HMP Holloway opened in 1852 as a house of correction for both men and women. In a groundbreaking inquiry into women in prison published more than 10 years ago, Baroness Jean Corston demanded a radical rethink of female incarceration. Davies writes that at the time of the report, 2007, “prison had become a place to send those who were addicted, abused, mentally ill and already excluded from society”. When Hassall arrived at Holloway, according to the Guardian, staff were “cutting down up to five women a day from nooses”. • Bad Girls: A History of Rebels and Renegades by Caitlin Davies is published by John Murray (£20).

Source: The Guardian March 18, 2018 10:52 UTC