built by and for males. Dr Goodfellow contextualised this regarding the moral panic throughout the 90s and 2000s, where girls were over-criminalised amidst a wave of media-amplified fear of “feral” girls. Sensationalist headlines both fuelled and justified harsher treatment, underlining these harmful stereotypes that continue to shape perceptions and policy today.

Inside the system: Nardein’s story

Nardein entered the criminal justice system at just 11 and shared a powerful first-hand account of the long- and short-term harm she endured. She described being repeatedly subjected to various forms of violence and abuse including restraint, choking, and strip searches by adult male officers. Compassionate officers were pushed out, while violent ones were rewarded. With attention only gained through violent incidents, as children, Nardein and others began acting out, leading to increased self-harm or further punishment within the custodial regime.

She highlighted the failure to recognise gender-specific needs, with girls housed alongside boys and receiving no individual care. Many adopted violent behaviours to survive, exacerbating their long-term trauma. Frequent transfers across different types of custodial settings also left girls isolated from their families, heightening their sense of alienation. This led to chronic psychological effects such as anxiety, identity confusion, and emotional detachment. Nardein’s story exposes a system that treats girls as problems to control rather than people to support, and she maintains that.

“If you’re not part of the change, you’re part of the problem”

Susannah Hancock’s Report
The discussion then turned to Susannah Hancock’s review, Delivering the Best for Girls in Custody (March 2025). The review delivers a sharp critique of the justice system’s failure to meet the specific needs of girls, arguing that the non-gendered approach remains too focused on boys and does not account for girls’ distinct vulnerabilities. Hancock highlights three key findings contributing to poor mental health outcomes among girls in custody. First, she asserts that neither Young Offender Institutions (YOIs) nor Secure Training Centres (STCs) are appropriate for girls. These environments, designed by and for males, overlook the emotional, psychological, and developmental needs of girls, many of whom have histories of trauma, abuse, or victimisation.

Hancock stresses the need for gender-responsive, individualised, trauma-informed care and therapeutic support, and criticises the lack of gender-responsive services, noting that the low number of girls in custody should not excuse systemic neglect. Her review reconfirmed that there continues to be high rates of self-harm and psychological harm among girls in custody.

The review called for urgent structural change. Hancock shared how she had recommended in the report that YOIs cease placements for girls—a recommendation the government has accepted—and a phased closure of the last remaining STC in England by 2029, citing their harmful and traumatising impact. Instead, she advocates for secure children’s homes and schools as safer, trauma-informed alternatives that offer smaller, more supportive environments. To ensure sustained reform, Hancock recommends creating a Girls’ Justice Strategic Board to focus solely on the needs of girls in the justice system. Girls’ Consortia for shared decision making in determining custody placements for girls. Her review marks a turning point in public and governmental awareness of the harm vulnerable, young girls in custody continue to face.

Rethinking Girls in Custody: NAYJ briefing paper

Samantha Burns and Laura Riley provide further validity to the criticisms set out in the report with critical points based on their briefing paper on the significant harms of institutionalised violence still experienced by girls, even within SCHs. They focus on what the public and the relevant authorities can do to repair the harm caused, based on a ‘girl-wise’ penology framework constructed by Jodie Hodgson. Both Burns and Riley warned against superficial change, arguing that it is not an issue you can “just throw money at”. Any changes or reforms affecting such a vulnerable group of young girls must be undertaken with the utmost sensitivity, responsibility, and compassion. Most importantly, they asserted that girls should be at the centre of any decision-making processes, ensuring they can meaningfully shape choices that directly impact their lives.

Concrete action to move the dial on this critical issue
 

To end the insightful discussion, Pippa Woodrow asked the women to think of one concrete action the public could take to move the dial on this critical issue. The speakers centred their responses around “What about the girls?” by speaking up boldly even when it’s uncomfortable. There is a need for reframing the narrative on girls in custody, urging us to widen the lens on girls’ experiences beyond preconceptions and heavily distorted by media speculation, with an urgent need for empathy over uniformed prejudice. Finally, while a simple consideration, it was recommended that continuous engagement with local MPs and decision-makers is crucial, and meaningful progress may be impossible to achieve without it.

Liesel Vorhaus is an undergraduate student (Politics BSc) at King's College, London